Chemistry

Chemistry of Food and Cooking "Holy Crepe!"

When cooking we can notice a lot of change in food, and this is because cooking can bring about multiple chemical changes in food. Taste and texture are two things that change while food is cooked. When cooking we know that chemical changes have occurred because new substances are made, the changes that happen are irreversible, and there is an energy change. Heat energy is what makes many changes in food during the cooking process. Some examples of chemical changes happening include changes with proteins and carbohydrates. Both change when heat energy is present. Protein molecules change shape when they absorb heat, which changes appearance and texture.
Two examples of this change with proteins are eggs and meat. Egg whites change from clear to white and they solidify. Meat firms and goes from red to brown. Potatoes are a good example of carbohydrates changing. They are a complex carbohydrate called starch. Raw potato is hard and it's taste is not pleasant, but it's easier to digest and becomes softer when it's cooked. This happens because cell walls break which makes the softer texture, and the starch grains in the cell walls spread out. Another good example of a chemical change is bread being toasted. In order to have this change there needs to be heat energy. When the heat is applied, sugars in the bread break down to form carbon, browning the bread. This change is also irreversible.

In order to design an experiment to measure qualities and desirability of a recipe you should first find a recipe you are interested in altering and testing with. Then, pick an independent variable and begin researching how your independent variable could affect your final product, or dependent variable. After having done these things you can plan how you will measure your qualities and desirability. For your qualities you should design quantitative tests, such as measuring moisture, how much your product rises when cooked, or whatever you may find your dependent variable to be. Two ways you could measure moisture are by using a soil moisture measurer, which is used by putting probes into a substance and recording the moisture content percentage. Another possible way is measuring your substance before and after dehydrating it to determine how much moisture evaporated. Other quantitative tests could include measuring the height of your substance before and after cooking to see how much it rises, or measuring the density by dividing a determined mass by a determined volume.
To measure qualitatively, or the recipe's desirability, a method used by our class was creating taste tests. To do this, start by making a survey or form for people to fill out telling you information that goes along with your dependent variable such as asking to rate your different modifications by fluffiness, moistness, density, sweetness, and so on. Asking which of your samples is preferred can also be helpful so that you know which recipe is favored. Then, after running the experiment and making your food you can bring it into a group and have people taste test each modification of the recipe. Once you have a responses on your survey from a group of people you can compare answers to see if you received expected results. If your qualitative data matches your quantitative data then you know that your experiment was successful in finding what your independent variable did to alter your final product and with the right research you will also know why it worked in such a way. With the answers from the question asking which altercation was most preferred you will know which recipe is more widely desired.

Holy Crepe! Recipe Card

Water Quality in the Animas River Watershed

What new information did you learn through doing this project?

While working on our water quality project I was able to learn about the effects of turbidity on the aquatic life in our rivers. This was the topic I learned most about because my group focused our project and research on turbidity. Specifically I learned how increasing turbidity can affect trout. The sediment in the river that gets stirred up when the turbidity is high can enter the gills of the trout and make it harder for them to breath. The higher turbidity also makes the decreases visibility in the water, which stops them from being able to catch insects because they heavily rely on their sight. Since the turbidity affects the trout's health in such a way, they will leave that area of the river if the quality of the water gets too bad, letting us know that our quality of water is low. This makes the trout a good indicator species. In a similar way, some insects make a good indicator species. Different types of insects will thrive in various water qualities. For example, mayflies and caddisflies are very sensitive to water quality, so when they are present in the water you are able to infer that the water quality is good. If we find that there are mosquito larva and black fly larva then we know water quality is poor because that is where they are able to thrive.

What new skills or dispositions did you learn from this project?

In working on this project I learned how to get things done in limited time and stay positive in doing so. While working on this project we had two and a half weeks to decide our project, research our topic and create exhibition ready prototypes. Since there was a short amount of time we focused on planning out our time and while working on our project we had quite a few obstacles and so we began to stress about the project. Knowing that having big stress while working would not help us complete the work, I tried to stay calm and positive throughout the work time to keep a good work atmosphere. We gave each of our group members specific tasks and focused on research the first week and then moved into the creation of the project the second week. Creating a timeline such as this helps to keep a level head, know where you are, and where you need to go next with your work. While this was helpful, we did have some problems arise. We had to work through computer problems which prevented us from having part of our prototype at the exhibition, but by staying calm and thinking through it we came up with the idea to have watercolor pictures of what we would have shown on photoshop. I believe that by having a calm, positive attitude it made a good impact on the end product and the process to getting there. The combination of this and time management allowed us to complete our prototypes and present them at the exhibition.

