The Science of Cooking

Task

Cooking is an art, but it is also a science. The way in which ingredients interact with each other to create something new is chemistry in action. In this challenge, you will develop a driving question and then investigate the answer to your question through an experiment.

1. Driving Question: Develop a question that you can design a cooking investigation around. Remember that good driving questions should be testable, not too narrow and not too broad. Run your driving question by the teacher before conducting your experiment.

Examples: Can baking soda substitute for baking powder in a recipe?

What is the ideal temperature that microwave popcorn should be stored at to obtain the best popping results?

2. Hypothesis: What do you think the answer to your question will be? Try stating your hypothesis is stated in an if...then format. This is the format you will be using in high school and focuses on a cause and effect relationship. Also remember that a hypothesis should indicate what you will be testing and what type of data you will collect.

3. Develop a Procedure: Write out a step-by-step procedure that details what you will do to test your hypothesis. Make sure to include a materials list and consider controls and variables. Also consider what type of data you will collect. You may even want to create a data table at this point. Run your procedure by the teacher before conducting your experiment! (Otherwise you may end up having to redo your experiment!)

4. Conduct Your Experiment: Once you have your procedure okayed by the teacher, conduct your experiment. You will need to supply your own materials for the experiment and may need to conduct it at home, depending on what you have designed.

5. Collect Data: While you are conducting your experiment, make sure to record the information you get. Set up a proper data table so that you can compare the data for the control and variable in your experiment.

6. Graph It! Take your data and make an appropriate graph (pie chart, bar graph, line graph). Ask the teacher if you need help determining which type of graph would best for displaying your particular data. Remember you can graph with the spreadsheet in Google Drive or with an online tool called Create A Graph.

7. Conclusions: When you have finished conducting your experiment, you will need to determine what the answer is to your driving question. Your conclusion should include the following:

- An answer to the driving question based on the data you collected.

- A statement as to whether your hypothesis was correct or not.

- A possible scientific explanation of your results.

- Possible sources of error that could have influenced the results of your experiment.

8. Write an Introduction: This section will be at the beginning of your report. Your introduction should include background information that is connected to the learning target(s) you are studying. Include the following information based on the target(s) you are trying to meet:

- Matter 5: Describe the differences between solids, liquids, and gases and how the movement of particles is different in each phase. Identify any phase changes that happened when you were cooking and what happened to the molecules during those phase changes.

- Matter 6: What is the difference between elements, compounds, and mixtures? Classify the ingredients you used in your cooking experiment as elements, compounds, or mixtures. What is the difference between a heterogeneous and homogeneous mixture? For each mixture, identify whether the mixture was a heterogeneous or homogeneous mixture. What is a solution and what is the difference between a solute and a solvent? For each solution, identify the solute and solvent.

- Matter 7: What is the difference between a physical and chemical property? List the physical and chemical properties of the main ingredients you used in your experiment.

- Matter 8: What is the difference between a physical and chemical change? Identify the physical and chemical changes that took place in your experiment. What indicators tell you that a chemical change occurred?

9. Report Out! You will need to create a report for your experiment. You can do this in a few different ways. Regardless of which method you choose, make sure you include all of the components above (1-8).

Possible ways to report out (choose one!):

- Written Report

- Slide Show

- Poster

- Video

NOTE: If you would like your experiment to meet more than one learning target, you can add the additional information you need for that learning target at a later time, after you have learned the information in the target. For instance, if you want the experiment to meet Matter 5, 6, and 7, complete the experiment and pass it in with the Matter 5 information. Then later, you can add to it with the information that would meet the targets for Matter 6 and 7.

Scoring Rubric

This Challenge can potentially meet the requirements for several different learning targets, including Matter 5, 6, 7, and 8 depending on what you choose to investigate. You do not need to meet all the targets, you can choose to focus on just one or two. Make sure, however, that you follow the task instructions carefully and refer to the rubric when putting your project together. There will be terms you will need to define within your project in addition to designing and conducting your experiment.