Science Fair Report #3

The original idea about using the butter as my fat and allowing it to sit in the liquid did not work out. So now I’m using cooking oil and I’m trying to find out which liquid helps emulsify fat molecules.

Problem: Which liquid substances (preferably edible items) help emulsify fat?

Purpose: To find out which liquid material is most efficient at emulsifying/physically breaking down large pieces of fat into smaller droplets.

Hypothesis:

I would expect liquid substances that are chemically similar to bile/bile acid to dissolve/break down fat best. Therefore the substance should consist of polar and non-polar components (maybe alcohol - wine).

Materials:
● Canola oil
● 75mL of each type of liquid (tea, coffee, vinegar, baking soda, gravol, vinegar & baking soda)
● Syringes
● Plastic cups
● Popsicle Sticks
*Preparation of baking soda and gravol solutions: measure baking soda (25mL) and gravol (three 50mg tablets), respectively, and mix each with 75mL of hot water.
*Preparation of the vinegar & baking soda solution: measure baking soda (15mL) and vinegar (75mL) and mix together.

Control: - oil and water

Variable: - the different substances I’m testing with (tea, coffee, vinegar, baking soda, gravel, vinegar & baking soda)

Procedure:
1. Prepare 7 plastic cups and pour 25mL of oil into each cup.
2. Pour 75mL of the testing liquid into a cup. Repeat process for the remaining testing liquids.
3. Record the amounts in the Starting Amount column.
4. Observe and record your observations in the before column.
5. Stir and mix well until oil and liquid is combined together (approximately 1 minute).
6. Let solutions sit for two hours.
7. Observe and record your observations in the after column.
8. Use a syringe to extract the different layers. Be careful not to disturb the other layers while doing that.
9. Record the amounts of each extracted layer on the table.