Culinary Chemistry

Bonsall High School

Full Year
Laboratory Science d
Discipline: Chemistry
CTE: Food Science, Dietetics and Nutrition
Classroom Based

Course overview:
This course is designed to be a laboratory-based course in chemistry. The class will also be
exploring how the principles of chemistry apply to food, cooking, preservation and sanitation. In
addition to traditional chemistry experiments, students will have the opportunity to conduct
experiments dealing specifically with food, their reactions, and natural chemical tendencies
throughout the course (please see the list of lab experiments). The topics that will be covered
are: Atomic Theory, Theory of the Periodic Table, Theories of Chemical Bonding, Stoichiometry,
Gas Laws, Theories of Equilibrium, Energy Theories and Organic Chemistry.

Culinary Chemistry is designed to be an introductory course to college level chemistry

courses. Students will be involved in a number of different learning approaches, such as
classroom work, laboratory sessions, alternative group work and applications of mathematics
and problem solving. The students add greater depth and understanding to familiar concepts,
such as atomic and molecular structure, chemical bonds, conservation of matter, stoichiometry,
gases, solutions, thermodynamics, acids, bases, reaction rates, chemical equilibrium, organic
chemistry, biochemistry and nuclear processes. Further, students will relate these concepts to
principles of food chemistry, reactions, preparation and sanitation.

The course is designed to help students think like scientists while applying those concepts to
the kitchen. The laboratory skills developed will be critical to success in a college level
class. The students will be expected not only to understand key concepts but to apply, analyze
and synthesize these concepts. These higher level thinking skills will be essential to
achievement for the next academic stage and prepare them for culinary career skills.

Prerequisites:
Integrated math I (Required)
Biology (Recommended)
Co-requisites:
None

Course content:
Unit One: Gas Laws
The course will start with experiments on the gas laws. The students will experience how
Avogadros hypothesis and law were developed by doing experiments. The students will

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inductively establish different laws in chemistry: Boyles, Charles, Guy Lussacs , the combined
gas law, Daltons Law of Partial pressure, Grahams law of Effusion and the ideal gas laws, as
well as values for absolute zero. Avogadros hypothesis will lead to an understanding of how
the law of definite proportions leads to the idea of the atomic theory, and molar masses. The
students will transition from the ideas of molar volume and Avogadros number to the ideas of
molar mass and periodic theory.

From the textbook we will be reading Chapter 13 in its entirety;

1. Describing the properties of Gases
1. Pressure
2. Pressure and Volume: Boyles Law
3. Volume and Temperature: Charles Law
4. Volume and Moles: Avogadros Law
2. Using Gas Laws to Solve Problems
1. The Ideal Gas Law
2. Daltons Law of Partial Pressures
3. Gas Stoichiometry
3. Using a Model to Describe Gases
1. Laws and Models
2. The Kinetic Molecular Theory of Gases
3. The Implications of the Kinetic Molecular theory
4. Real Gases

During this unit we will also be focusing on gas laws with two specific food labs. One lab will
involve determining the water content in popcorn kernels, utilizing the quantity of the mole
and practicing the ideal gas law. We will also be examining the functionality of the pressure
cooker. Addressing gas laws conceptually and understanding when and why it would be
beneficial to use a pressure cooker in the kitchen.

Assignment:
Students will also conduct the non-food lab below to reinforce Charles Law.
Charles Law: The students will predict the relationship between temperature and
volume. The students will conduct an experiment to measure the volume at different
temperatures. Students submerge narrow balloons into water-filled cylinders in order to
measure changes in volume. The students will measure the volume of the balloons in
water at room temperature, boiling 100 degrees C, Freezing 0 degrees C and with dry
ice. The students will make a graph of the temperature versus volume. The graph
should show a direct relationship verifying Charles Law. This experimental value will be
compared to the theoretical value to calculate percent error.

Unit Two: Atomic Theory

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The study of the history of how the atomic theory was developed will flow out of the gas laws.
The study of past discovery and thought processes will be used as an example of the kind of
scientific thinking expected of the students. The atomic theory is the foundation for students
to understand the periodic table. Understanding the number of protons, neutrons, and electron
shells will lead into the next unit on Periodic Theory.

From the textbook we will read Chapter 11- Modern Atomic Theory in its entirety.
1. Atoms and Energy
1. Rutherfords Atom
2. Energy and Light
3. Emission of energy by atoms
2. The Hydrogen Atom
1. The Energy Levels of Hydrogen
2. The Bohr Model of the Atom
3. The Wave Mechanical Model of the atom
3. Atomic Orbitals
1. The Hydrogen Orbitals
2. The Wave Mechanical Model: Further Development
4. Electron Configuration and Atomic Properties
1. Electron Arrangements in the first 18 Atoms on the periodic table
2. Electron Configurations and the Periodic Table
3. Atomic Properties and the Periodic Table

Assignment:
In addition to reading the text, students will conduct a spectrographs activity. The students will
observe the spectral lines of several different elements. The students will attempt to write a
conclusion explaining the spectral lines based on energy levels of electrons. This will aid in the
students understanding the concept of electron structure and orbitals. Due to the nature of the
unit, there will not be any food labs during this unit.

