Cooking is Hot, Hot, Hot!
Target Audience: Chemistry 1 Honors - Grades 10-12
Project Description
This two and a half week long project based unit was developed for a chemistry course in order to get students thinking about chemistry in cooking. Students will be studying chemistry concepts relating to reaction energy, including the major topics of exothermic and endothermic reactions, specific heat, and enthalpy. In addition, students will be studying the concepts relating to power and work.
In the first week, students will be introduced to the use of different methods to prepare foods (grills, toaster, ovens, etc.) The project and the driving question “How does knowing thermochemistry help a cook create a good menu?” will be introduced. Students will use calorimetry to determine the specific heats of unknown metals. In this students will use the Law of Conservation of Energy to determine that the heat gained by the water is equal to the heat lost by the metal. They can then relate this to their project and discover the specific heats of the food items in the three course meal. Students will then go on a field trip to Yamato Japanese Steakhouse to begin thinking about the relationship between specific heats of foods and the type of preparation method.
In the second week, students will again use calorimetry to get a better understanding of exothermic and endothermic reactions, as well as enthalpies of reaction. Enthalpies of reaction will then extend to grills and gas stoves, which commonly use propane or methane as their fuel source. An investigative lab looking into the energy given off by a light bulb in water will allow students to see relationship between power and heat (or energy). Students can then extend this information to determining heat transferred from the power output of kitchen appliances and cook time. Students will be given time to create their menus in class and continue with their calculations and paper. During the last two days of the project, students will present their menus to the class.
Final Student Product
Students will create a menu for a three course meal that includes: meatballs, chicken, potatoes, and plantains. They will use a different kitchen appliance to cook each food item, where one must be a grill or gas stove; explain why they chose the appliance to cook the item; and include the recipes that they actually choose. They can work in groups of three, two, or alone to create the menu and write the paper that provides the recipes for the foods, rationale for choosing the method of preparation, and the calculations that provide evidence for the rationale. These calculations will include the use of specific heats of the foods, the enthalpy of combustion of fuel sources, and power outputs of appliances. At the end of the project, students will present their menu and give their rationale for choosing the method of preparation for each food item. This product demonstrates a solution to the problem of knowing which cooking appliance to use for foods through the use of thermochemistry.
Rationale
Cooking is an activity that all students are interested in, have experienced, or will most likely experience. People always desire a delicious, home cooked meal, whether they cooked it or someone else cooked it for them. Good cooking can almost always be traced to the method used to prepare a particular food, so knowing which type of method to use when cooking a meal is important. Not only does this project take chemistry and apply it to a real world experience that most people are interested in (whether it is actually cooking or eating what was cooked), but it also helps adults and students use an effective way to determine what would be the best cooking appliance to cook their food. This project would be beneficial to a person of any age, since cooking is an essential part of everyday life.
This two and a half week long project based unit was developed for a chemistry course in order to get students thinking about chemistry in cooking. Students will be studying chemistry concepts relating to reaction energy, including the major topics of exothermic and endothermic reactions, specific heat, and enthalpy. In addition, students will be studying the concepts relating to power and work.
In the first week, students will be introduced to the use of different methods to prepare foods (grills, toaster, ovens, etc.) The project and the driving question “How does knowing thermochemistry help a cook create a good menu?” will be introduced. Students will use calorimetry to determine the specific heats of unknown metals. In this students will use the Law of Conservation of Energy to determine that the heat gained by the water is equal to the heat lost by the metal. They can then relate this to their project and discover the specific heats of the food items in the three course meal. Students will then go on a field trip to Yamato Japanese Steakhouse to begin thinking about the relationship between specific heats of foods and the type of preparation method.
In the second week, students will again use calorimetry to get a better understanding of exothermic and endothermic reactions, as well as enthalpies of reaction. Enthalpies of reaction will then extend to grills and gas stoves, which commonly use propane or methane as their fuel source. An investigative lab looking into the energy given off by a light bulb in water will allow students to see relationship between power and heat (or energy). Students can then extend this information to determining heat transferred from the power output of kitchen appliances and cook time. Students will be given time to create their menus in class and continue with their calculations and paper. During the last two days of the project, students will present their menus to the class.
Final Student Product
Students will create a menu for a three course meal that includes: meatballs, chicken, potatoes, and plantains. They will use a different kitchen appliance to cook each food item, where one must be a grill or gas stove; explain why they chose the appliance to cook the item; and include the recipes that they actually choose. They can work in groups of three, two, or alone to create the menu and write the paper that provides the recipes for the foods, rationale for choosing the method of preparation, and the calculations that provide evidence for the rationale. These calculations will include the use of specific heats of the foods, the enthalpy of combustion of fuel sources, and power outputs of appliances. At the end of the project, students will present their menu and give their rationale for choosing the method of preparation for each food item. This product demonstrates a solution to the problem of knowing which cooking appliance to use for foods through the use of thermochemistry.
Rationale
Cooking is an activity that all students are interested in, have experienced, or will most likely experience. People always desire a delicious, home cooked meal, whether they cooked it or someone else cooked it for them. Good cooking can almost always be traced to the method used to prepare a particular food, so knowing which type of method to use when cooking a meal is important. Not only does this project take chemistry and apply it to a real world experience that most people are interested in (whether it is actually cooking or eating what was cooked), but it also helps adults and students use an effective way to determine what would be the best cooking appliance to cook their food. This project would be beneficial to a person of any age, since cooking is an essential part of everyday life.