Nobody downloaded yet

IB Biology Food Energy Content Experiment - Essay Example

Comments (0) Cite this document
Humans require major organic nutrients as materials for the formation and reparation of body tissues. In addition to this, nutrients are necessary for energy production (Kirschmann 11). The diverse processes of the human body all involve a transfer of energy…
Download full paperFile format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.5% of users find it useful
IB Biology Food Energy Content Experiment
Read TextPreview

Extract of sample "IB Biology Food Energy Content Experiment"

Download file to see previous pages 263). The nutritive value of food is derived from the ability of a food to supply energy to the organism (McDonald et al. 263).
To calculate the quantity of chemical energy present in food, it is necessary to convert it into heat energy and calculate the amount of heat it produces (McDonald et al. 264). This conversion is conducted by oxidizing the food by burning it; the amount of heat that is created from the complete oxidation of the unit weight of food is identified as the gross energy (McDonald et al. 264).
The central determinant of the gross energy content of a food is its degree of oxidation as conveyed in the ratio of carbon plus hydrogen to oxygen (McDonald et al. 264). Carbohydrates contain approximately the same gross energy content of 17.5 MJ/kg DM while triglyceride fats contain lower amounts of oxygen and have a higher energy content of approximately 39 MJ/kg DM (McDonald et al. 264). Proteins have a higher level of gross energy values than carbohydrates due to the fact that they contain the oxidizeable element nitrogen (McDonald et al. 264).
The present study was conducted in order to determine the energy content of four different samples of food that includes a cracker, a Mars chocolate bar, bread, and a 'Flips' chip. The researcher hypothesized that the mass of food will have no effect upon its energy content. In addition to this, it is hypothesized that the food with the highest energy content is the 'Flips' chip followed by the bread, cracker, and Mars chocolate sample.
The researcher determined the energy content of the food by calculating the amount of Joules per mass in grams of each sample.
The researcher chose four different food samples to test for energy content. The quantities of food included a 2-gram sample of cracker, a 5.6-gram sample of Mars chocolate, a 10.4-gram sample of bread, and a 0.8-gram sample of a 'Flips' chip.
There were three variables in this experiment. The first variable was the variety of food type, the second variable was the temperature of the water, and the third variable was the difference of mass of each sample of food. All other factors of the experiment were be consistent including the distance of the bunson burner from the test tube, the volume of water in each test, and the environment in which the experiment was conducted.
The researcher used a beaker to measure 25cm^3 of water into each test tube. Five tests of each food were conducted in order to determine a mean value of each sample. The mass of each food sample was determined as well as the temperature of the water in each test tube before heating. Each food sample was attached to a pin and burned with a bunson burner. When the food sample burned, it was placed under the test tube until the flame burned out. During this time, the water in the test tube was stirred in order to evenly distribute heat transfer from the flame. After the flame burned out, the Celsius temperature of the water in the test tube was measured. The mass in grams of the food sample was then measured. The following formula was used in order to calculate the amount of energy each food sample contained in Joules:
25g * temperature rise of water (C) * 4.2 (J/g/C)/ mass of food (g)= Energy (J/g)
This process was repeated for each food sample
Mass (g)
Volume of water (cm3)
Temperature after heating (oC)
Temperature before heating (oC)
Rise in water Temperature (oC)
Energy content of food (J/g)
Mars ...Download file to see next pagesRead More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
(“IB Biology Food Energy Content Experiment Essay”, n.d.)
IB Biology Food Energy Content Experiment Essay. Retrieved from
(IB Biology Food Energy Content Experiment Essay)
IB Biology Food Energy Content Experiment Essay.
“IB Biology Food Energy Content Experiment Essay”, n.d.
  • Cited: 0 times
Comments (0)
Click to create a comment or rate a document

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF IB Biology Food Energy Content Experiment

Altering the Caloric/Fat Content of Food

...Altering the Caloric/Fat Content of Food Thermochemistry refers to the thorough study of the energy and also the study of heat utilized by both the chemical and the physical reactions resulting into the transformation of nature. The caloric content of food is thus altered through the use of heat in a series of reactions. The reactions that occur can either release amount of heat or can absorb it in form of energy (Kotz, Treichel & Townsend 214). Furthermore, this event can cause the matter to change in form from one state by either melting to boiling. Thus thermochemistry focuses on the effects of energy on a specific...
5 Pages(1250 words)Term Paper

