Determining Fat Content in Potato Chips

Overview

There are six essential nutrients that the human body needs daily to function properly; carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, water, and fats. The body uses fat for a back-up energy source when carbohydrates are not available. Overconsumption of fats can have negative effects on the body, as well. Too much fat can increase blood pressure, increase weight gain, and increase cholesterol levels, which can lead to many different disorders or conditions. Knowing the fat content in your food will help you to better regulate your fat consumption.

Questions of the Day

What is the fat content in one serving (according to the nutrition label) of potato chips? What is the fat content in the entire bag of potato chips?

Your Assignment

In this experiment, you will extract fat from 1 gram of potato chips using petroleum ether. You will then calculate the fat content of the potato chips and compare your results to that of the nutrition label for the product and the rest of the class's.

Pre-Lab Assignment

Eat a bag of your favorite brand of potato chips and record in your lab notebook the fat content for one serving and for the entire bag. Bring in another bag to test.

Waste Disposal

Properly dispose of material in the organic waste bucket.

Determining Fat Content in Potato Chips

Quiz questions

1) Why was petroleum ether used as the solvent instead of water?

A) Fat is not soluble in water.

B) Fat chemically reacts with water.

C) Petroleum ether is easier to evaporate.

2) What is the conversion ratio between ounces and grams?

A) 1:1

B) 1:89.4

C) 1:28.3495

3) Determine the % fat for the given values: mass of fat 2g total mass of food 5.3g?

A) 82%

B) 37.7%

C) 57.6%

4) What type of funnel is used to separate the petroleum ether mixture from the water mixture?

A) Buchner funnel

B) Hirsch funnel

C) Separatory funnel

5) If there are three ounces in a serving size how many grams are there in it?

A) 85.05g

B) .2552g

C) 0.1058g.