Calorie Content in Foods Lab Report

1 Yudithza Rodriguez, Ava Miller, and Stephanie Masapollo Dr. Penugonda CHM 112 Lab Report October 12, 2023 Calorie Content in Foods Lab Report Introduction: Our bodies burn food as fuel for energy on a daily basis. This “energy” comes in the form of calories from the food we eat, which varies depending on the amount consumed. Food Labels give people a sense of what they are consuming and how long it will take them to burn so that they can decipher what is best for their diet to create a healthy balance. Purpose: The purpose of this experiment is to measure how long it takes for the human body to burn a specific food based on the samples of different kinds of chips used. Method: 1. Weight each kind of chip before burning in Grams. 2. Pour exactly 20 mL of water into a graduated cylinder. 3. Place the test tube into the clamps of the iron stand for the burning process. 4. Using metal tongs, light the chip of fire and hold it underneath the test tube. 5. Take note of the water temperature before the burning process. 6. Take note of the water temperature during the burning process. 7. Take note of the water temperature after the burning process. 8. Recognize which chip caused the highest temperature to occur. 9. Recognize how the chip was affected by the burning process, such as if it fully burned or if there was any left. 10. Repeat for each type of chip.

2 Data Collection: Food Item Mass of Food Item (g) Initial Temp (°C) Final Temp (°C) ∆ T (°C) The energy released (kcal or Cal) Cal per gram of food item Cal per gram of food item from label Dorito 1.63 24 °C 60°C 36 °C .72 .44 5.36 Frito 0.99 24°C 68°C 44 °C .88 .88 5.71 Sour Cream & Onion 1.87 24°C 84°C 60 °C 1.2 .64 5.71 Cheeto 1.66 24°C 53°C 29 °C .58 .35 5.71 Calculations: Doritos - The energy released: (20 x 0.001 x 36) = .72 - Cal per gram of food item: (.72 / 1.63) = .44 - Cal per gram on the food label: (150 / 28) = 5.36 Frito - The energy released: (20 x 0.001 x 44) = .88 - Cal per gram of food item: (.88 / .99) = .88 - Cal per gram on the food label: (160 / 28) = 5.71 Sour Creme and Onion - The energy released: (20 x 0.001 x 60) = 1.2 - Cal per gram of food item: (1. / 1.87) = .64 - Cal per gram on the food label: (160 / 28) = 5.71 Cheeto - The energy released: (20 x 0.001 x 29) = .58 - Cal per gram of food item: (.58 / 1.66) = .35 - Cal per gram on the food label: (160 / 28) = 5.71

4 The chips with the biggest fire reactions were the Cheetos and Fritos.

5 Discussion: The Fritos chips resulted in the most calories per gram. Our group noticed that the Frito chips resulted in a bigger fire than the other chips. This was shocking to our group because we did not expect this chip to be the one with the most calories per gram. We thought the Dorito was going to be the one. The foods that received the most calories per gram were the ones that had the most fats in them. The more fat there is in a product, the more energy per gram in the product. In this experiment, Sour Creme Onion, and Fritos were the ones that demonstrated the highest number of energy released. Our calculation results are not like the ones printed on the nutrition label on the chips because our experiment was not as accurate as those performed for those high-level companies. Those tests are conducted by specialized scientists and chemics and have repeated these tests multiple times in order to ensure those numbers are correct. On the other hand, our experiment was only conducted once by college students who are not science majors. In addition to this, this experiment was divided by 3 people who all had different methods of how their portion was conducted. Therefore, perhaps if we repeated this experiment various times and ensured that our calculations were correct and were more experienced with lab experiments, perhaps our calculations would have been more accurate to the ones on the food label. Conclusion: In conclusion, the experiment was very interesting because it gave us a visual representation of the way that our bodies burn food for fuel when we eat. The different things that we consume are burned at a slower or fast rate based on their macronutrients and other ingredients. For instance, based on the results we saw, it is likely that processed chips burn slower than a handful of fresh spinach. This was a good lesson to learn because it shows us as future leaders in the food industry that, at the end of the day, the food products advertised are still to be consumed by people, and must suffice for taste and healthiness.