Food Chemistry EEI Ideas!

[Limobean]

I need to do an EEI (Extended experimental investigation) on food chemistry involving either proteins, fats or carbohydrates. Does anyone have any ideas on something I can test?

 

Eg. Is margarine or butter more unsatturated?

 

Does potato chips contain more energy than corn chips?

 

 

What happens to the pH of milk during different stages of lactation?

 

Does cholesterol-free foods contain cholesterol?

 

We did several small experiments to inspire this, but I got nothing.

 

We did extraction of fats, crystalisation, casein glue, energy in foods, etc

 

I can't think of anything. Just say random stuff, I might get an idea from it! THANKS!

[hypervalent_iodine]

What kind of equipment do you have access to? Off the top of my head, I can think of a couple of simple pracs they run in some first year undergrad labs that might be good for you, but they require certain machines and chemicals you might not be able to use.

 

Determining the amount of sucrose (which is a carbohydrate) in soft drink or cereal, etc. is a nice and fairly easy one. You do however need a UV-Vis spec and 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid, which your school might not like you using.

 

What's wrong with using one of the examples you mentioned in your OP?

 

My other suggestion would be to try and flick through some articles in the Journal of Chemical Eduction. That might give you some good direction.You might not be able to download everything on there, but if you find something that you like, you can always use it to look into the idea elsewhere. You may also find that your high school is willing to download a copy of the paper on your behalf.

[Limobean]

Thanks, but this is quite a large EEI and those research questions are too small for this.

 

I am just lost and don't know what to do.

[hypervalent_iodine]

So use your imagination to extend the question into something EEI-worthy. When I had to do EEI's (I went to school in QLD), the experimental basis for the assignment didn't have to be extremely complicated. The most complicated thing I performed was an iodine-starch clock reaction, which is trivially easy to set up. The good marks come from how you use your data and what other bits of data you use to draw conclusions from.

 

The trick with EEI's is to come up with a big-picture question that is applicable to the real world and come up with some simple tests to investigate it. Perhaps investigating how much sucrose in soft drink is too trivial and a bit pointless, but if you couple the premise of the experiment (i.e. the ability to quantitatively determine the presence of reducing sugars) with something else it suddenly becomes a great diagnostic tool for a larger project. For instance, you might look at how cooking alters the amount of reducing sugars or even the total amount of carbohydrates in a certain food type (eg. vegetables).

[Limobean]

Thank you for your tips. Your comments have really made me think on a different perspective. I am extremely inexperienced and therefore have difficulties in how to expand or couple the premise of the experiment.

 

If I were to do the example of experimenting on whether margarine or butter is more unsaturated, how would that be practical in a real life situation? Because unsaturated fats are generally more healthier than saturated fats? Would I then find out which one is more healthier based on that? Or is that too simple? Plus the process involves titrating bromine water which is corrosive and quite dangerous to use.

 

 

Are reducing sugars unhealthy in general?

 

 

From your example about how cooking alters the amount of reducing sugars, would I suggest a research question like "Which method of cooking reduces the greatest amount of reducing sugar in certain foods?"

 

 

Thanks, I'm really quite lost.

 

Also I researched how cooking alters the amount of carbohydrates in vegetables and cooked vegetables have more energy than if it were raw. But that is because water is lost and the vegetable shrinks and therefore the porportion of size is smaller, therefore giving a higher energy.

 

So I'm not sure whether I should do an experiment based on this. I am also not allowed any human test subjects and it must be conducted at the school lab.

 

Also another research experiment I could do is "Do cooked starchy foods contain a higher GI than the same starchy foods when raw? "

 

How would that be related to a practical application? Does it mean that if cooked starchy foods contain a higher GI that it is more unhealthy to the body and therefore foods should be consumed raw? I have no idea. PLEASE HELP!

 

But how would I test that in a lab without human test subjects?

 

Thank you for your tips. Your comments have really made me think on a different perspective. I am extremely inexperienced and therefore have difficulties in how to expand or couple the premise of the experiment.

 

If I were to do the example of experimenting on whether margarine or butter is more unsaturated, how would that be practical in a real life situation? Because unsaturated fats are generally more healthier than saturated fats? Would I then find out which one is more healthier based on that? Or is that too simple? Plus the process involves titrating bromine water which is corrosive and quite dangerous to use.

 

 

Are reducing sugars unhealthy in general?

 

 

From your example about how cooking alters the amount of reducing sugars, would I suggest a research question like "Which method of cooking reduces the greatest amount of reducing sugar in certain foods?"

 

 

Thanks, I'm really quite lost.

 

Also I researched how cooking alters the amount of carbohydrates in vegetables and cooked vegetables have more energy than if it were raw. But that is because water is lost and the vegetable shrinks and therefore the porportion of size is smaller, therefore giving a higher energy.

 

So I'm not sure whether I should do an experiment based on this. I am also not allowed any human test subjects and it must be conducted at the school lab.

 

Also another research experiment I could do is "Do cooked starchy foods contain a higher GI than the same starchy foods when raw? "

 

How would that be related to a practical application? Does it mean that if cooked starchy foods contain a higher GI that it is more unhealthy to the body and therefore foods should be consumed raw? I have no idea. PLEASE HELP!

 

But how would I test that in a lab without human test subjects?

 

So use your imagination to extend the question into something EEI-worthy. When I had to do EEI's (I went to school in QLD), the experimental basis for the assignment didn't have to be extremely complicated. The most complicated thing I performed was an iodine-starch clock reaction, which is trivially easy to set up. The good marks come from how you use your data and what other bits of data you use to draw conclusions from.

 

The trick with EEI's is to come up with a big-picture question that is applicable to the real world and come up with some simple tests to investigate it. Perhaps investigating how much sucrose in soft drink is too trivial and a bit pointless, but if you couple the premise of the experiment (i.e. the ability to quantitatively determine the presence of reducing sugars) with something else it suddenly becomes a great diagnostic tool for a larger project. For instance, you might look at how cooking alters the amount of reducing sugars or even the total amount of carbohydrates in a certain food type (eg. vegetables).