Energy Efficient Food System

...where plants only convert less than 2% of solar energy into stored energy which is consumed by animals which are then consumed by humans and is again stored as glycogen instead of being given out. After thorough review of past experiments done by experts, the author believes that there is still hope in improving the 10.1 ratio. From studying researches done, it is clear that if the Americans stop using corn kernels for starch-based ethanol, they will be able to produce up to 15 gallons of corn-based feed-stocks which can be used as feed for both livestock and humans. Other ways of doing this are through; Use of cellulose sources for energy instead of...
3 Pages(750 words)Essay

Assignment IB

...? Assignment IB Questions How can companies manage the risks associated with international management recruitment and selection? In a global competitive environment, the firms are plunging into the international markets and establishing their businesses in foreign locations in order to expand their business as well as to maximize their profit portfolio. A firm faces tremendous challenges in the field of human resource management whether it is in the domestic or international locations. But greater complexity of managing international operations arises with the multinational companies to ensure a high quality standard of human resource management over a domestic business set-up. International management recruitment and...
9 Pages(2250 words)Essay

Biology of food

...?Yiting Liu Oct 26 Biology of food Speaking of tough-and-stringy beef, If a cow (or a person) eats more calories than they use, what happens to the "excess?" If a person eats more calories than they use, the excess calories are stored in the body as fat. The unique high fructose corn syrup sauce contains a high amount of fructose (sugar) which is excess calories needed in the body. Digestion, absorption, and metabolism of fructose favor the production of fat in the liver. Fructose does not stimulate insulin secretion nor does it promote leptin production. Insulin and leptin regulate food intake and body weight, thus consumption of high fructose corn syrup sauce contributes to increased...
5 Pages(1250 words)Essay

Biology of food

...?Yiting Liu Nov 21 The Biology of food The information for a protein stored inside a cell, and, which is passed on to the cell’s offspring, is the basic information essential in its functioning. The basic information is stored in DNA codes (genes). The genes are coupled together on chromosomes. Chromosomes are located in the nucleus of the cell. In each cell, DNA molecules are packed into threadlike formation. Each chromosome consists of DNA packaged around histones. Histones are structures which aid in support of chromosome structure. To use this information, cells must be able to get the information out of storage. Genes are required to direct the production of functional molecules; also known as...
5 Pages(1250 words)Essay

IB Biology Substrate Specificity of Digestive Enzymes Planning Investigation

...1. Aim: Investigation on substrate specifi and control variable of an enzyme using digestive enzyme Amylase 2. Introduction: Enzymes are a biological catalyst which helps in increase the rate of reaction and thus accelerate the conversion of reactant to product in given reaction. Increase in the rate of reaction in mainly due to decrease in the activation energy by formation of enzyme-substrate complex which is energetically favorable compared to the substrate alone. Most of the enzymes are proteins with some exceptions of RNA enzymes known as ribozymes. Substrate specificity of an enzyme is one of the primary requirements for effective catalysis since at a given time, there will be thousands of different molecules in living cells... . There...
3 Pages(750 words)Essay

The ZOPA model will soon dominate personal banking in the UK

8 Pages(2000 words)Essay

Energy in food lab practical

...the spikes and ensures that all oil is burnt. An alternative experiment that could be carried out to give more accuracy, while discovering the energy content, is the oxidation of sugar with the same experiment. In which case, oxidizing sugar in food ensures that no real energy is released or lost to the air because water surrounds the burning sugar. Experiment also ensures that no heat is lost through heating in the test tube. This happens because heat used on the test tube only functions in heating up the waster even further. Considering that the food is lighted in the jar, heat lost during the...
4 Pages(1000 words)Coursework

Analyze Research and Assessments in Psychopathology

5 Pages(1250 words)Coursework

Content Writing of Coursework

...coursework Graphics coursework Drama coursework GCSE history coursework A2 biology coursework GCSE statistics coursework Coursework essays English language coursework Macbeth coursework Child development coursework Food coursework Computing coursework AS chemistry coursework Great expectation coursework (it’s about Dickens’ book) GCSE French coursework Database coursework Frankenstein coursework GCSE media coursework GCSE art coursework A2 physics coursework (Company name) understands the need of the student thriving in today’s world of globalisation, to be able to live up to ever changing standards and newly evolving knowledge areas. This explains why the writing style in all these course works as well...
49 Pages(12250 words)Assignment
sponsored ads

Let us find you another Essay on topic IB Biology Food Energy Content Experiment for FREE!

Contact Us