Vernier Software & Technology

# Energy Content of Foods

## Introduction

Energy content is an important property of food. The energy your body needs for running, talking, and thinking comes from the food you eat. Energy content is the amount of heat produced by the burning of 1 gram of a substance, and is measured in joules per gram (J/g).

You can determine energy content by burning a portion of food and capturing the heat released to a known mass of water in a calorimeter. If you measure the initial and final temperatures, the energy released can be calculated using the equation

$H = \vartriangle t \cdot m \cdot C_p$

where H = heat energy absorbed (in J), Δt = change in temperature (in °C), m = mass (in g), and Cp = specific heat capacity (4.18 J/g°C for water). Dividing the resulting energy value by grams of food burned gives the energy content (in J/g).

## Objectives

In this experiment, you will

• Measure temperature.
• Analyze data.
• Use a balance.
• Determine energy content.
• Compare the energy content of different foods.

## Sensors and Equipment

This experiment features the following Vernier sensors and equipment.

### Option 2

You may also need an interface and software for data collection. What do I need for data collection?

## Physical Science with Vernier

See other experiments from the lab book.

 1 Temperature Probe Response Time 2 Boiling Temperature of Water 3 Freezing and Melting of Water 4 Evaporation of Alcohols 5 Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions 6 Neutralization Reactions 7 Mixing Warm and Cold Water 8 Heat of Fusion 9 Energy Content of Fuels 10 Energy Content of Foods 11 Absorption of Radiant Energy 12 An Insulated Cola Bottle 13 A Good Sock 14 Insolation Angle 15 Solar Homes and Heat Sinks 16 Conducting Solutions 17 Conductivity of Saltwater: The Effect of Concentration 18 Acid Strengths 19 Frictional Forces 20 First-Class Levers 21 Pulleys 22 An Inclined Plane 23 Reflectivity of Light 24 Polarizing Light 25 How Bright is the Light? 26 Electromagnets: Winding Things Up 27 Magnetic Field Explorations 28 Household Acids and Bases 29 Acid Rain 30 Gas Pressure and Volume 31 Gas Temperature and Pressure 32 Fun with Pressure 33 Lemon "Juice" 34 Simple Circuits 35 Graphing Your Motion 36 Speeding Up 37 It's Race Day 38 Crash Lesson 39 Newton's Second Law 40 Falling Objects

### Experiment 10 from Physical Science with Vernier Lab Book

#### Included in the Lab Book

Vernier lab books include word-processing files of the student instructions, essential teacher information, suggested answers, sample data and graphs, and more.