Chemistry of Food and Cooking "How Much Flour is Best in Pancakes"
Reflection
- How does the ingredient you experimented with affect the food’s overall characteristics? Be specific and discuss the chemical structure of the ingredient and the chemical structures of the aspects of the food the chosen ingredient interacted with as part of your answer!
The ingredient that I experimented with caused multiple flavor, texture, color and visual changes. This ingredient I experimented with was flour in pancakes and how different amounts of flour change a pancake. The most obvious of these changes was the visual change. The pancake that contained the most flour was about an inch tall. The pancake that had the amount of flour that the recipe called for was the perfect thickness; it was about a half an inch tall. The pancake that contained the least amount of flour was less than a quarter inch in thickness. I measured the thickness of the pancakes using a ruler. The color of the pancake was another very obvious change. The pancake containing the most flour was burnt and black this was due to me trying to cook the pancake all the way through so it did not have a raw inside. The pancake that had the amount of flour that the recipe recommended was a perfect golden brown color with a few burnt spots on some pancakes due to how long I cooked the pancakes for. The pancake with the least amount of flour burnt very easily even if it only cooked for a few seconds, making most of these pancakes a dark brown or black color.
The two characteristics that changed the most but were less visually obvious were the flavor and texture. The texture of the pancake that had the most flour was liquidy because the inside of the pancakes were uncooked due to the thickness of the pancake. The thickest pancake also had a funny taste to it. The best way I can describe the taste is if you ate a spoon of flour mixed with water the flavor would be about the same as the flavor of the thickest pancake. The pancake that had the recommended amount of flour had a perfect fluffy texture. The flavor of this pancake tasted the way I think it should so in my opinion this pancake was all around perfect. The pancake with the least amount of flour had a flavor that was salty according to most of the taste test participants. This pancake also had a texture that was kind of crunchy almost like an undercooked chip. The overall best pancake in all categories was the one with the recommended amount of flour. - In what way(s) are cooking and doing science similar and in what way(s) are they different? How are a cook and a food scientist similar or different?
Cooking and doing science have many similarities and differences. When cooking and doing science you must measure precise amounts of things so the end result turns out the way you want it to. For example my project of making pancakes was a combination of cooking and science because if the right amount of flour was not added then pancakes turned very different than expected. A difference between cooking and science is when cooking you usually get to eat whatever you made. When doing science you usually don't eat what you prepare since it usually contains some sort of chemical. Both cooking and science require research and tests before a recipe or experiment turns out the way it is supposed to. In other words cooking and science are a trial and error process. Another similarity is that cooking is in a sense a subcategory of science. What I mean by this is that the structure of an atom or molecule used in cooking can determine the flavor of a food and generally how a food turns out.
A cook and a food scientist are both working with food items. They both must measure things to make what they want. A difference is often a food scientist is working with chemicals in food and a cook is just using the things the food scientist has created to cook with. The food scientist is not working at a restaurant like a cook is. The food scientist is wrong in a lab not a kitchen. A food scientist helps a cook perfect things that they have cooked so the cooks food turns out the way the cook wants it to. I think a food scientist and cook both do a lot of cooking and science but a food scientist does more science than a cook does
SARS-CoV-2 Chemistry Project: Role-Play Discussing If
Schools Should Reopen in Person After Winter Break
Reflection
Pick one of the four Essential Questions below and answer it. At the end of your answer, describe what beliefs (if any) you held at the beginning of the semester in relation to that Essential Question and how your understanding related to the Essential Question grew as a result of the work you did in this course.
How did your knowledge of science grow through your work on the project? You can reference:
This semester in Chemistry we focused on the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 because of its obvious relevance to our lives. In doing this we studied some ideas that would traditionally be studied in biology class, some that would be found in a physics class and some that would be found in a chemistry class. We also read far more news articles and spent more time looking at scientific papers than is typical for a high school chemistry class. The trade-off is that we did not cover as much chemistry content as you would typically see in a chemistry class and we did not do it in an order that is most advantageous to learning chemistry. Please evaluate this pedagogical decision and state whether you believe the benefits of this method outweigh the downsides or not.
