Popcorn Lab Report

Biology 101 Popcorn experiment Lab partners Robert Barham Michelle hall Diva Mancada Kelley Pritt 1 Introduction Popcorn, or popping corn, is a type of corn which explodes from a kernel and puffs up when heated. It is a popular snack food, especially in movie theaters. Popcorn can be salted or sweetened. Air popped popcorn is naturally high in fiber, low in calories and fat, contains no sodium and is sugar free. This can make it an attractive snack for people with caloric or dietary restrictions. Large amounts of fat, sugar and sodium are often added to prepared popcorn tat can convert it into a high calorie snack. hypothesis Orvill Redenbacher has larger popped kernels and less un-popped kernels than Act II. 3 Material Method Two brand name popcorn packages are being tested. Act II and Orvill Redenbacher. Both are tested in the same microwave. The same time is being used (2. 5 Minutes). Both packages were weighed before and after the popping procedure, the results were recorded. Tot al cooking time was measured and recorded for both popcorn packages. 10 randomly selected popped kernels from each package were measured with a ruler and results were recorded. Average size for both were calculated and recorded. All un-popped kernels ere collected from each package and weighed in a dish. The weight of the dish was subtracted from the total weight to find the weight of un-popped kernels from each brand. The percentage was calculated and compared. 4 Results Weight before cooking Orvill Redenbacher – 104. 77g Act II – 97. 9g *Act II package is smaller tan Orvill Redenbacher by 6. 84g. Table 1 *Microwave timer was set for 2. 5 minutes ? *Table 1 shows that Orvill Redenbacher has a faster cooking time than Act II. Weight after cooking Act II 87. 6g O. R. 93. 85g *Act II package is smaller than Orvill Redenbacher by 6. 79g Table 2 ? (Calculations) 3. 14g/87. 06 x 100 = 3. 6% and 3. 42g/93. 85g x 100 = 3. 6% *The Results showed that the percentage of un-poppe d kernels in both packages was the same. Table 3 (Popped kernels in mm) ? Table 3 showed that the average size of popped kernels of Orvill Redenbacher was larger than Act II. 5 Discussion The results showed that Orvill Redenbacher brand had faster cooking time than Act II and weighed more overall. The experiment also showed that both brands had the same percentage of un-popped kernels. Since Orville Redenbacher weighed more than Act II we were able to determine that Orville Redenbacher had more un-popped kernels by weight The experiment also showed that the size of the popped kernels was larger in the Orville Redenbacher brand. 6 Conclusion The hypothesis was partially supported by the data. Orville Redenbacer brand has larger popped kernels than Act II. The percentage of un-popped kernels in both brands was the same but, the weight of the un-popped kernels in the Orville Redenbacher brand was more due to the higher un-popped weight of the package.