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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2009  > November  >
survey
In the Classroom
The Chemistry of Self-Heating Food Products
An Activity for Classroom Engagement
Maria T. Oliver-Hoyo
Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695

Gabriel Pinto
E.T.S. de Ingenieros Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28006 Madrid, Spain

Juan Antonio Llorens-Molina
E.T.S. del Medio Rural y Enología, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain

Cover
November 2009
Vol. 86 No. 11
p. 1277
Abstract
Two commercial self-heating food products have been used to apply chemical concepts such as stoichiometry, enthalpies of reactions and solutions, and heat transfer in a classroom activity. These products are the self-heating beverages sold in Europe and the Meals, Ready to Eat or MREs used primarily by the military in the United States. The main goal of the activity is to propose a real-life chemistry problem for which students calculate the heat produced by the chemical reaction or the dissolution process, the accompanying theoretical change in temperature, and finally compare the theoretical change to the temperature observed. The activity is designed to use five minutes of class time and allow students to work in groups, outside the classroom, to solve the posted problems. We have used two different methodologies with this activity: problem-based learning and inquiry-guided instruction. The context of these activities connects a variety of chemistry topics and provides the opportunity to practice common operations such as unit conversion and algorithmic problem solving in the context of a real-world scenario. The key element is the evaluation process that students must conduct at every stage, which includes examining food products promotion information.
Supplement
Student handouts; Instructor notes
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Contents
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Citation
Oliver-Hoyo, Maria T.; Pinto, Gabriel; Llorens-Molina, Juan Antonio. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 1277.
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Keywords
Applications of Chemistry; Calorimetry / Thermochemistry; Consumer Chemistry; Demonstrations; First-Year Undergraduate / General; Food Science; High School / Introductory Chemistry; Inquiry-Based / Discovery Learning; Nonmajor Courses; Physical Chemistry; Problem Solving / Decision Making; Public Understanding / Outreach; Thermodynamics
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History
Created:
Last Updated:
9/16/2009
9/24/2009
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