Unit Three: Periodicity

There will be an in-depth study of the periodic table and periodic trends. The students will
study how the electrons are arranged in energy levels. Being able to write the electron
configuration will be used to teach the students how to draw electron dot structures of
atoms. The electron structures will be used to predict periodic trends, such as
electronegativity, ionic charges, oxidation numbers, ionic radii, ionization energies, and
metallic, metalloid, and nonmetal properties.

Students will read Chapter 3- Chemical Foundations: Elements, Atoms and Ions in its entirety.
1. The Elements
1. Abundances of Elements
2. Names and Symbols for the Elements
2. Atoms and Compounds

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 1. Daltons Atomic Theory
2. Formulas of Compounds
3. Atomic Structure
1. The Structure of the Atom
2. Introductions to the Modern Concept of Atomic Structure
3. Isotopes
4. Using the Periodic Table
1. Introduction to the Periodic Table
2. Natural States of the Elements
5. Ions and their Compounds
1. Ions
2. Compounds that contain ions

Assignments:
During this unit students will create a periodic table of food. This activity relates food groups to
groups/families of the periodic table helping students understand how elements in the same
group have similar properties.

Students will also conduct non food labs, explained below, further reinforcing the concepts of
this unit.
Family of Elements: The student will predict which elements will react in a similar
manner. These hypotheses will be tested. Sodium metal and potassium in water is one
example of a family of elements. Sodium chloride and sodium iodide with silver nitrate
will be another example. These experiments will help to establish experimentally the
concept of family of elements.
Metals and Nonmetals: The students will make predictions as to which elements are
metals or nonmetals and what their properties are. The students will test the elements
for conductivity and malleability. The students will test for conductivity by attaching
electrons connected to a light bulb to a sample of each element. The students will test
for malleability by hitting a sample of each element with a hammer to see if it shatters,
or is flattened. The students will write conclusions based on their observation. The
goal is that the students will see the need for a classification between metals and
nonmetals because carbon conducts like the metals but breaks like a non-metal.

Unit Four: Bonding

The students will be asked to synthesize the concepts from the periodic theory to predict the
nature of bonding between elements. Understanding the differences in electronegativity will
lead to an understanding of covalent, polar covalent and ionic bonding. The students will be
asked to apply the ability to draw the electron dot structure of atoms and elements to drawing
the Lewis dot structures of compounds and polyatomic ions. An extension of the Lewis dot
structures will be to build and draw VSEPR 3D models. These models will be used to develop
concepts like resonance structures and intermolecular forces (van der Waals) such as hydrogen
bonding, dipole-dipole and London forces. Ionization energies will also be used to reinforce the

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concepts of covalent, and ionic bonding as well as to introduce metallic bonding. The students
will use their experiences from experiments to generalize the laws of atomic bonding such as
metals bonding with nonmetals and the total charge on a compound being zero.

Students will read Chapter 12- Chemical Bonding in its entirety.

1. Characteristics of Chemical Bonds
1. Types of Chemical Bonds
2. Electronegativity
3. Bond Polarity and Dipole Moments
2. Characteristics of Ions and Ionic Compounds
1. Stable Electron Configuration and Charges on Ions
2. Ionic Bonding and Structures of Ionic Compounds
3. Lewis Structures
1. Writing Lewis Structures
2. Lewis Structures of Molecules with Multiple Bonds
4. Structures of Molecules
1. Molecular Structure
2. The VSPER Model
3. Molecules with Double Bonds

Assignments:
Students will conduct two food labs in this unit. The first lab, titled Why do Pans Stick? will
address the question which directly related to the bonds formed between the food being
cooked to the metal in the pan. Students will be able to deduce what type of bond is formed
using their knowledge from the unit. Students will also conduct a lab on spices. The lab titled
The Chemistry of Pumpkin Pie spices will explore how two different spices, Clove and
Nutmeg, are made of the exact same elements, but due to their bonding create a different
substance with unique properties.

In addition to the food labs, students will also conduct the general chemistry lab described
below.
Covalent and Ionic Bonding: Students will predict which compounds will have ionic
bonding and conduct electricity and which compounds will have covalent bonding and
not conduct electricity. The students will use a table of electronegativity and their
understandings of ionic and covalent bonding to make these predictions. The students
will write conclusions to evaluate their hypothesis using electronegativity. This
experiment will reinforce the concepts or covalent and ionic bonding and the
importance of electronegativity as a predictor of chemical behavior.

