Subject Code PHY 3 PHYSICS 3

Module Code 4.0 Consequences of Heat Transfer

Lesson ​Code 4.3 Alternative Lab Activity - Calorimetry
Time Frame 50 minutes

1 2
TA ATA
Components Tasks
(min) (min)
Target By the end of this learning guide, the student should be able 2
to:
● perform simple calorimetry experiments and its
corresponding calculations; and
● explain the consequences of heat transfer in everyday
objects

SAFETY FIRST!!!
● Adult supervision is required!
● Fire hazard.​ So...
○ Non-flammable surface required.
○ Tie your long hair.
○ Be careful in handling all items. They are ​HOT!
○ Make sure burnt food remains are cooled and not
smoldering before throwing them away. ​They
might cause fire!
● Make sure that the thermometer only touches the water.
NOT​ the can.
● COOL​ your calorimeter and food items before touching
them. Use tongs or pot holders or mittens when handling
your calorimeter.

Check out these videos for more safety guidelines.

● https://youtu.be/VRWRmIEHr3A​ (Lab Techniques &
Safety: Crash Course Chemistry #21)
● https://youtu.be/BRDApYgvDqQ​ (Lab rules: Dua Lipa
“New Rules” Parody)
● https://youtu.be/86N-x0l6j7A​ (Safe Habits in Food
Laboratory)
Hook What is your favourite food? Do you read the label of the food 3
before you consume it? Reading the label tells us how much
energy (relevant to this topic) we expect to get from the food we
eat.

What we are going to do in the activity is a form of ​food

calorimetry​. We will ​measure the quantity of heat transferred
from the food.

1
Time allocation suggested by the teacher.
2
Actual time allocation spent by the student (for information purposes only).

Physics 3 Alternative Lab Activity - Calorimetry Page 1 of 12

 Ignite The heated material to be used in your experiment will be water, 5
such that the specific heat and mass values will be easily given,
that is c =4186 J/kg , and density is ρ= 1000 kg/m​3​.

Refer to the attached experiment guide to help you conduct your

own food calorimetry.

Check out these online videos!

● https://youtu.be/xi7gPQXwgAY​ (Fodo Calorimetry

Lab – A Science Experiment with Mr Pauller

● https://youtu.be/XiT82Mo6uK4​ (Food Calorimetry)

● https://youtu.be/WatGC0bw8jw​ (Chemistry
Experiment 13.2 A Calorimetry Experiment (Berean
Builders)

● https://youtu.be/Tmiq7bdtti8​ (Energy in Food

Calorimetry Lab)

It is important to take note that what you are going to do here

mostly is combustion. Combustion involves burning of the
material (in this case food). In the process of combustion, heat is
released. In this activity, you will be measuring the energy from
food by measuring the amount of heat it releases when
combusted. You will be using a makeshift calorimeter made from
whatever may be available in your home.

The basic idea is that water inside the calorimeter absorbs the heat
released by the food during combustion. This heat is then fully
absorbed by the water, thereby increasing the temperature of the
water inside the calorimeter.

Then, you can indirectly determine the amount of heat released by

the food during combustion by knowing the mass, and the initial
and final temperatures of the water in the calorimeter. The amount
of heat released by the food during combustion is then equal to
the amount of energy absorbed by the water, assuming that there
is no heat loss during the process since the calorimeter is “ideal”.
The amount of heat absorbed by the water is then

Qwater =− Qf ood = mc∆T = mc(T f − T i )

Remember: 1 cal = 4.186 J

Navigate The activity is described in full detail in the attached ​laboratory 35
worksheet.​ Document your work by taking pictures of you doing
the experiment. Attach the pictures to the worksheet. Take note
of the actual time you will spend in doing the activity. Please
consult your teacher on guidelines of submission.

Physics 3 Alternative Lab Activity - Calorimetry Page 2 of 12

 Knot What did this activity teach you? As heat transfer is not that easy 5
to physically quantify in our daily lives, this activity has taught
you to determine the energy involved when we consume our food.
Through the data you obtained, you have an estimate of the
amount (in joules) of energy you get from a piece of corn chips,
or peanuts, or cookies.

