Hi kerl80,
Thank you for your question regarding this project! Here is some insight I can provide about the fat extraction efficiency:
The extraction efficiency will be calculated using two values: (1) the amount of fat extracted and (2) the actual amount of fat in the sample (given on nutrition label). These can be calculated using the following equations:
(1) Amount of fat extracted = [(Mass before extraction - Mass after extraction) / Mass of crushed sample] x 100
(2) Amount of fat in the sample = [grams of fat per serving/grams of sample] x 100
Once you have these measurements, the extraction efficiency can be calculated as follows: Extraction efficiency = [extracted fat percentage/actual fat percentage] x 100.
This should be conducted separately for each trial for each food (a table can be constructed to keep the data organized). Then, for each food, the three trials should be averaged. To interpret these results, compare the extraction efficiencies of the three foods. Lower extraction efficiencies may indicate poorer extraction quality (i.e. maybe the acetone was not completely evaporated), while efficiencies closer to 100% mean that the fat extraction was more successful.
I hope I have answered your questions regarding this project. Please feel free to reply to this thread if you have additional questions. Good luck on your project!
--Brandi
