Energy Content of Food

AP Chemistry Lab #7
Name_______________________________ Date__________________
Period____
All human activity reuires !burning" food for energy# $hat does it mean to say that %e
burn food in our bodies& 'he digestion and metabolism of food converts the chemical
constituents of food to carbon dio(ide and %ater# 'he total amount of energy released by the
digestion and metabolism of a )articular food is referred to as its calorie content and is e()ressed
in units of nutritional Calories *note the u))ercase C+# A nutritional Calorie, abbreviated Cal, is
euivalent to a unit of energy called a -ilocalroie, or ./// calories *note the lo%ercase c+# 0ne
calorie is defined as the amount of heat reuired to raise the tem)erature of . gram of %ater by
.1C# 'he calorie content of most )re)ared foods is listed on their nutritional information labels#
'he calorie content of food can be measured by burning food in a calorimeter# 'he
e()eriment is carried out by measuring the tem)erature change in %ater that is surrounding the
food# 2n this lab you %ill burn various ty)es of food in a calorimeter and then calculate the heat
energy released and calorie content of each ty)e of food#
Procedure
.+ Place a food sam)le on the food holder#
3+ 4easure and record the combined mass of the food holder and sam)le#
5+ Place the food holder on a ring stand#
6+ 0btain a clean, em)ty soda can# 4easure and record its mass#
7+ Add about 7/ mL of ta) %ater to the can and measure the combined mass of the can and
%ater#
8+ 9end the to) tab on the can u) and slide a stirring rod through the hole# :us)end the
can on a ring stand using a metal ring, as sho%n in figure .# Ad;ust the heat of the can
so that it is about 3#7 cm above the food holder#
7+ 2nsert a tem)erature )robe into the can# 4easure and record the initial tem)erature of
the %ater#
<+ Light the food sam)le and immediately center it under the soda can# Allo% the %ater to
be heated until the food sam)le sto)s burning# =ecord the ma(imum tem)erature of the
%ater in the can *final tem)erature+#
>+ 4easure and record the final mass of the food holder and sam)le#
./+ Clean the bottom of the can and remove any food residue from the food holder#
..+ =e)eat the )rocedure and record data for at least three other food sam)les#
Calculations/Analysis
.+ Determine the mass of %ater heated in the calorimeter for each food sam)le#
3+ Calculate the change in tem)erature *?'+ for each sam)le#
5+ Calculate the heat absorbed by the %ater in the calorimeter for each food sam)le#
=e)ort the results in calories, nutritional Calories, and @oules#
6+ Determine the mass in grams of each food sam)le that burned in each e()eriment#
7+ Ase the results from uestions 5 and 6 to calculate the energy content *fuel value+ of
each food sam)le in units of @oulesBgram#
8+ =ecord your results on the board, and co)y the class data table into your lab# Ase the
class data to calculate the average energy content for each ty)e of food#
7+ Choose one ty)e of food and convert the energy content into CaloriesBgram# 'hen
e(amine the )ac-aging for this ty)e of food and obtain the true CaloriesBgram#
<+ Calculate your )ercent error# $as your value too high or too lo%&
>+ Com)are the class data for each ty)e of food# $hich snac- food had the highest energy
content& 'he lo%est& $ere the results as you e()ected& E()lain#
Conclusion
:ummariCe your data and suggest a source for your error#
Pre-lab Questions
.+ A candy bar has a total mass of 3#7 ounces# 2n a calorimetry e()eriment, a .#/Dg sam)le
of this candy bar %as burned in a calorimeter surrounded by .///# g of %ater# 'he
tem)erature of the %ater in contact %ith the burning candy bar %as measured and found
to increase from an initial tem)erature of 3.#31C to a final tem)erature of 36#51C#
a# Calculate the amount of heat in @oules released %hen the .#/Dg sam)le burned#
b# Convert the heat in @oules to nutritional Calories and divide by the mass of the
burned sam)le in grams to obtain the energy content *also called fuel value+ in
units of Calories )er gram#
c# 4ulti)ly this value by the total number of grams in the candy bar to calculate the
total calorie content of the candy bar in Calories# Eou %ill need to convert the
mass in ounces to grams *. ounce F 3<#57 grams+#
3+ Consult the nutritional labels on t%o of your favorite snac- foods# =e)ort their total
calorie content *total Calories+ and calculate their fuel value *Calories )er gram+#