The benefits of learning what we did this year outweigh the downside. The benefits outweigh the down sides because I learned about what is going on in the world from a scientific approach. Although not everything that we learned was relevant in chemistry it still helped me understand the chemistry concepts that I probably would not have understood otherwise. For me it was important to learn about the virus since its a current issue and pertains to my everyday life. On top all of this I think learning actual chemistry would be very difficult from home and not as engaging as what we studied in chemistry this year. With school being online chemistry experiments would be difficult to do at home. The class would not have been as engaging science experiments would be hard to see on a call. Overall the benefits of learning what we did this year outweigh the downsides.
- What is the biochemical nature of SARS-CoV-2?
- What is the relevant biochemistry for preventing or treating a COVID-19 infection from SARS-CoV-2?
- How can the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 be understood chemically?
- How can the lens of chemistry be used to inform societal practice and policy designed to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2?
How did your knowledge of science grow through your work on the project? You can reference:
- Specific scientific concepts or facts that you learned
- Skills you developed related to doing science or engineering
- Understandings you developed about the way science is done or the relationship between science and other aspects of society
This semester in Chemistry we focused on the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 because of its obvious relevance to our lives. In doing this we studied some ideas that would traditionally be studied in biology class, some that would be found in a physics class and some that would be found in a chemistry class. We also read far more news articles and spent more time looking at scientific papers than is typical for a high school chemistry class. The trade-off is that we did not cover as much chemistry content as you would typically see in a chemistry class and we did not do it in an order that is most advantageous to learning chemistry. Please evaluate this pedagogical decision and state whether you believe the benefits of this method outweigh the downsides or not.
The benefits of learning what we did this year outweigh the downside. The benefits outweigh the down sides because I learned about what is going on in the world from a scientific approach. Although not everything that we learned was relevant in chemistry it still helped me understand the chemistry concepts that I probably would not have understood otherwise. For me it was important to learn about the virus since its a current issue and pertains to my everyday life. On top all of this I think learning actual chemistry would be very difficult from home and not as engaging as what we studied in chemistry this year. With school being online chemistry experiments would be difficult to do at home. The class would not have been as engaging science experiments would be hard to see on a call. Overall the benefits of learning what we did this year outweigh the downsides.
Role Play as Colorado Department of Health Personnel Paper
Should Schools Return to In Person School After The Upcoming Holiday Break: Colorado Department of Health Perspective
The Colorado department of health would like to suggest and strongly urge that high school or middle school students do not continue in person classes after the upcoming winter break. These recommendations differ for elementary students in elementary school. We give this recommendation because a high school student has a higher likelihood of transmitting covid 19 to an adult in their life than middle or elementary school students do. A high school student is also more likely to have an asyntommadic case of covid 19. Leading to them being in close contact with others. This leads to a spread of covid 19 that is more quick than that of someone who is aware that they have covid 19 and is socially distancing. Blended learning is also not recommended because there are still close contact situations with others. Although there would be cohorts there is no proof that these cohorts work since there is still mixing with other students outside of their cohort. For these students being fully online can affect their mental and physical well being in a negative way. We ask schools to have a counselor or person for the students to talk to about how they are doing available. We also recommended that students be required to complete the required amount of hours of exercise for their grade or age. Over all schools and or the county health department should make these decisions on their own but also take into consideration are recommendations.
While we recommend doing online schooling we know some schools will go against our suggestions and decide to hold in-person classes. Due to the social and emotional side effects that students being away from their friends and people their age can cause a young adult. In the case that schools have in person classes we have some recommendations. For starters there needs to be an increase in hand sanitization and hand wash stations. We recommend this because soap as well as hand sanitizer are proven to help kill germs and limit the spread of viruses including covid-19. Masks should be required at all times while indoors. Masks should be worn properly; over the nose and mouth and slightly under the chin. Buffs are not considered an effective form of mask so buffs should not be permitted as masks. Masks help to slow the spread of covid 19 and protect others if you are a carrier of the virus. There will need to be pods. This way if a student contracts covid 19 the whole school will not have been in close contact and therefore will not have to be shut down. Pods keep exposers limited and allow schools to continue to operate in person even if a person in one pod contracts covid 19. Surfaces need to be cleaned and disinfected after each school day. Although it has yet to be proven that these cleaning methods work to slow the spread of covid 19. We recommended these things because in a small scale study we determined that many cleaning liquids can kill covid 19. Schools should invest in UV sanitation lights. As these lights are used in hospitals to help prevent drug resistant superbugs and sanitize surfaces. A health screening checklist and temperature check should be required each day. If a student presents with any of the symptoms on the checklist they should stay home and get tested for covid 19 as soon as possible. In the case that someone in a school contracts covid 19 the local health department should conduct close contact tracing and quarantine any people who were in close contact with the individual who tested positive. If there is an extreme rise in covid across Colorado we may have to shut schools down across the Colorado.
