Measuring Food Energy

by Nicole Ayers, 7th & 8th Grade Math and Science

We are studying the flow of energy through ecosystems. To simulate how energy changes forms within an organism and to quantify the amount of energy in various foods, students each built a simple calorimeter. With much emphasis on proper lab safety, they burned an assortment of snack foods and measured the resulting temperature increase for 100 mL of water. Qualitative observations showed that cashews burned the longest, and quantitative analysis is still in progress. After proper cleanup and handwashing, students of course got to enjoy a sample of the remaining snacks.