INT Task 3
Project design plan – Popcorn Experiment
Problem statement:
When buying microwavable popcorn consumers base their decision on which brand pops the most kernels. Some brands when microwaved have a good amount of un-popped kernels at the bottom of the bag, or burn easily before the popcorn has finished popping. The purpose of my experiment is to compare three different types of microwave; ACT II Butter Lovers, Jolly Time Butter popcorn, and generic store brand Everyday Sweet and Salty popcorn, and determine which brand has the highest percentage of popped kernels.
Literature Review:
I retrieved two prior studies on popcorn experiments that tested multiple brands of microwave popcorn to determine which brand produced the most popped kernels vs. the fewest un-popped kernels. The first study conducted by Sean Boyd retrieved at http://home.ptd.net/~sequoia1/Science/popcorn.htm mentions that when a kernel is heated to the boiling point the water inside starts to turn into steam causing the pressure inside the kernel to expand about 9 times the pressure of air until it ruptures in a small explosion and becomes white fluffy popcorn. It also states that some kernels do not pop because the kernel does not have enough moisture to turn to steam. They mentioned that ACT II popped the most kernels. (Boyd, 2006).
The second study was conducted by a group of college students. This study was retrieved at http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/nsfall0 ... dents.html. Multiple brands and types of popcorn were tested to determine which one popped the most kernels. They tested light, regular, and butter varieties of different brands such as Pop Secret, Orville Redenbacher. They analyzed the amount of popped kernels vs. un-popped kernels by hand and found Orville Redenbacher Light popcorn to have the highest popped kernels. (DeLap, Galli, Saum, and Skinner, 2001)
Experimental design:
• Purchase 3 bags (each of different brands, and different flavors of...