References:
1. Science Buddies Staff. (2020, June 23). ​Burning Calories: How Much Energy is Stored in
Different Types of Food?​ Retrieved from
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/FoodSci_p012/cooking-fo
od-science/food-calorimeter
2. Saddleback University. (2020, July 10). Lab 2: Calorimetry: Measuring the Energy Content in
Food and Fuel. Retrieved from
https://www.saddleback.edu/faculty/jzoval/chem108_lab/lab_2_
calorimetry/lab-2-calorimetry%20.pdf
3. Amisha Datta (2020, July 15). Food Calorimetry.
https://prezi.com/5ai-jjfys7uf/food-calorimetry/
4. Leisure Living Staff (2020, July 12). Food Calorimeter.
https://media.leisureliving.com/media/ a92032e89e9d98df0b3e9d5f147c65e8.pdf

Prepared by: Liza-Fe D. Gallamaso Reviewed by: Francis M. Emralino

Position: SST-IV Position: SST-III

Campus: ​SOCCSKSARGEN Region Campus Campus: ​CALABARZON Region Campus

Physics 3 Alternative Lab Activity - Calorimetry Page 3 of 12

Worksheet Title​ ​How many calories do you get from food?
Time Frame 35 minutes

Name: ____________________________________________ Date:____________________

Objective: In this activity, the learner should be able to:
1. perform simple calorimetry experiments and its corresponding calculations; and
2. explain the consequences of heat transfer in everyday objects

I. Make your own calorimeter!

What you need:

● small can (​could be an empty can of condensed milk or evaporated milk)​
● old unused pot or large can (​could be an empty can of powdered milk or biscuit or
cooking oil​)
● thermometer (​could be your body
thermometer at home!)​
● weighing scale (​ask for help from
neighbor or use the ones for
baking)​
● 3 food items
● aluminum foil
● rod or stick
● needles or pins
● hook or metal wire or ​alambre
● iron nails
● cork or insulating holder
● measuring cup or ​something like
that
● aluminum pie pan or baking pan
or flat ​kawali
● match sticks or lighter

Figure​. Diagram of homemade calorimeter.

STOP! Safety first! Make sure an adult is with you to supervise what you are doing.

1. Fully open the top lid of the small can but leave the bottom so that you can put your water
inside. Make some holes 1-4 cm from the top (or open end) of the small can using the iron
nail. This is where you will insert the hook or wire so that you will be able to suspend your
small can later on.

2. Open both top and bottom lids of the big can. Make sure that the can is big enough such that
the small can will sit high enough to place the cork, needle and food item underneath it (​see
figure)​ . If the inside of the big can is not aluminum, make sure to line its inside with
aluminum foil, folding it over the edge of the big can to keep it in place.

3. Make holes around one edge of the big can, with 4-5 cm spacing in between holes. These
holes will allow air in to maintain the flame.

Physics 3 Alternative Lab Activity - Calorimetry Page 4 of 12

 4. Attach the support (using hook or metal wire) on top of the small can. Put the supporting rod
firmly in place (​see figure)​ .

Do not use glue or adhesive tape! They will melt when the calorimeter gets hotter.

5. Carefully push the blunt end of three needles (or pins) into the cork. The sharp ends will be
used to hold the food. You may cut the cork according to size such that the cork, needles, and
food will fit below the small can.

6. Assemble!
a. Place the aluminum pie pan or ​kawali on a heat resistant surface (​Could be the floor
or ground or countertop. Just not your dining table or study table! Please do this
outside or the kitchen!​).
b. Put the cork with needles sticking up into the middle of the pan.
c. Place the larger can over the cork on the pan.
d. Hang the smaller can inside the big cylinder.

7. Photo time!​ Take a picture of your calorimeter for documentation.

8. Use a measuring cup to measure the amount of water to fill the small can half-full.

II. Experiment time!

1. Make sure to take photos of what you are doing for documentation purposes. This is the fun
part!

2. Record all your measurements on the table below. Take note, you did not measure the mass of
the water directly. Now, what to do?

Table 1​. Table in which to record measured and calculated values.

Initial Final
Initial Final Q​water for
​ Average Q​water
Trial Water Water Q​water
Food Item mass mass 1 g food for 1 g food
# Temp. Temp. (Cal)
m​i​ (g) m​f​ (g) (Cal/g) (Cal/g)
T​i (​​ o​C) T​f (​​ o​C)
1
1:
2
__________
3

1
2:
2
__________
3

1
3:
2
__________
3

Physics 3 Alternative Lab Activity - Calorimetry Page 5 of 12

 3. It is time to burn some food! Choose the first food that you will be using (e.g.
marshmallows!)

READ ALL BEFORE STARTING! SAFETY FIRST!

a. Start with your calorimeter disassembled (i.e. with the big cylinder not yet on the
pan).
b. Weigh the food items to be burned and record the mass. ​Hmmm… I wonder how you
should do this...
c. Properly place the food items on the needles by impaling them. (​So make sure your
food items are soft enough to be impaled!​) Put them close together so that they will
burn easily one after another.
d. Stir the water in the small can and measure the initial temperature (​Ti​ ​). Record your
measurements.

