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Burn A Nut Prelab-1
Burn A Nut Prelab-1
BACKGROUND: Calories that are counted in our everyday diet are based upon the same units of heat that
measure the potential energy stored within chemical bonds. As substances react, chemical bonds are broken
and reformed. During this process, energy is released. The amount of released energy is measured in calories
and is dependent upon the original energy content of the reactant bonds. Foods that are high in calories have
chemical bonds that when rearranged give off large amounts of energy. When a high-energy bond is broken, a
large amount of energy is released. If the body can't use all of this energy, it stores the excess within the
chemical bonds of fat.
There are two types of calories: scientist calories and nutritionist calories. When scientists speak of
calories they are talking about the amount of heat it takes to raise the temperature of water. One calorie to a
scientist is the amount of heat energy it takes to raise the temperature of 1 gram (or 1 milliliter) of water up 1
ºC. A thousand calories is called a kilocalorie (kcal) and is the amount of heat energy needed to raise a 1,000
grams (or 1 liter) of water up 1 ºC.
When nutritionists speak of calories or when you look up the number of calories on a food label it is actually
telling you the number of kilocalories that the food contains. For this reason, when speaking of calories in
food we will use an uppercase “C”. So one Calorie is equal to 1 kilocalorie which is equal to 1000 calories
(lowercase "c").
CAUTION: If you are allergic to peanuts inform your teacher immediately BEFORE
doing this activity. If any of the peanuts you are working with are allergic to you, then
also inform the teacher immediately.
5. A food label reads “80 Calories”. How many “scientist calories” are in the food?
NOTE: Physical scientists define one calorie as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one
gram of water by one Celsius degree.
MATERIALS:
Large test tube
Test tube holder
Ring stand
Peanut
Graduated cylinder
Clay or paper clip
Needle
Matches
Candle
Thermometer
Laboratory balance
Water (maintained at room temperature)
Safety goggles
PROCEDURE:
c) Mass of peanut that was burned (mass of original peanut – mass of remaining peanut) ____________ g
j) Heat produced by 1 gram of peanut (heat produced by peanut ÷ mass of peanut that was burned)
_________________ cal/g
k) Kilocalories of heat from 1 gram of peanut (Heat produced by 1 g of peanut ÷ 1000) ___________ kcal/g
m) Actual Food Calories per gram of peanut (find in your packet) ____________ Cal/g
n) % Error = Actual Food Calories per gram of peanut – Calculated Food Calories per gram of peanut x 100
Actual Food Calories per gram of peanut
Post Lab Question: The experimental design was flawed. All of the energy released by the burning peanut
was not absorbed by the water. Where did it go? Can you design a better set-up in which less heat energy is
lost? Think about it. Then create a set of blueprints for a laboratory tool that would more efficiently transfer
heat from a burning material to a quantity of water. Explain your design and reasoning for your design
(including a labeled diagram) below and on the back side of this page.