Biology Lab Report

Doctor Emad

Mohammad Mari
Purpose:

The purpose of this experiment is to investigate different foods energy

content, by observing how much and how long 4 different types of nuts
will take to make a liquid (water) temperature rise, until the water
reaches boiling point or the nut burns out (meaning there is no more
energy left).

Hypothesis:

I predict that the nut that contains more fat will make the water reach
the highest temperature. Since fat is the main reserve that is burnt for
energy, thus the nut with the most fat content will burn for longer,
consequently increasing the temperature of the water. The wall-nut has
more fats in it than other nuts, it consists of 18.4 grams of fat per ounce,
which is higher than the chestnut (0.4 grams per ounce), almonds (14
grams per ounce ) and the cashew (12 grams per ounce). I predict that
the walnut will have more energy content and will make the water reach
the highest water temperature, and the chestnut will have the least
energy content since it has the least amount fat and will result in the
lowest water temperature.

Variables:

Type of variable What it varied How is it verified?

Independent variable 1. The 4 different By keeping the
types of nuts. amount of nuts
constant, through
each experiment.
Dependent variable 1. Energy content By subtracting the
of food (change final temperature by
in temperature). the initial temperature

Controlled variable 1. Amount of 1. By keeping the

water. amount of water
2. Temperature of constant (20ml),
water. for each
3. Distance experiment
between (nut).
burning nut and 2. By measuring
test tube. the waters
temperature
before placing
 the burnt nut
underneath it.
3. By keeping the
distance
between the
burning nut and
the test tube
constant for
each
experiment
(nut).

Equipment/ materials:

1. Different types of nuts:

*Almond * Walnut

*Cashew * chestnut

2. Test tube: 3. Test tube holder: 4. Bunsen burner:

5. Mercury Thermometer: 6. Stand: 7. Clamp:

 8. Measuring cylinder: 9. Mounted needle:

6.
7.
8.
9.

Procedure/Method:

1. Set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram below.

2. Put on lab coats, tie your hair (if necessary) and take off any
accessories.
3. Take/ choose a nut from the four nuts presented to you
(almond, walnut, hazelnut, cashew) and mount it on the needle.
4. Put 20 ml of water into the measuring cylinder.
5. Then place it in a regular test tube.
6. Mount the test-tube onto the stand with a clamp.
7. Place the mercury thermometer into the test-tube and take
down its initial temperature.
8. Place the needle that holds one of the nuts on top of the
Bunsen burner.
9. When the nut catches fire take it out of the Bunsen burner.
10. Place the needle (that holds the fired nut) under the test-tube.
11. Continue placing the needle in that position until the nut has
burned out or the water has reached boiling point.
11. Take down the results on a piece of paper.
12. Repeat for the other three nuts.

Diagram:
 Data:

The following table includes the water volume, the temperatures and
time of each nut.

Type of nut Volume of water Initial Final Time -seconds Change

Ml temperature temperature of In
of water – water –Celsius Temperature-
Celsius Celsius

Almond 20 20 100 74 80
Cashew 20 31 95 145 66
Walnut 20 32 100 113 68
Chestnut 20 35 100 137 65

Change in temperture
90
80
80
70
60 68 66
65
50
40 Change in temperture

30
20
10
0
Chesnutt Walnut Cashew Almond

Discussion of results:

As apprerant in the table and graph above the almond has the highest energy
content (change in temperature) followed by the walnut. The cashew has the
second lowest amount of energy content (change in temperature) and the
chestnut has the lowest amount.

Conclusion:
To conclude my hypothesis was incorrect. The walnut (the nut that
consists of the highest amount of fat) did not result in the highest
temperature rather the almond did. The reason behind this is because
almonds contain more protein and carbohydrates and other factors that
generate energy more than any of the other nuts. Energy does not
completely depend on the amount of fat yet on other factors such as but
limited to protein, Fiber, omega 3- fatty acid, vitamins, carbohydrates
and calcium. Almonds out of all the nuts have high rates of the factors
that produce energy. The almonds has a high rate of calcium, protein,
fat and relatively high amount of calories and fiber which are the
majority of the factors that generate energy. Therefore without a doubt it
produced the highest results ( highest energy content). As for the
second part of my hypothesis, which states that the chestnut will reach
the lowest temperature. That was correct, the chestnut has an
extremely low amount of fat and protein and the only factor in which it is
dominant in is vitamins and that is gone away when cooked. As
mention before in order to have a high energy content you need to have
a high amount of factors that make produce energy which chestnut
lacks of as the majority of them a relatively or extremely low thus no
balance is created between them and the average total of those factors
remains low, hence it does not produce a great energy content thus
leading it reaching the lowest temperature.

Evaluation:

All in all I would say that the experiment went well, but there are a few
possible improvements that could have been done to inure the
experiments results and make it more efficient. If I was provided with
the chance to do this experiment again I would for starters increase the
amount of controlled variables as the more controlled variables you
have the more your results will be accurate for example we could have
controlled the amount of time we will place the nut in the Bunsen
burner. Moreover I put repeat this experiment 3 times in order for it to
be a fair test and to make sure that the results are precise and are
correct. Other than that I believe that my group and I have worked well
together and have helped each other in order to be done on time
without having to rush anything leading to false results. Luckily we had
no errors and everything went according to plan, In conclusion I believe
that the experiment went fairly okay though more trials could have been
taken to achieve a greater accuracy, nonetheless we were able to
conduct a good experiment without any errors and worked together as a
team.
Risk assessment:

Risk Level of risk How to prevent it

Burning finger by 2 By carefully removing
accidently touching the not from the
a burnt nut. mounted needle
Burning an 2 By following the safety
accessory procedure and
removing all
accessories before the
experiment.

* To prevent any of the following one should follow the safety

procedures that are given to you before the experiment by your teacher,
which states that you should wear lab coats, put on goggles (if
necessary) , tie your hair (if necessary) and take off any accessories.