Always measure your initial temperature before starting!

e. Always be ready with your calorimeter.

f. Place impaled food in the middle of the pan. Light up the food using your matches or
lighter. Try the following if the food does not light up as expected. (​Now you see the
advantage of the marshmallows!)​

i. Big flames best ignite the food. You may opt for a candle or other sources for
this matter. ​Safety first!
ii. Check for a strong breeze. Too much will kill the fire but too little might be
dangerous. ​Safety first!
iii. Be patient!​ Some food items might not be easy to burn.

g. Once one of the food items catches fire, place the large can around the cork. Carefully
hang the small can above the flame.

h. Wait for the food items to burn itself out. Use the smoke coming out to evaluate if the
food item is still burning. Try the following if you have trouble keeping the fire
burning inside the calorimeter.

i. Some food might be burning with real flames, but others might not. ​Check!
Which of your food items burn with vibrant flames, which are only
smoldering?
ii. Enlarge the holes at the bottom of your large can (cylinder) to allow more air
to pass through.

If your food item is smoldering or burning well, you may opt to cover the top of the
cylinder with aluminum foil to prevent further heat loss. ​Allow for air circulation!

i.Immediately after the food stops burning, carefully stir in water and measure the final
temperature (​Tf​ ).
​
j. Make sure the burnt food has cooled down before carefully removing it from the
needles. Measure its mass. Ideally, all food should have burned. If not, correct this by
subtracting the unburned mass from the initial mass.
4. Repeat step 3 for two more trials.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for two more food items.

Physics 3 Alternative Lab Activity - Calorimetry Page 6 of 12

Tasks
1. Calculate the energy absorbed by the water in each trial. Note that the specific heat capacity
of water is 1 cal/(g °C) or 1/1,000 Cal/(g °C). Show your computations below.

2. Calculate how energy per 1 gram of food is released by the food during combustion. Show
Q
your solutions below. (e.g. Qwater f or 1 g of f ood = (m water
−m ) )
i f

Physics 3 Alternative Lab Activity - Calorimetry Page 7 of 12

 3. Average the energy per 1 gram of food for the three trials.

4. Plot the caloric content for 1 gram of food (​y-axis)​ versus the corresponding food item
(​x-axis​). Create a properly labelled graph, with the correct axes labels, units, and graph title.
Paste your graph here.

Physics 3 Alternative Lab Activity - Calorimetry Page 8 of 12

 5. Normalize the caloric content of food items. To do this, choose one food item (​the one with
the highest caloric content​) from your list (e.g. Chippy) and fill in the values, as directed by
the equations in Table 2.

EXAMPLE!
Food Average Q for 1 g of Food Average Caloric Content Normalized to
Item (Cal/g) the Caloric Content of Chippy

Chippy Q​Chippy 1
Qitem 1
1: Q​item 1 QChippy

Qitem 2
2: Q​item 2 QChippy

Table 2​. Average caloric content and average normalized caloric content of each food item.
Food Average Q for 1 g of Food Average Caloric Content Normalized to
Item (Cal/g) the Caloric Content of Chippy

Physics 3 Alternative Lab Activity - Calorimetry Page 9 of 12

 6. Plot the normalized caloric content (​y-axis​) versus the corresponding food item (​x-axis​).
Create a properly labelled graph, with the correct axes labels, units, and graph title. Paste your
graph here.

7. Order your items from most to least amount of calories. Do you think the amount of Calories
you measured is likely to be higher or lower than the true value for each food item? Why? If
you can, look up the caloric content of your food items per gram of food. Does this confirm
your hypothesis?

Physics 3 Alternative Lab Activity - Calorimetry Page 10 of 12

 8. Can you suggest areas for improvement in this experiment?

9. Paste your documentation photos here. You may use additional pages if you have lots!

Physics 3 Alternative Lab Activity - Calorimetry Page 11 of 12

Physics 3 Alternative Lab Activity - Calorimetry Page 12 of 12