The Effects of Different Types of Grains on Energy Released
The objective of this experiment was find out if a type of grain, such as whole grain or refined, would released more energy because of the differences in the type of nutrients and vitamins in them. In this experiment three types of chips, Multi-Grain Tostitos, Baked Tostitos, and Regular Tostitos were used to calculate the amount of energy released. In order to do this the researchers had to take in account the mass of the chip, mass of the water, change in temperature and the specific heat of the water. The change in temperature was a key point in to calculating the amount of energy released. The chips were lit on fire and immediately placed under a calorimeter that had a tin can with 100 mL of water placed in the top opening of the calorimeter. The heat released from the burning chip would cause a change in temperature of the water. Then the equation 
, where Mw is mass of the water, C is specific heat of water, ∆T is change in temperature, and Mc is the mass of the chip, was used in order the calculate the amount of energy released in joules for each chip. An Anova test was used to calculate whether or not there was a significant amount of energy released from the different types of chips. From the Anova test the researchers concluded that there is not a significant difference between the type of grain and the amount of energy released.
Research Done By:
Brittany Auld
Warren Woods Tower High School
Corrine Devlin
Lakeview High School
Warren Consolidated Schools