14: method

aim:
to investigate which types of milk (based on their fat content) produce a good foam with high volume and longevity.

hypothesis:
more research is needed.

materials:
-safety goggles
-test tubes with rim 25mm X 150mm
-rubber stoppers without holes
-test tube rack
-measuring spoons
-300mL (approx.) of each test liquid (the different milks mentioned in the previous post)
-stopwatch
-metric ruler
-magnifying glass (optional)
-camera (optional)

method: (for one day)
1) Measure out one tablespoon of one of the test liquids.
2) Put on safety goggles.
3) Pour the measured test liquid into a test tube and insert the rubber stopper so it is tight.
4) Hold the test tube vertically and mark the starting level of the liquid (the level of the top of the liquid).
5) Have a stopwatch ready at hand. When you begin to shake the test tube, start the stopwatch immediately.
6) Shake the test tube vigorously for 40 seconds.
7) Stop shaking at the 40 second mark and reset the stopwatch.
8) Hold the test tube vertically and make marks at the surface of the liquid and at the top of the foam.
9)* Measure and tabulate the distance between the starting level and the top of the foam.
10)* Measure and tabulate the distance between the starting level and the surface of the liquid.
11) Place the test tube in a test tube rack. A magnifying glass may be used to observe the size and uniformity of the foam's bubbles. Record observations and take photos if desired.

]12) At each time increment (later explained), repeat steps 9 to 11 until the trial is over (when there is no foam or when 30 minutes has passed).
13) Repeat steps 1 to 12 two times (there will be fifteen trials in total).
14) Repeat steps 1 to 13 for each type of milk.

*- use a table similar to the one shown in the post '08: approved experiment'

NOTE: this experiment will most likely be completed over five separate days and there will be fifteen trials in total for each type of milk. that is why the method only states to repeat the experiment twice for each type of milk as the method is for a single day.

06: i love food

okay, so i’ve found this great website that has a super awesome list of possible food-related experiments and most of them explain how to conduct an experiment to explore the ideas. if anyone wants the link (*cough* pauline *cough*) it’s:
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/recommender_interest_area.php?ia=FoodSci&dl=9

so far the things that have caught my eyes are:
“stop slumping: what makes foams stand up straight”
tests several different liquids by shaking them up to create foam and measuring the distance between certain points.

“candy chromatography: what makes those colours?”
using candy such as m&m’s (yum. :D) or skittles, food colouring and basic chromatography methods to determine what food colours are actually used to achieve the colouring in candy.

“temper, temper, temper! the science of tempering chocolate”
no basic testing is given but research could be done to come up with an experiment.

“from bitter to sweet: how sugar content changes in ripening fruit”
requires a refractometer so this is off the list. D:

“do oranges lose or gain vitamin C after being picked?”
requires a LOT of equipment i do not have, so this is off too. D:

i would love to do the m&m’s experiment but i think it’s a bit too simple. my next choice would probably be the foam one, but i would need to find some test tubes and rubber stoppers. for the chocolate tempering, the website describes some of the things that could be tested:

“In this science fair project, investigate how different temperatures affect the resulting melted chocolate. After tempering, brush some of the chocolate on wax paper. Does the chocolate harden or does it stay soft? Is it shiny or blotchy? Can you peel it off or does it stick to the paper? Try tempering dark chocolate and white chocolate. Is there a difference in the tempering temperature for each one? Once you have figured out the tempering process of your favourite chocolate, use your recipe to cover nuts, strawberries, or your favourite treat.”

i’ll probably end up doing the foam one if i do one of these three but it would be absolute fun to do the tempering experiment. the tempering experiment also has heaps of variables, so...yeah...

akaTODAY

**UPDATE:

i've just re-read the email that was sent to us & i'm quickly going to add some stuff.

okay, so then for the foam experiment, it's basically getting several different liquids, placing them in separate test tubes with a rubber stopper. the starting liquid height is noted. the tubes are then shaken for a set amount of time and the top of the liquid and the top of the foam is noted. the variables:

independent--size of text tube; amount of each liquid; time used to shake the liquid; the type of liquid

dependent--the amount of foam produced; the temperature on the day;

okay, so i've added temperature as a variable because the original experiment seems a little simple so i might test the same thing but with the added factor of temperature.