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Hands-on Activity

Counting Calories

Fun Forces
Summary
In this activity, students use simple materials to create a calorimeter. They burn several common food items to heat water and measure the change in temperature of the water to decide which items contain the most energy. If possible, perform this activity in a room that is well ventilated, on a day when the weather allows for windows to be opened.
Overview
Topic: Chemistry
Real World Science Topics:
  • An exploration of energy transfer through heat
  • An exploration of the relative amount of energy contained in food
Objective
Students will gain an understanding of the relative amounts of energy contained in samples of food and how energy is transferred from one object to another.

Activity Difficulty Rating: 4 Each hands-on science activity has been ranked based on difficulty of set up and how difficult they are to perform. The rating scale is from 1 to 5, with 1 being the easiest and 5 being the most complicated.