Unit Five: Stoichiometry

The concept of compounds adding to zero will be applied to chemical equations or
stoichiometry. This unit on stoichiometry will build naturally on the previous unit of chemical
bonding. The general types of chemical equations (synthesis, decomposition, single, and double

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replacement) will be studied. The students will be asked to predict the nature of the reactions
based on the electronegativity of the elements and resonance structures. Experiments will
cause the students to test their hypothesis and balance chemical equations, changing mass to
moles, volume to moles, moles to moles, moles to number of molecules, and moles to mass
and volume. The unit will end with the students being required to balance equations using the
oxidation-reduction method. This will reinforce the concepts learned in the unit on periodic
theory.

Students will read Chapter 9- Chemical Quantities in its entirety.

1. Using Chemical Equations
1. Information Given by Chemical Equations
2. Mole-mole Relationships
2. Using Chemical Equations to Calculate Mass
1. Mass Calculations
2. Mass Calculations Using Scientific Notation
3. Mass Calculations: Comparing Two Reactions
3. Limiting Reactants and Percent Yield
1. The Concept of Limiting Reactants
2. Calculations Involving a Limiting Reactant
3. Percent Yield

Assignments:
In addition to the textbook, students will explore Stocihiometry with two food labs. In the
Smores lab Students will gain an understanding of reactants and products in a chemical
reaction. They will perform calculations similar to those that will be done in
stoichiometry. They will to describe what a limiting reagent is and what it does in a chemical
reaction. In Grandmas Moleasses Cookies Lab students will be given a recipe for cookies using
mole amounts for the ingredients. Too be able to make the recipes students will have to
convert all measurements from moles to grams.

Students will also have a traditional chemistry lab demonstrating a Single Replacement
Equation: Cu + Ag NO3. The students will balance a chemical equation before the experiment.
The students will conduct an experiment to determine the masses of copper used and the mass
of silver produced by observing what happens when a copper wire is placed in a solution of
silver nitrate. The students will calculate the molar ratios from the experiment and compare it
to the molar ratios predicted by their balanced equation. The students will then calculate their
percent error. The experiment will reinforce balancing equations and provide practice in
calculating moles from mass.

Unit Six: Equilibrium

The next unit studied will be reversible equations that go both forward and backwards, or
equilibrium equations. Acid and base reactions will first be presented as oxidation-reduction
equations, involving the loss and gain of electrons linking equilibrium to the redox

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reactions. The first equilibrium system to be studied will be the decomposition of water to
produce an acid and a base, and the reverse reaction of an acid and a base to produce water.
This will introduce the concepts of strong and weak acids and bases, as well as pH and pOH. pH
will be taught requiring the students to calculate the negative logs for both whole numbers and
decimals values. The students will need to calculate hydrogen ion concentration from the pH
and the pH from the hydrogen ion concentration. The unit will continue with calculations of
Ksp and Keq. The students will be asked to make predictions of the effects on the equilibrium
of concentration, pressure, and temperature (Le Chateliers Principle).

Students will read Chapter 17- Equilibrium from the textbook in its entirety.
1. Reaction Rates and Equilibrium
1. How Chemical Reactions Occur
2. Conditions That Affect reaction Rates
3. Heterogeneous Reactions
4. The Equilibrium Condition
5. Chemical Equilibrium
2. Characteristics of Equilibrium
1. The Equilibrium Constant
2. Heterogeneous Equilibria
3. Application of Equilibria
1. Le Chateliers Principle
2. Applications Involving the Equilibrium Constant
3. Solubility Equilibria

Assignments:
Students will conduct the two following general chemistry labs:
Water: The students will balance a chemical equation for the breakdown and formation
of water into hydrogen and oxygen. The students will then use electricity to break down
water into hydrogen and oxygen. The students will then compare the volume ratios to
their balanced equation. The students will calculate the percent error of their
experiment based on ratios from their balanced equations. This part of the experiment
will reinforce Avogadros hypothesis that equal volumes of gases contain equal number
of particles, and provide practice in balancing equations. Then the hydrogen gas will be
combined underwater with the oxygen gas and ignited, forming water. This part of the
experiment will show that the reaction of water breaking into hydrogen and oxygen is
reversible.

Le Chattliers Principle: The students will conduct an experiment to explore Le Chattliers

principle. A solution of cobalt chloride will be subjected to different temperature changes to
observe the color changes at different temperatures. The experiment will illustrate the
reversibility of chemical equations through the color changes. The students will evaluate their
hypothesis regarding the predicted color changes, and write up a conclusion including chemical
equations for the forward and reverse reactions

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Unit Seven: Entropy and Enthaply
The next unit to be studied in-depth will be a unit on Kinetics and Energy. The students will be
asked to make predictions on the effects of energy, temperature and phase on chemical
equations. These predictions will link this unit to Le Chateliers principle. The students will be
able to make calculations of ^ H, ^ G, ^ S and free energy and use these to predict if the
chemical reaction will be spontaneous or non-spontaneous. The nature of science will be
explored in this unit as to the nature and origin of the universe. The students will be asked to
develop their own ideas of a natural explanation how enthalpy and entropy relate to each
other.

