It's About Time: Active Chemistry


Home	About Us	Technology \| Lab Equipment	Curricula	Professional Development	Contact Us	Order

Active Chemistry Home

Chapter Concepts:

Chapter 7: Cookin’ Chem
Chapter Challenge This chapter challenges you to create a segment of a television cooking show that explains in detail the chemistry behind the cooking involved. This can be videotaped, live, or a voice-over of a popular television program. In your final presentation, you must discuss the chemical principles in each part of the food preparation that you select.
Activity Summaries	Chemistry Principles
Activity 1: What is Heat? By studying the heat from a light bulb, students learn the three ways in which heat can be transferred. A distinction is made between heat and temperature. Heat transfer is also discussed by examining a partially cooked potato. Students find examples in their homes that demonstrate convection, conduction, and radiation.	Heat vs. temperature Convection, Conduction Radiation, Heat energy Kelvin scale, Absolute zero Calorie
Activity 2: Safety and Types of Fires By observing a unlit and lit candle, students learn the necessary features that support combustion.This knowledge is used to discuss the control of combustion reactions.	Combustion reactions Balancing equations Hydrocarbons, Catalysts Law of Conservation of Mass
Activity 3: Cooking Fuels Using an insulated container containing water, students measure the heat content of several fuels.This leads to a discussion of how energy is stored in fuels and how it is released.	Thermochemistry Exothermic, Endothermic Activation energy Bond energy, Joules Mole concept Hydroxyl group, Alcohols Specific heat capacity
Activity 4: Boiling Water By taking data and graphing a heating curve, students learn about the heat of evaporation, and phase changes. The students also learn the effect of pressure on the boiling point.	Heating curves Phase changes Heat of vaporization Boiling point Energy of phase changes
Activity 5: Freezing Water By taking data and graphing a cooling curve, students learn about the heat of fusion, and phase changes. The students also practice their skills of graphing.	Cooling curves Phase changes Heat of fusion Melting point Energy of phase changes
Activity 6: How Do You Choose Cookware? The students examine the properties of several substances (Cu, Fe, Al, plastics, glass, ceramics) and learn about specific heat and the principles of heat transfer.	Specific heat Calorimetry Conduction Alloys
Activity 7: How Do Proteins in Foods React? Students denature raw egg protein in two ways—with heat by boiling in water and by pH change with acid. The structure of proteins is studied: primary, secondary, and tertiary.	Organic molecules Denaturation Functional groups Proteins, Amino acids Primary, secondary, tertiary structure
Activity 8: How Does the Home Canning Process Work? Students observe the effects of pressure on a heated can which is suddenly cooled. The principles are investigated more quantitatively in a simulated canning experiment using a rubber balloon as the “canned food.”	Boyle’s Law Kinetic theory Atmospheric pressure Inverse proportion