Structure and Functions in Living Organisms - Nutrition (Paper 2)

Question 1

how would you investigate the energy content in a food sample?

Answer 1

• measure a fixed volume of water into a boiling tube
• use a thermometer to measure the temperature
• use a weighing scale to measure the mass of the food sample
• burn the food sample and hold it directly underneath the boiling tube to heat the water until it burns out
• use a thermometer to measure the final temperature of the water

Question 2

how do you calculate the energy transferred to water?

Answer 2

energy transferred = (mass of water heated x 4.2 x temperature increase)/mass of food