Bibliography
“COVID-19 Resources for Schools.” CDE, 2020, www.cde.state.co.us/safeschools.
H“Reopening Schools: Health Guidance by COVID-19 Phase.” CDH, 2020, www.cdh.state.co.us/planning20-21/healthguidancebycovidphase.
Kalter, Lindsay. “Coronavirus Puts UV in the Disinfectant Spotlight.” WebMD, WebMD, 19 May 2020,webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3ANAzIlEBRIlcJ%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.webmd.com%2Flung%2Fnews%2F20200519%2Fcoronavirus-puts-uv-in-the-disinfectant-spotlight.
The Colorado department of health would like to suggest and strongly urge that high school or middle school students do not continue in person classes after the upcoming winter break. These recommendations differ for elementary students in elementary school. We give this recommendation because a high school student has a higher likelihood of transmitting covid 19 to an adult in their life than middle or elementary school students do. A high school student is also more likely to have an asyntommadic case of covid 19. Leading to them being in close contact with others. This leads to a spread of covid 19 that is more quick than that of someone who is aware that they have covid 19 and is socially distancing. Blended learning is also not recommended because there are still close contact situations with others. Although there would be cohorts there is no proof that these cohorts work since there is still mixing with other students outside of their cohort. For these students being fully online can affect their mental and physical well being in a negative way. We ask schools to have a counselor or person for the students to talk to about how they are doing available. We also recommended that students be required to complete the required amount of hours of exercise for their grade or age. Over all schools and or the county health department should make these decisions on their own but also take into consideration are recommendations.
While we recommend doing online schooling we know some schools will go against our suggestions and decide to hold in-person classes. Due to the social and emotional side effects that students being away from their friends and people their age can cause a young adult. In the case that schools have in person classes we have some recommendations. For starters there needs to be an increase in hand sanitization and hand wash stations. We recommend this because soap as well as hand sanitizer are proven to help kill germs and limit the spread of viruses including covid-19. Masks should be required at all times while indoors. Masks should be worn properly; over the nose and mouth and slightly under the chin. Buffs are not considered an effective form of mask so buffs should not be permitted as masks. Masks help to slow the spread of covid 19 and protect others if you are a carrier of the virus. There will need to be pods. This way if a student contracts covid 19 the whole school will not have been in close contact and therefore will not have to be shut down. Pods keep exposers limited and allow schools to continue to operate in person even if a person in one pod contracts covid 19. Surfaces need to be cleaned and disinfected after each school day. Although it has yet to be proven that these cleaning methods work to slow the spread of covid 19. We recommended these things because in a small scale study we determined that many cleaning liquids can kill covid 19. Schools should invest in UV sanitation lights. As these lights are used in hospitals to help prevent drug resistant superbugs and sanitize surfaces. A health screening checklist and temperature check should be required each day. If a student presents with any of the symptoms on the checklist they should stay home and get tested for covid 19 as soon as possible. In the case that someone in a school contracts covid 19 the local health department should conduct close contact tracing and quarantine any people who were in close contact with the individual who tested positive. If there is an extreme rise in covid across Colorado we may have to shut schools down across the Colorado.
Bibliography
“COVID-19 Resources for Schools.” CDE, 2020, www.cde.state.co.us/safeschools.
H“Reopening Schools: Health Guidance by COVID-19 Phase.” CDH, 2020, www.cdh.state.co.us/planning20-21/healthguidancebycovidphase.
Kalter, Lindsay. “Coronavirus Puts UV in the Disinfectant Spotlight.” WebMD, WebMD, 19 May 2020,webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3ANAzIlEBRIlcJ%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.webmd.com%2Flung%2Fnews%2F20200519%2Fcoronavirus-puts-uv-in-the-disinfectant-spotlight.