Journal Entries:
#1 (11/16/2017)
Today, we are working on the social studies and English components.Up to this point, we have gained a basic understanding of the project itself. Although, one ma think is enough to start the experiment, we want to connect it with outside sources as well such as society and the real world. This will give us a deeper understanding and connection not only scientifically but personally, which will help us understand the trials and end result as well. As for the teamwork, we have split the components. I agreed to work on the ELA component, which Adam agreed to do the history component. So, I, wll be the one constantly updating these journals.
#2 (11/30/2017)
Today,we are sort of getting all our research and information together before going out and purchasing our materials. We are still not quite sure when or where we are getting our materials. We will probably buy the mason jars at any craft store. And as for the rest of the materials, we can probably find them at our local grocery store. Once we get our materials, we will conduct our experiment in the class. We should be able to fully finish the project in a day. After conducting the experiment, we hope our results connect with our initial hypothesis.
#3 (12/12/2017)
Now, we are finally performing our experiment. We are doing the first trials with the chocolate, almonds and potato chips. We had our safety gear on when using the alcohol. The scent was definitely very strong and entreating. When we poured the acetone, it did not seem to be doing much, but as soon as we started mixing it, the liquid would change color based on the food. For example, with the chocolate, it turned brown and with the avocado it turned green. Lastly, with the potato chips, it turned a yellowish color. Now, we will leave all of the jars out for 24 hours in order for the acetone to evaporate.
#4 (12/13/2017)
Today we have decided that the experiment is costing to much of our resources. We have a bottle of acetone, however with the amount the experiment requires per the extraction of fat is up to 20 ml per a cycle, as each test will require 2 cycles to a total of almost 40 ml, for one trial. With 4 foods, this will cause us to run out of acetone. So we have improvised the experiment as the results will be in percentages. We have decided to cut everything in half. 10 ml of acetone will be used per a cycle when extracting food, and the amount of food used, which is measured in grams, will be cut down to 5 grams. Therefore we will have enough acetone to complete the experiment without running out of resources.
#5 (12/13/2017)
Today, we are going to observe the final results. All of the acetone has fully evaporated. We know this, because after wafting the mason jars, there is no sign of acetone present. Next we will feel the texture of the remains, in other words, the fat extracted from the foods. The chocolate fat felt soft and furry while the fat from the almonds and chips just felt super oily. After looking at the jars, it seems as if the chocolate had the most extracted fat.
#6 (12/13/2017)
Today, we also added an extra component onto our project. We decided to also extract fat from an avocado. We performed the same procedures as on the almonds and potato chips. We used a knife to cut the 5 grams of avocado, the avocado will be different from the other foods we have used as it is a "healthy option." However, we must remember that an avocado is still full of much lipids, however they can be considered as good lipids. This can be further explained through the topic of HDL and LDL.
#7 (12/14/2017)
Today, we observed the results of the avocado. It seems the avocado trial gave us the best visual results. But, actually, we ended up forgetting to remove the lid overnight. But, even though we forgot, it was impressive how there was already oil present in the mason jar along with the acetone still present. So, due to the error, we are going to open the mason jar open tonight and observe the results tomorrow morning.
#8 (12/15/2017)
Today is the next morning and the acetone has fully evaporated. There is a yellow oil on the bottom of the jar. We have weighed the jar and to my observations, the weight has decreased. The acetone once again has fully evaporated, and we are left with a gooey yellow residue. We have weighed the jar, and the difference between the jar when it was empty and the jar containing the left over fat is around 1 gram. We can confirm the the avocado experiment is a success. Therefore, today we must enter the numbers from the experiment, and also use math to produce the percentages of the fats extracted from the food.
#9 (12/16/2017)
Today we are finishing up are website, and official finished updating the data. We will now apply everything to the website and proceed to film are video. So far we have a camera and a script as well as a mike. We have many ideas for this and we believe it will a lot of fun filming this video. We plan to upload the video to YouTube.
#10 (12/20/2017)
Are video is almost done, we are using Camtaisa, which will help us make and edit our video. We have clips of mixing the acetone with the chosen food, as well as a brief summary over the importance of exercise and staying fit. So we are a day away from being completely done. Our results are organized and labeled, the project is merely complete. We have had a fun time doing this scientific experiment. This is team fatty food 2017 signing off!