1. “COLA CAN CALORIMETRY” OBJECTIVE: MEASURE THE AMOUNT OF CHEMICAL ENERGY PRESENT IN A CHEESE PUFF.

2. FOOD ENERGY IS MEASURED IN CALORIES (C), ALSO KNOWN AS LARGE CALORIES, EACH OF WHICH EQUALS ONE KILO CALORIE (KCAL). EACH ONE OF THOSE THOUSAND CALORIES IS KNOWN AS A SMALL CALORIE. YOU HAVE PROBABLY SEEN CALORIE OR KCAL DESIGNATIONS ON THE PACKAGES OF FOODS YOU BUY.

3. ONE WAY THAT FOOD SCIENTISTS DETERMINE THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY PRESENT IN A PARTICULAR FOOD IS BY BURNING IT AND MEASURING THE AMOUNT OF HEAT (THERMAL) ENERGY THAT IS PRODUCED. WHEN BURNED, THE CHEMICAL ENERGY PRESENT IN FOOD IS TRANSFERRED INTO THERMAL ENERGY THAT CAN BE MEASURED BY THE CHANGE IN TEMPERATURE THAT THIS HEAT CAUSES IN A KNOWN AMOUNT OF WATER.

4. BY BURNING A CHEESE PUFF, YOU CAN APPROXIMATE ITS FOOD ENERGY BY MEASURING THE CHEMICAL ENERGY RELEASED AS CHEMICAL BONDS WITHIN THE CHEESE PUFF MOLECULES BREAK APART. CHEESE PUFFS BURN WELL BECAUSE THE OIL IN THEM IS FAIRLY FLAMMABLE.

5. IF A BURNING CHEESE PUFF IS PLACED UNDER A KNOWN AMOUNT OF WATER, AND THE WATER TEMPERATURE IS MEASURED BEFORE AND AFTER THE BURNING, THE CHANGE IN TEMPERATURE (T F – T I ) OF THE WATER CAN BE DETERMINED.