Food Science

AFTER you've done your research and concluded your experiments, it is time to prepare for the science fair. Ask specific questions about preparing for a science fair, including how to set up your display board, how to prepare a presentation, etc. (Please post questions about selecting a project or conducting your experiment by posting in the appropriate "area of science" forum.)

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yara289
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Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 12:16 pm
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Project Question: what would be the "variable" to the Garbage Away experiment (recycling)
Project Due Date: December 4, 2009
Project Status: I am finished with my experiment and analyzing the data

Food Science

Post by yara289 »

we have decided on "How Much Baking Powder Do Quick Breads Need?" for our project. The teacher said she did not want a "demonstration" project, does this qualify as a scientific project? whats the difference, thanks, yc
SandbaggerOne
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Re: Food Science

Post by SandbaggerOne »

Hi yara289,

The difference between a demonstration and an experiment is that a demonstration simply illustrates some kind of scientific phenomenon, for example, baking soda and vinegar when combined produce a chemical reaction that absorbs heat (or is endothermic) and produces carbon dioxide gas. An experiment takes what we know and makes an informed guess (hypothesis) about how changing the system will affect the outcome.
So, for your project you need a variable (something to change) and a way to measure the outcome. One possible way to go would be to make the hypothesis that amount of baking soda affects how much the bread rises and then test it by making several batches with different amounts of baking soda and measuring how much the bread rises. You could also hypothesize that temperature affects how much (or how quickly) the bread rises for a given amount of baking soda. In that case you would vary the temperature in some way and measure how much it rises and how long it takes to reach maximum rise. These hypotheses are based on knowledge of the underlying chemical reaction that makes quick bread rise. You should research the reaction involved (I gave a hint above) if you want to do this project and come up with a suitable hypothesis, test it, and then interpret the results to learn something about the way the system works. Now if the teacher thinks this is not a challenging or complex enough project then that is another issue but I hope I have given you an idea of how to construct a project that will actually be an experiment.

Cheers,
Colin
yara289
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 12:16 pm
Occupation: parent
Project Question: what would be the "variable" to the Garbage Away experiment (recycling)
Project Due Date: December 4, 2009
Project Status: I am finished with my experiment and analyzing the data

Re: Food Science

Post by yara289 »

Colin, thank-you, you have been most helpful, yc
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