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Apr 25, 2024
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2020-21 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
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US 298 Kitchen Chemistry
This is a science course for the non-science major student. This hands-on course will tangibly show how scientific principles are used every day. Everyone eats food, and most people are interested in knowing some cooking techniques. A household kitchen is full of applied science. Most of the topics in this course are in the chemistry discipline, but many of the topics cross over into biology and genetics, as well as material science and physics. Portions of the course will focus on how humans perceive taste, where food comes from, and how food is digested, The three types of macro-nutrients: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins; will be described and characterized. Other portions of the course will investigate the physics and chemistry of cooking; such as, the transfer of heat from burner to pot to water; and taking advantage of the physical property of freezing point depression to make ice cream. Many of the investigations are done in class time, but some of the investigations are to be done by students at home (or in the dorm kitchen), such as observing the effect of different types of pans on the texture of brownies. In several of the food experiments, data will be compiled from all students then be averaged, graphed and/or calculated to show a specific quantitative relationship, such as measuring the distance between hot spots in a microwave oven and then using that data to calculate the speed of light.
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