no creative title this time. my brain is not working creatively. =_="
okay, so another dilemma (not really). to get through all my trials, i did three trials at one time rather than one by one like my method says. i was wondering (again) whether i need to actually put this in the method (the doing three trials at one time thing) or do i just leave my method as it is (& put it into paragraphs). hmm...i guess i'll just ask ms zhang today, assuming that we have a ms zhang lesson & not some sub.
ANOTHER dilemma (a real one this time). i swear that people don't like milk enough to publish books about it. specifically foaming milk. i'll try looking into books about coffee and stuff, but it'll probably just come up with the different types of coffee (flavours & beans) rather than making it (& thus talking about foaming milk). i guess i should also look into foam and why the fat in milk changes the foam that is produced when the milk is shaken. is this relevant? i have no idea. but i need BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS. if only i could publish my own & just use that instead. it would be a really terrible book though, but back on topic now. libby used some books from google books, so i'll guess i'll see if they have any relevant books. hurstville library also has a pretty big non fiction books section, so i'll see if they have any books. the thing is though, i have no idea what keywords i should be using to look for these books. how frustrating. T_T
once again, good luck to everyone & i hope you all finish on time. don't forget about the rotation test. sighs. everything's on the 17th june, even my sister's birthday. i hate year 10 (i don't but i do, you know?). T_T
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
18: finished!
no, i have not finished my report, although i do wish that i miraculously had... i have finished doing my experiment and O-M-G it was horrible. instead of taking 30 minutes for every three trials (or for each test liquid per day), i ended up taking 40 minutes to one hour for each test liquid and it was a PAIN in the bum. it's over now though, just gotta do the report. what joy. T_T
anyways, the good news is that my research was somewhat accurate with whole milk producing a foam that was relatively okay in terms of volume (do not ask me what that means. you may not know, but i know exactly what i mean. ^^) and definitely did not last long.
i need to get my measurements for the test liquids into tables and i've taken heaps and heaps of photos, so i need to sift through them all. there's over 1000 photos, so that will take time. i took heaps of photos of the trials, but i totally forgot to take photos of my equipment & test liquids. my mum threw out the cartons before i remembered to take pictures, but oh well.
i also wanted to mention that the reduced cream did not work out so i've ditched that, as well as the cream because i had a mini epiphany and realised that my aim was to investigate which types of MILK produce a good foam with high volume and longevity. and cream is technically not milk. it's the fat part of the milk they remove from milk to make skim milk. so yeah.... i did do six trials of cream though, and the first three trials, i swear, almost turned to whipped cream.
i'll try get pictures up as soon as possible, although i'm more concerned about my report at the moment. however, we need to put the raw data up (i think) so i'll try get it on soon. i won't post all 1000+ photos on for obvious reasons (such as i can't be bothered & other people probably wouldn't be bothered looking through them), so i'll select a few to post.
i wanted to ask, do we need a risk assessment? it's not a sub heading, so i wasn't sure if we needed one...
i know results are going to be dodge because there is so much human error involved (much more than i expected), but thank gosh i did fifteen trials for each test liquid. some of the results were REALLY sus. oh well, let's just hope it turns out fine.
i think that's all i really have to say for now...
GOOD LUCK to everyone. & to those people who i know that have only just started doing their experiment, i wish you EXTRA GOOD LUCK. updates on my report & results soon. :)
anyways, the good news is that my research was somewhat accurate with whole milk producing a foam that was relatively okay in terms of volume (do not ask me what that means. you may not know, but i know exactly what i mean. ^^) and definitely did not last long.
i need to get my measurements for the test liquids into tables and i've taken heaps and heaps of photos, so i need to sift through them all. there's over 1000 photos, so that will take time. i took heaps of photos of the trials, but i totally forgot to take photos of my equipment & test liquids. my mum threw out the cartons before i remembered to take pictures, but oh well.
i also wanted to mention that the reduced cream did not work out so i've ditched that, as well as the cream because i had a mini epiphany and realised that my aim was to investigate which types of MILK produce a good foam with high volume and longevity. and cream is technically not milk. it's the fat part of the milk they remove from milk to make skim milk. so yeah.... i did do six trials of cream though, and the first three trials, i swear, almost turned to whipped cream.
i'll try get pictures up as soon as possible, although i'm more concerned about my report at the moment. however, we need to put the raw data up (i think) so i'll try get it on soon. i won't post all 1000+ photos on for obvious reasons (such as i can't be bothered & other people probably wouldn't be bothered looking through them), so i'll select a few to post.
i wanted to ask, do we need a risk assessment? it's not a sub heading, so i wasn't sure if we needed one...
i know results are going to be dodge because there is so much human error involved (much more than i expected), but thank gosh i did fifteen trials for each test liquid. some of the results were REALLY sus. oh well, let's just hope it turns out fine.
i think that's all i really have to say for now...