Students will read Chapter 10 in its entirety.

1. Energy, Temperature, and Heat
1. The Nature of Energy
2. Temperature and Heat
3. Exothermic and Endothermic Processes
2. The Flow of Energy
1. Thermodynamics
2. Measuring Energy Changes
3. Energy and Chemical Reactions
1. Thermochemistry
2. Hesss Law
4. Using Energy in The Real World
1. Quality Versus Quantity of Energy
2. Energy and Our World
3. Energy as a Driving Force

Assignments:
Students will conduct two food labs in this unit.
Energy in a peanut: In this experiment we will engage in will determine the energy given off by
a peanut. The procedure that is used is called caloriometry and the measuring device is called a
calorimeter. During caloriometry, chemists can determine how much energy is stored in foods.
They determine this by burning a known amount of food under controlled conditions and
carefully measuring the quantity of thermal energy it releases.
Freezing Cream: In this experiment students will evaluate the role salt plays in the process of
making ice cream which is an endothermic reaction.

Unit Eight: Introduction to Organic and Nuclear Chemistry

In the last unit, the students will be exposed to the basics of Organic and Nuclear
Chemistry. The concepts of nuclear isotopes will be used to reinforce the earlier concepts of
atomic theory of protons, and neutrons. The students will balance nuclear equations of alpha,
beta and gamma radiation. Beta radiation will provide a review of the nature of electrons and
electron structure.

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The overview of organic chemistry will review Lewis dot structures and bonding. The students
will build models of common organic molecules, such as alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, esters,
alcohols, aldehydes, ethers, ketones, carboxylic acids, and amides. Comparing these structures
requires a review of covalent, polar covalent, and intermolecular forces.

Students will read Chapter 19- Radioactivity and Nuclear Energy and Chapter 20- Organic
Chemistry in its entirety.
Chapter 19
1. Radioactivity
1. Radioactive Decay
2. Nuclear Transformations
3. Detection of Radioactivity and the Concept of Half-life
2. Application of Radioactivity
1. Dating by Radioactivity
2. Medical Applications of Radioactivity
3. Using the Nucleus as a Source of Energy
1. Nuclear Energy
2. Nuclear Fission
3. Nuclear reactors
4. Nuclear Fusion
5. Effects of Radiation

Chapter 20
1. Saturated Hydrocarbons
1. Carbon Bonding
2. Alkanes
3. Structural Formulas and Isomerism
4. Naming Alkanes
5. Petroleum
6. Reactions of Alkanes
2. Unsaturated Hydrocarbons
1. Alkenes and Alkynes
2. Aromatic Hydrocarbons
3. Naming Aromatic Compounds
3. Functional Groups and Alcohols
1. Functional Groups
2. Alcohols
3. Properties and Uses of Alcohols
4. Additional Organic Compounds
1. Aldehydes and Ketones
2. Naming Aldehydes and Ketones
3. Carboxylic Acids and Esters
4. Polymers

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Assignments:
Students will conduct two food labs in this unit.
Simulating Irradiation: Students will examine the impact of UV light on bacterial
growth. They will then relate the outcome to food preservation and other methods.
Root beer: This experiment will illustrate to the student that fermentation processes, as
in yeast fermentation can be used to produce a naturally carbonated
beverage. Students will explore alcohol as a functional group.

Students will also conduct the following general chemistry lab:

Half-Life: The students will conduct a model experiment using different sided dice to
simulate the half-life of different elements and isotopes. The students will roll a set of
50 dice removing all the ones. The students will construct a graph of the number of rolls
(time) versus the number of remaining dice. The students will use this graph to calculate
the half-life their dice set which acts as a model of a radioactive isotope. The students
will compare the half-lives of different sides dice, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 20. This
experiment will reinforce the concepts of atomic theory and structure. It will provide
further practice in the making and interpretation of graphs

Course Materials

Textbooks
Title Author Publisher Edition Primary

Principles of Food Science Janet D. Ward Goodheart- 3rd No

Wilcox

World of Chemistry Zumdahl, Houghton 2nd Yes

Zumdahl and Mifflin Edition
DeCoste Company

On Food and Cooking - The Harold McGee Scibner Revised No

Science and Lore of the
Kitchen

Supplemental Materials
Title Content

Supplemental Principles of Food Science: Student Lab Manual/Study Guide, Janet D. and
Materials Larry T. Ward, Goodheart-Wilcox Company Inc., 2002
Chemistry, Wilbraham, Staley, Matta, Waterman, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007

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