TITLE: MEASURING CALORIES
AUTHOR: Robert Willis, Riverton, Wyoming
GRADE LEVEL: Appropriate for grades 5-8
OVERVIEW: To help students have an understanding of
energy in food by measuring the energy in calories.
OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to :
1. Explain what a calorie is.
2. Determine if one food may have more calories
than another.
3. Explain how calories in food will relate to the
amount of energy they will get from food.
RESOURCES/MATERIALS:
1. Ring stand or other type of hanger support.
2. aluminum can.
3. aluminum foil
4. clay
5. straight pins
6. peanuts, mini-marshmallows
7. graduated cylinder
8. Celsius thermometer
9. matches
10. water
11. paper for charts and calculations by, pencils
ACTIVITIES:
1. Use ring stand with a hook to hold can put can on
hook with tab or other hanger with bottom of can
about 6 cm. above ring stand base.
2. Wrap the ring stand with aluminum foil. Leave an
opening to slide clay in under can.
3. Measure 100 milliliters of water and place it in
the can.
4. Take the temperature of the water. Record your
measurement on the worksheet.
To find out how many calories are stored in the
peanut, we will burn it and use the heat produced
to warm some water. Then, knowing how many grams
of water were warmed and how many degrees the
temperature of the water rose, we can calculate
the calories.
5. Place the head of a pin in a hunk of clay. Place
half a shelled peanut on the point. Light the
peanut with a match. As soon as it starts to burn
on its own, place it under the can in the
calorimeter, and allow it to burn.
If the peanut sputters and goes out before it
looks all burned up, get a new half peanut and
freshwater, and start over.
When the peanut looks all burned up and goes out,
take the temperature of the water again. Record
the temperature on your worksheet.
6. Calculate the Calories using the following
formula.
*Amount of water used = (___milliliters = ___grams)
*Temperature of water in degrees C before burning
*Temperature of water in degrees C after burning
*Difference in temperature
*calories = (mass of water in grams) x
(temp. change in degree C)
Example:
10 grams of water are heated 15 degree C;
calories = (10 grams of water) x (15 degree C)
calories = 150 calories.
This calculation is in small calories. There are
a thousand calories in a food Calorie, or large
Calorie. To convert calories to Calories, divide
the number of small calories by 1000.
*food Calories or large Calories =
small calories / 1000
7. Repeat the procedure with a marshmallow.
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John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org