To what extent is the study of water quality an important topic to investigate in school and in a chemistry class in particular?

Water quality is an important topic to study because it affects our community. It helps us learn about aquatic life, filtration systems and pollutants. We got to learn the different ways it can affect aquatic life and how the aquatic life act as indicator species. We learn what aspects affect aquatic health. The filtration systems lets us understand the process our water goes through and what the water reclamation facility does for us and our community. We learned about different types of pollutants such as point source and non point source and how those can change the quality of our water. This is important for us as students to learn in school because with this information we can gain knowledge on how we are affecting the water quality in our own community, how to test and look for signs of our water quality and how we can make an impact. It is especially important for a chemistry class because it teaches us the ways we can measure different aspects of water quality, such as pH, turbidity, streamflow, dissolved oxygen, and temperature. It also gave us a chance to learn about different metals and their affects on our water. This gives a chance to analyze data and give us a real world application of our knowledge. From all this information and content we have learned we can try to make a change or be knowledgeable about decisions occurring if a situation of bad water quality were to arise in our community.

Artist Statement:

Elevator Pitch
For the water quality educational exhibit at the water reclamation facility, we have chosen to create an interactive virtual reality game. This allows for an experience in the feeding habits of a fish in relation to water quality. In this virtual reality, you will navigate through different turbidity levels, through the eyes of a fish, attempting to find food. This game will inform the audience the issue of water quality, specifically the turbidity of the water and its effects on aquatic life.

We want the audience to leave with
We hope that the audience leaves with a beneficial understanding of the importance on the effects that water quality has on aquatic life, as well as what happens to fish and the quality of the water when the turbidity changes. We would also like to share the different pollution sources that go in the river such as non-point and natural point solutions. While looking at our project we want the audience to feel engaged as well as informed. During and or after the Virtual Reality we want the audience to be curious and ask questions such as how they can help with the water quality in Durango as well as the turbidity of the water, wonder about Durango's indicator species, and how they, the audience, may be contributing to the water pollution.

The Story
The issue that our exhibit responds to is the turbidity of the river, depending on the clarity of the water determines how well a fish can see. Therefore, if the fish can’t see they can't really eat because their sight is impaired due to the decreased clarity of the water. If fish can't eat they starve and later on die, or the fish leave that segment of water because they are not getting enough food. All students are talking about water quality and how different nonpoint and natural point source solutions can somehow alter our way of life. Our exhibit is to tell the public about how the non-point and natural point source solutions affect the turbidity of water and the effect that turbidity has on aquatic life, as well as how humans also have an effect on the cloudiness of the water. Also, we are addressing that the river’s aquatic life act as indicator species, which tell us how good or bad the quality of the water is. Water quality affects so many different aspects of life within our environment as well as aquatic life. Fish are a main food source for animals, such as bears and mountain lions, and if there is a lack of fish from water that is extremely cloudy, it could possibly affect Durango's economy, pointedly towards the Fishing companies within Durango.

Target Audience
Our target audience is Durango and Silverton as well as anyone who is interested in the quality of different rivers. Our exhibit is made for all ages, but need a slight knowledge of the rivers within Durango. Our exhibit is meant to be informational, engaging and fun. Its a visual and a hands-on display which engages the audience's sense of sight. The display is a game which would most likely draw in the younger parts of the audience.

Interaction Length & Style of Engagement
This exhibit would draw people in with the name and the images that will be displayed as well as the unique activity that is to be played. This is a prototype so the exhibit will have projected images of what the Virtual Reality would most likely look like, as well as the prototype of the game that is to be played which will be a clear box with slides painted that represent different levels of turbidity within the water, and it will have bugs in the river. The point of the game is to try and see the bugs when the different levels of turbidity change. The role of the audience is to see how a fish sees within the different levels of turbidity by pointing out the bugs within the river. By pointing out whether or not the audience can see the bugs painted on the slides it engages their sense of sight, for they are actively seeking the bug out.

Defense
Our exhibit should be considered in the final plans for the Waste Reclamation Facility because it is interactive, hands-on, and will engage all sorts of people. It would be a fun way for people to play a game while also learning important information about the effect that humans, nonpoint, and natural point sources have on the turbidity of the water, and how the quality of the water affects our aquatic life.