Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I need to know how many moles of stomach acid are required to digest an average first-world meal.

Hello scw24vt,

The idea of a science project is to do experiments to determine the answer to your question. I don't know the numerical answer to your question. Even if I did, just reporting my number wouldn't make a research project.

Do you have a more specific question about your experiment?

If you set up an experiment to measure the answer and have problems with the design and/or functioning of the experiment, maybe we can provide some useful comments.

Good luck, WW

As WW points out, you need to come up with a design for your project. For eg., I assume that you are going to do this in-vitro, meaning outside the stomach (in a petri dish). You'd need to research into the pH and the type of the stomach acid, get a sample of the same type of the acid to conduct the experiment. You can keep the amount of the acid as an independent variable and find the amount that gives you the desired result. That amount can be used to calculate the number of moles.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck,
Raji Pingali