Alexa Riley

September 5, 2019

Chemistry Period #1

Mrs. Andersson

Calorimetry Lab Experiment

Background

For many people, they choose the food they eat based on the amount of Calories the food has per

serving. Students in chemistry have been tasked with seeing if they can experimentally find the

amount of Calories experimentally in the lab and compare that to the actual food label. Before

completing such a lab important background research must be completed. In order to complete

the lab it's important to understand how calorimetry works. Food calorimetry is measured by

burning a food sample under a beaker of water. “The difference in water temperature before and

after burning the food is plugged into the equation; Energy released from per food gram (J) =

mass of water (g) × change in temp (℃) × 4.2 (J/g °C) (heat capacity of water) / mass of food

sample (g)” (Nuffield Foundation). “Water is used in this scenario as it has the highest heat

capacity of all liquids, this is why 4.2 is used in the equation because this represents the capacity

at which the water can absorb the heat” (2.2C). When measuring the calories given off in the

experiment to variables are used; C and c. “This is because although they both represent calories,

they represent different quantities. A calorie with a lowercase c is the amount of heat needed to

heat 1 gram of water to 1 °C, while a Calorie with an uppercase C represents the energy in the
food sample, which is equivalent to 1,000 calories or 1 kilocalorie” (IFT). Food labels use

Calories to represent the energy that food products contain and the Calories shown on the label

can easily be converted to calories by multiplying the total amount of Calories by 1,000 to get

the total number of calories in the food. In order to find the amount of energy in a food sample,

combustion is needed as it is the main thing in the experiment. Calorimetry uses combustion to

burn the food sample overwater to find the energy amount, from there it is plugged in the

equation previously stated. “Our body does a similar process to release the energy in the food we

eat by oxidizing it, from there our body can use that heat energy to maintain homeostasis; such as

body temperature” (Rdcep). The purpose of this lab is to compare and contrast the amount of

Calories (energy) measured in a lab to the amount of Calories (energy) reported on a food label.
 Works Cited

(2019, June 5). 2.2C: Water's High Heat Capacity. Retrieved from

https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Book:_General

_Biology_(Boundless)/2:_The_Chemical_Foundation_of_Life/2.2:_Water/2.2C:_Water’s

_High_Heat_Capacity

(n.d.). How much energy is there in food? Retrieved from

https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/practical-biology/how-much-energy-there-food

(n.d.). IFT Food Science Activity Guide. Retrieved from

https://www.uen.org/cte/facs_cabinet/downloads/FoodNutritionI/S6O3_CalorieCalculatio

nActivity.pdf

Rdcep. (n.d.). Food Calorimetry. Retrieved from

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54dcfad0e4b0eaff5e0068bf/t/5697d65169a91aed01

aa9fd1/1452791382920/20160113 Food Calorimetry.pdf