Worksheet Investigating the energy content

2.1c of food
Ethan Hsiung
Name: ......................................................................................................
8 BLUE
Class: ......................................................................................................
2/4/2024
Date: ......................................................................................................

You are going to investigate the energy content of food.

You will need:

Different foods, measuring cylinder, boiling tube, thermometer, mounted needle or tongs,
clamp stand, heatproof mat, Bunsen burner.

Safety
You must not taste or eat any of the food samples. Tell your teacher if you have any food
allergies. Do not hold the sample in your hand when fixing on the needle; hold it on a board
and push the needle down.

Cambridge Lower Secondary Biology

What to do:
A. Use a measuring cylinder to measure out 20 cm3 of cold water.
B. Pour the water into a boiling tube.
C. Record the temperature of the water.
D. Use a stand and clamp to hold the boiling tube above the bench at an angle pointing
away from you.
E. Put a heatproof mat underneath the boiling tube.
F. Gently push the mounted needle into a piece of food or hold the food with tongs.
G. Hold the food in a Bunsen flame until it starts to burn.
H. Hold the burning food under the boiling tube of cold water.
I. When the food has finished burning, record the temperature of the water.
J. Repeat steps B–I with each food sample. Use a clean boiling tube and fresh water
each time.
Stage 8

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 1. Record your results in a suitable table on a separate sheet.

Use these headings in your table and add the correct units.

a. food

b. temperature of water before burning

c. temperature of water after burning
d. change in temperature

Analysis
2. Which food tested contained the most energy?

Cloud 9

3. How do your results show this?

The Cloud 9 candy has the highest temperature of water after burning.

4. Not all the energy in the food heated the water.

Describe ways the energy was lost.

The temperature of the candy dissipated to the surroundings.

Cambridge Lower Secondary Biology

5. Suggest one way you could have improved your investigation.

We didn't measure the results immediately after it was taken out so the
results may be unfair.
Stage 8

2 © HarperCollinsPublishers 2021
Challenge question
6. The energy content of food can be calculated using this formula.

energy = mass of water × change in temperature × 4.2

The units of energy are joules (J) and the mass of 20 cm3 of water = 20 g

a. Calculate the energy content of the food you tested.

Dahta fish fillet: energy = 20cm^3 x 65Cx4.2 Hanuta minis crackers : energy = 20cm^3 x 64Cx4.2
=5460 (J) =5376 (J)

Cloud 9 candy : energy = 20cm^3 x 67Cx4.2

=5628 (J)

b. Describe how you could change your investigation to find the energy content in one
gram of food.

I would weight the food and divide it by its own weight to find one gram.

Dahta fish fillet: energy = 20cm^3 x 65Cx4.2

=5460 (J)

Cambridge Lower Secondary Biology

Stage 8

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