Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Okay so i think i am ready to do my science fair experiment. I have a good question, a good hypothesis, and a good procedure. My procedure is very detailed and i believe that if someone else tried to do exactly what i did, i think they could. The next step is to test my hypothesis, right?

My question is,

Can i substitute baking soda for baking powder in a blueberry muffin recipe?

My hypothesis is,

If i substitute baking soda for baking powder, then the muffins will not rise at all from the time that i put them in untill the time that i take them out because baking powder had a CO2 reaction that is what makes the muffin rise.

My procedure is to long to put on here, but here is a brief story. It has 20 steps in it. I know that doesnt seem like a lot, but on one of the steps you repeat steps 1-17 so there is more like 37 steps.
Do you think i am ready to experiment my hypothesis? The next step?

Hi,

Excellent! You are very well organized and have a good project. And, you have plenty of time to get the project completed well before the deadline. You should go ahead and start the experiments.

Also, you might want to plan ahead for the judging at the science fair. This project has the potential to be a winner; you have a detailed experiment, you can explain the science behind the project, and you will be able to control the conditions and calculate the moles of carbon dioxide trapped in each muffin. When this project is entered into the science fair, the judges will be looking for projects that are complete and well done, as well original and that have the potential to solve a problem. I think you should go ahead and do your experiment as it is, but also think about doing another variation that will solve a problem. I'm sure you will think of something else to do.

Let me know about your results, especially if you observe anything unexpected.

Donna Hardy

Hey, I have now completed my science experiment and i have collected my data. Unlike my hypothesis, the baking soda caused the muffins to have a higher average in hieght than the baking powder so my hypothesis was completly wrong but the muffin were quite tasty. Any suggestions on what i do next?

Hi Cailee,

Congratulations on completing your experiment! You should write up your results, compiling all of the data into graphs. A bar graph might be a good way to present these results.

In your conclusion, you will state that your hypothesis was not correct. And you need to explain why it was not. I'm sure there is a logical explanation. Do you have any ideas? What quantity of baking power and baking soda did you use for the muffins? Were your results reproducible?

Please post your results so I can see what happened. This is very interesting.

Donna Hardy