GOOD LUCK to everyone. & to those people who i know that have only just started doing their experiment, i wish you EXTRA GOOD LUCK. updates on my report & results soon. :)
Thursday, June 3, 2010
17: ready, set, GO
just wanted to say that i've (finally) started my experiment. i did a few trials and thought they didn't really out, so i decided to restart it. thank gosh i did, because i've planned everything really well (i think).
i made a few more changes again. i've switched the 30mL of test liquid for each trial back to one tablespoon (or 20mL) because when i first put in 30mL into a test tube, it filled more than half the test tube.
also, i found evaporated milk at woolies and the fat content of it was around 8-9 %. it wasn't 20% like stated in the last post because it was actually 20% milk solids and if you've been paying attention, milk solids are actually the fat and protein added together. the "skim" evaporated milk had a fat content of 1.5% i think, but that's the same as low fat milk so i didn't but it. HOWEVER, i found some cans of reduced cream and they had of a fat content of 20-something, so i'll be seeing if they could be used instead.
every 3 trials takes about 30 minutes to do and i have to take pictures every minute. it's so annoying and my back is dying since i'm sitting on this tiny stool. it'll take me probably a bit more than 3.5 hours to do three trials for each test liquid.
i need to continue with my experiment now, so i'll post my results and pictures VERY SOON i hope. good luck to everyone! don't leave it to the last minute. :)
i made a few more changes again. i've switched the 30mL of test liquid for each trial back to one tablespoon (or 20mL) because when i first put in 30mL into a test tube, it filled more than half the test tube.
also, i found evaporated milk at woolies and the fat content of it was around 8-9 %. it wasn't 20% like stated in the last post because it was actually 20% milk solids and if you've been paying attention, milk solids are actually the fat and protein added together. the "skim" evaporated milk had a fat content of 1.5% i think, but that's the same as low fat milk so i didn't but it. HOWEVER, i found some cans of reduced cream and they had of a fat content of 20-something, so i'll be seeing if they could be used instead.
every 3 trials takes about 30 minutes to do and i have to take pictures every minute. it's so annoying and my back is dying since i'm sitting on this tiny stool. it'll take me probably a bit more than 3.5 hours to do three trials for each test liquid.
i need to continue with my experiment now, so i'll post my results and pictures VERY SOON i hope. good luck to everyone! don't leave it to the last minute. :)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
16: alterations
just wanted to confirm my test liquids and make some alterations to the method.
the test liquids will be (listed in order of fat content):
-skim milk (<0.15%)
-low fat milk (<1.5%)
-reduced fat milk (approx. 2.0%)
-whole milk (approx. 3.8%)
-skim evaporated milk (20%, maybe)
-evaporated milk (28%)
-cream (48%*)
*- cream contains 48% milk fat at its natural state (which i have no idea what that is), but it is basically the fat component of milk.
i'll be changing the amount milk used in each trial from one tablespoon to one and a half tablespoons or 30mL. also, instead of shaking each trial for 40 seconds, i've changed it so each trial will be shaken for 30 seconds.
the test liquids will be (listed in order of fat content):
-skim milk (<0.15%)
-low fat milk (<1.5%)
-reduced fat milk (approx. 2.0%)
-whole milk (approx. 3.8%)
-skim evaporated milk (20%, maybe)
-evaporated milk (28%)
-cream (48%*)
*- cream contains 48% milk fat at its natural state (which i have no idea what that is), but it is basically the fat component of milk.
i'll be changing the amount milk used in each trial from one tablespoon to one and a half tablespoons or 30mL. also, instead of shaking each trial for 40 seconds, i've changed it so each trial will be shaken for 30 seconds.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
15: milk milk milk two
haven't been posting much...too much homework/ tests and procrastinating. TT"
i've been researching a bit more on foaming milk and etc. milk is commonly foamed or frothed as an addition to certain coffees and beverages.
the process used to froth milk for use in coffee is different to my method for this experiment. to froth milk, a "steam wand" forces steam into the milk and forms tiny bubbles. the milk is heated during the process and the heat can affect how well milk foams.
when you steam milk (which is what frothing milk with steam is called), the proteins in the milk is the most important element in creating the tiny bubbles of air.
