Calorimetry Lab

The objective of the lab was to find the calorie content of Cheetos and marshmallows. To do this we needed to use a calorimeter. The hypothesis was that Cheetos would have more calories because they have more fat in them. The Cheetos and marshmallows were lit and put in an oatmeal can calorimeter. The temputure change in the water leads to finding the calories in food. Cheetos had about 3x the amount of calories at 1.66 calories per gram compared to marshmallows 0.57 calories per gram. With this information we know that fat gives of the more energy compared to sugar.

Calories are the measure of how much energy is given off by food. A calorimeter is the device used to measure calories in food. An oatmeal can calorimeter was used for the experiment. The way it works is really simple; a glass of water is places in an oatmeal can. The oatmeal can as a hole cut out in the side to place the food that is on fire in. The before and after measurements of the water temputure are taken. The higher the water temputre rose the more calories.

The experiment was very simple. First the calorimeter was set up by …show more content…
Cheetos have lots of fat in them. Fat is known for giving off lots of energy. Marshmellos have lots of sugar witch does not give off lots of energy. The ruslats show that this is true because Cheetos had 3x the amount of calories compared to the marshmallows. This experiment did have some erros mostly cuased my the calorimeter. The numbers could have been a lot more exact if the enegery went strait to the water but energy could be lost because the walls are not insulated or warming up the glass holding the water before warming up the water. Another reason the numbers were not perfect was because the food did not burn all the way. If the food burned all the way the numbers also would have been better for doing calculations. To improve this we would need a professional calorimeter with insulated