Editorial pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Experimenting with the Sweet Side of Chemistry: Connecting Students and Science through Food Chemistry Sally B. Mitchell* Science Department, East Syracuse Minoa Central High School, East Syracuse, New York 13057, United States ABSTRACT: Candy captures people’s attention: engaging in a scientific exploration of food can readily demonstrate that chemistry is an exciting and relevant part of our everyday lives.
KEYWORDS: General Public, Elementary/Middle School Science, High School/Introductory Chemistry, Public Understanding/Outreach, Hands-On Learning/Manipulatives, Inquiry-Based/Discovery Learning, Applications of Chemistry, Consumer Chemistry, Nutrition, Student-Centered Learning
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gelatin, some of the results were as hard as a rock, while others had enormous visible bubbles, and others were near perfect. Twenty-four experiments later, we had replicated sponge candy perfectly (Figure 1). The kids were thrilled to be part of a
his year’s National Chemistry Week (NCW) theme from the American Chemical Society (ACS) is The Sweet Side of ChemistryCandy, celebrated October 19−25, 2014.1−3 Food chemistry is not only an essential part of our daily lives, it is an excellent way to motivate people, especially children, to care about chemistry. The fascination begins as a simple love of sugar, but it becomes something much more powerful, not to mention healthier. When you give students something fun and relevant to work with, like food, they get a drive to experiment and discover and learn. Food chemistry is dynamic. In one memorable series of experiments, I tried to learn how to make sponge candy,4 Buffalo, New York’s signature confection, and a delicacy in our region. Companies that make it do not share the recipe, so I decided to make my own, with the help of my chemistry class. I showed my students the “making of” video published by one company,5 which omitted some very crucial steps, and gave each of them a piece of sponge candy to sample and examine. When I told them we were going to discover how to recreate it, they were eager to get to work. Each class had six groups, and in each class, we chose a single variable for the students to manipulate, such as the amount of gelatin in the mixture or the temperature at which to remove from the stove. The making of sponge candy involves a decomposition reaction. When the baking soda is heated to a high temperature, it breaks down, giving off carbon dioxide bubbles and puffing up the mixture in a dramatic way. Light, soft sponge candy melts in your mouth because the gelatin in the mixture captures the gas bubbles and traps them evenly throughout the candy. On the day that we experimented with © 2014 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Figure 1. Results of several rounds of experimentation: a perfect batch of sponge candy.
process with a real goal. They had learned so much about experimental design, important chemical principles, and the value of scientific collaboration, and they were completely engaged the entire time. They had also learned an important lesson about how to make valuable mistakes: 23 out of the 24 batches were failures at making sponge candy, but they were not real failures. Each bad batch pointed us toward our ultimate Published: October 14, 2014 1509
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed5007458 | J. Chem. Educ. 2014, 91, 1509−1510
Journal of Chemical Education
Editorial
New York; she also advises science clubs, presents workshops and webinars on food science, and blogs about food chemistry at http://sallybchemistry.com/ (accessed Sep 2014). You can find out more at this ACS Web site: http://www.acs.org/ content/acs/en/pressroom/experts/sally-mitchell.html (accessed Sep 2014).
goal. In a school culture where students are too often encouraged to simply follow directions and memorize, and where anything but the exact right answer is penalized, it is difficult for students to be willing to make the mistakes that lead to success. The candy was delicious, but that was beside the point for my students. They had created something. By successfully reverse engineering a carefully kept secret, everything I had taught them came into focus. They had not just followed a set of instructions or memorized a list of facts. They accomplished a real goal, a fun, tasty goal in which they could take pride. Using food chemistry in the lab has other benefits, as well. Because the ingredients for food science experiments tend to be much less expensive than other materials, food science is a good choice for teachers who are working within a tight budget. Even better, food supplies are environmentally friendly, unlike many chemicals used in classic experiments. Food science is the greenest of all sciences. Celebrating National Chemistry Week catalyzed the revitalization of our local section (Central New York ACS Local Section), and we anticipate it every year. We won a ChemLuminary award for NCW a few times, and we won again this August.6 To be recognized for communicating chemistry to the public has been so rewarding. We have actually had to create more events this year, because we had too many volunteers who wanted to participate and not enough room! This, to me, is absolutely incredible. National Chemistry Week has brought together Central New York’s ACS chapter, college and high school ChemClubs, and local chemists and professors to demonstrate to the public that there is real joy to be found in chemistry. For example, one of our events, Zoo Boo, will take place at Rosamond Gifford Zoo.7 Our NCW outreach will be traveling to the zoo, where the children will learn about the fruits and vegetables fed to the animals, and how “nature’s candy” is both delicious and nutritious. Kids will learn about chemistry through food and animals, two things that reliably fascinate kids. Outreach programs like this show kids that science is not just a subject that they learn in school, it is a fascinating, dynamic, and yes, sometimes delicious, part of the world around us. Candy is not just “the sweet side of chemistry” because of its taste. Candy is sweet because it provides a means for capturing people’s attention, for showing them that chemistry is an exciting and relevant part of their everyday lives. For example, a selection of articles from the Journal of Chemical Education on candy, chocolate, chewing gum, ingredients (dyes, flavorings, sugar), and food chemistry are available online.8 Candy is a way to open up a conversation that people might not be willing to start without such a fun draw. National Chemistry Week is about educating and motivating people to study chemistry, and ultimately, to use chemistry to make the world a better place. Bon appétit!
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REFERENCES
(1) American Chemical Society National Chemistry Week 2014 Web site. http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/outreach/ncw. html (accessed Sep 2014). (2) NCW 2014 Electronic Resources from ACS. http://www.acs. org/content/acs/en/education/outreach/ncw/educational-resources/ 2014.html (accessed Sep 2014). (3) The Sweet Side of Chemistry: Candy. http://www.acs.org/ content/dam/acsorg/education/outreach/ncw/celebratingchemistry/ ncw-2014-celebrating-chemistry-english.pdf (accessed Sep 2014). (4) Wikipedia entry for Honeycomb toffee and its other regional names. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeycomb_toffee (accessed Sep 2014. (5) YouTube video: The makings of sponge candy. http://www. youtube.com/watch?v=-6uynDLSaSk (accessed Sep 2014). (6) 16th Annual ChemLuminary Awards Celebration (American Chemical Society). http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/funding-andawards/awards/community/chemluminary.html (accessed Sep 2014). (7) Zoo Boo at Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Syracuse, New York. http:// www.rosamondgiffordzoo.org/zoo-boo (accessed Sep 2014). (8) Journal of Chemical Education, National Chemistry Week 2014: The Sweet Side of Chemistry. http://pubs.acs.org/page/jceda8/ ncw2014.html (accessed Sep 2014).
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. Notes
Views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and not necessarily the views of the ACS. Sally B. Mitchell, recipient of the 2009 James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry Teaching, teaches chemistry at East Syracuse Minoa Central High School, East Syracuse, 1510
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed5007458 | J. Chem. Educ. 2014, 91, 1509−1510