*adsorb: to gather (a gas, liquid or dissolved substance) on a surface in a condensed layer [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/adsorb]
the stability of milk foam can vary depending on the milk's fat content. at around 5% (including whole milk), foam stability is at its lowest, meaning that as the fat content increases or decreases from 5% the foam becomes more stable.
foam volume is similar to foam stability as it is at its lowest when milk contains around 5% fat (including whole milk). skim milk supposedly has the greatest potential to produce a high volume and stable foam since it contains hardly any fat. as the fat content of milk increases from around 5%, the milk's ability to produce a foam with high volume and stability also increases.
because these observations are based on steaming milk, i am not sure whether they still apply to just shaking small quantities of milk vigorously for a short period of time. in theory, whole milk is the worst choice for producing a foam with a large volume.
it is said that low fat milk takes on the most air at lower temperatures, but this also applies to whole milk and cream (although "to a lesser extent"). however, all milk, no matter of its fat content, produces the greater volume of foam at cooler temperatures (when compared to the foam production at higher temperatures). milk at room temperature also does not foam well (and it'll probably have gone off by then). therefore, cold milk (preferably straight out of the fridge) presumably gives the best foam.
[http://coffeegeek.com/guides/frothingguide/milk] <--really awesome source [http://coffeeinfo.wordpress.com/foaming-milk-without-steam/]
the coffeegeek website above also details two different types of protein found in milk that contribute to the formation of the bubbles in the foam of milk. i will probably discuss this later on, mainly for the research and to publish more posts. as most of the research from above has come mainly from the one website, i'll need to look for more sources to verify that the information i have above is accurate. :)
i also wanted to say that i've almost finished making my totally awesome test tube rack, using scrap pieces of cardboard, my chocolate crunchie box and the lid of a shoebox. just need to finish off the base.
i hope to start my experiment VERY VERY soon, since the report is due in 3 weeks (how depressing). the experiment will hopefully take no longer than a week because i'll probably need 2 weeks to analyse my results and perfect my science report.
i've been researching a bit more on foaming milk and etc. milk is commonly foamed or frothed as an addition to certain coffees and beverages.
the process used to froth milk for use in coffee is different to my method for this experiment. to froth milk, a "steam wand" forces steam into the milk and forms tiny bubbles. the milk is heated during the process and the heat can affect how well milk foams.
when you steam milk (which is what frothing milk with steam is called), the proteins in the milk is the most important element in creating the tiny bubbles of air.
When you are steaming milk you are incorporating air into the milk. Proteins are
important because they are adsorbed* by the thin film surrounding an air bubble
giving stability to the entrapped air.
*adsorb: to gather (a gas, liquid or dissolved substance) on a surface in a condensed layer [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/adsorb]
the stability of milk foam can vary depending on the milk's fat content. at around 5% (including whole milk), foam stability is at its lowest, meaning that as the fat content increases or decreases from 5% the foam becomes more stable.
foam volume is similar to foam stability as it is at its lowest when milk contains around 5% fat (including whole milk). skim milk supposedly has the greatest potential to produce a high volume and stable foam since it contains hardly any fat. as the fat content of milk increases from around 5%, the milk's ability to produce a foam with high volume and stability also increases.
because these observations are based on steaming milk, i am not sure whether they still apply to just shaking small quantities of milk vigorously for a short period of time. in theory, whole milk is the worst choice for producing a foam with a large volume.
it is said that low fat milk takes on the most air at lower temperatures, but this also applies to whole milk and cream (although "to a lesser extent"). however, all milk, no matter of its fat content, produces the greater volume of foam at cooler temperatures (when compared to the foam production at higher temperatures). milk at room temperature also does not foam well (and it'll probably have gone off by then). therefore, cold milk (preferably straight out of the fridge) presumably gives the best foam.
[http://coffeegeek.com/guides/frothingguide/milk] <--really awesome source [http://coffeeinfo.wordpress.com/foaming-milk-without-steam/]
the coffeegeek website above also details two different types of protein found in milk that contribute to the formation of the bubbles in the foam of milk. i will probably discuss this later on, mainly for the research and to publish more posts. as most of the research from above has come mainly from the one website, i'll need to look for more sources to verify that the information i have above is accurate. :)
i also wanted to say that i've almost finished making my totally awesome test tube rack, using scrap pieces of cardboard, my chocolate crunchie box and the lid of a shoebox. just need to finish off the base.
i hope to start my experiment VERY VERY soon, since the report is due in 3 weeks (how depressing). the experiment will hopefully take no longer than a week because i'll probably need 2 weeks to analyse my results and perfect my science report.
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