1. Kelly Goodman Academy of Notre Dame

2. Question How much energy is stored in different types of nuts? Is there a difference between Organic versus Non-Organic nuts?

3. Background information Calorimeter is a device used to measure the heat absorbed or evolved during a physical change. Hess’s law states that for a chemical equation that can be written as the sum of two or more steps, the chemical change for the overall equation equals the sum of the chemical change for the individual steps.

4. Hypothesis Burning different nuts, organic and non- organic using a homemade calorimeter, is related to discover that organic nuts release more joules of energy than non- organic nuts.

5. Nuts Used  Almond  Organic Almond  Cashew  Organic Cashew  Walnut  Organic Walnut

6. Materials Two tin cans Rod-shaped support Cork Needle or wire Pliers Graduated cylinder Water Temperature probe Safety goggles Lighter Balance Calorimeter

7. Procedure 1. Construct a homemade calorimeter. 2. Weigh each of the food and record the mass. 3. Fill the small can with 30 ml of water. 4. Measure the initial temperature of the water. 5. Place the food on the needle. 6. Put the needle on the cork. 7. Light the food on fire.

8. Procedure continued 8.Allow the food to burn itself out. 9.Remove the can of water. 10.Measure the final temperature. 11.After the burnt food has cooled, then weigh the remains. 12.Repeat these steps for each food. 13.Analyze the data. 14.Calculate the energy (in Joules) for each type of food item tested.

12. Calorimetric Formula Used q=mc ΔT  q is energy released  m is mass  c is specific heat  ΔT is change in temperature

13. Independent variable  piece of food that is subject to change through the burning of the food. Dependant variable  change in temperature of water because of the energy produced Constants  amount of water in the can and the  temperature of the water prior to the experiment. The control  ??? Variables

14. Conclusion My hypothesis was rejected because I had more then 95 percent error when I plugged my data into excel. This constructed calorimeter was not advanced enough for me to get accurate results from this experiment.

15. Conclusion continued Even though organic nuts may taste better and are produced without conventional pesticides. The number of calories do not show a difference in the results between non organic and organic nuts.

16. Works Cited Campana, Mathew, et al. "Measuring Calories in Food." SEP Lessons. Science Education Partnership U. of California, n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2010.. Coppens, Kenneth D. "How to Make a Homemade Calorimeter." EHow. N.p., 1 Apr. 2010. Web. 5 Dec. 2010.. Massengale, C. "The Heat Is On - The Energy Stored in Food." Biology Junction. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2010.. Olson, Andrew, Ph.D, and Science Buddies. "Burning Calories: How Much Energy Is Stored in Different Types of Food?" Science Buddies. 2007-05-09, 9 May 2007. Web. 5 Dec. 2010.. Smith, Robert “Is Organic Better for You?” WebMD 2011 Tues. 5 Feb. http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/organic-food- better?page=3