DW & A S
Physics for Teachers 
Dr. Frazier
12/13/
Personal Inquiry Project

Part I.
	In beginning this project we had to find a good way to organize our thoughts about our project.  We decided to use the Know, Want, Learn method of organization.  This method is very useful when teaching young children how to begin the thought process and to begin performing their own research.  Our project is about the change of matter, particularly the change of popcorn when it is heated.  
•	KNOW
1)	We know that popcorn will expand or “pop” when it is heated to a certain temperature.
2)	We know that different types of heat sources make the popcorn pop faster.
3)	We know that when the popcorn pops it will fly out of the pan if it is not covered. 
4)	We know that grain has some moisture content.
•	Want
1)	How can we measure the different variables involved in popping popcorn?
2)	What exactly makes the popcorn pop?
3)	How long does it take for different types of popcorn to pop?
4)	Does the moisture content of the popcorn have an effect on the speed of the popping?
5)	Does the cooking oil make a difference in the speed of the popping?
6)	Do different brands of popcorn pop differently?
7)	What heat sources will cook popcorn the fastest and the slowest?

•	How will we learn?
We plan to use multiple experiments to delve more deeply into the questions that we have about popping popcorn.  The first experiment will involve multiple brands of popcorn and a gas burner.  We will test to see which brands of popcorn will pop the furthest out of the pan.  
The second experiment will be to use different heat sources to pop the popcorn.  We will use the same amount of popcorn in each situation.  However, we will use different heat sources.  We plan to use a frying pan, a microwave oven, a baking oven, and an open flame.  We will time how long it takes for all of the kernels to pop and compare the data to see which method is the quickest.
During the third experiment we will look at the moisture content of the popcorn.  We will soak a set amount of kernels in a cup of water overnight to bring the moisture content up.  We will then leave the same amount of kernels out side in the sun to dry for a day to reduce the moisture content.  Last, we will take a set amount of kernels straight out of the bag.  We will pop all of the kernels in a frying pan and test how long it takes for all of the kernels to pop.  Also, we will test how far the kernels will fly.
•	Strengths and Challenges
Throughout this semester we have been learning how to create our own inquiries about science.  We started out not knowing much at all about how to begin a science project so we needed a lot of teacher assistance.  However, throughout the semester we have gradually been weaned from needing teacher assistance as much.  When we first started this project we did not know where we wanted to go with the experiment.  Thus, we brainstormed every question, idea or fact that we could think of about popcorn.  We then could begin to look at what questions we most wanted to find answers to.  One of the strengths that we found was that we were both very enthusiastic about actually finding our own answers to the questions we had about popcorn.  
Another challenge for us during the beginning stages of our project was trying to find a good way to link this project to a science class.  We did not know exactly how to make this project appeal to an elementary class.  However, we discovered another popcorn experiment that had been done that was remarkably like what we wanted to do.  This experiment used a big bullseye that was placed on the floor to measure how far the popcorn flew out of the pan.  This, we thought, would be very interesting from a student’s point of view and would definitely catch their attention.
Yet another challenge for us during this experiment is going to be using a moisture tester.  The tester is normally used to test the moisture content of corn, soybeans, and wheat.  Even though the machine says nothing about not being able to test the moisture content of popcorn, it does not say that it will effectively test the popcorn.  We will have to test the kernels multiple times to insure that we attain an accurate reading.  

Part II.  
•	Record of investigation
	When trying to decide what to do for our personal inquiry, we knew right away that we wanted to do something that had to do with the change of matter.  We started to think about how and what we could use as an example.  After just a few minutes of thinking we came up with a great idea.  We decided to use popcorn as our example.  Most children love popcorn and it could prove to be an interesting experiment from a child’s point of view.  By using popcorn we are also able to allow the children a chance to see first hand what a change in matter looks like.  We thought that this would provide a great hands-on experience for the children to relate the change of matter to.  Also, by using popcorn we would be able to fit the experiment into a much smaller time frame such as in an actual class period.  Popcorn would also provide a very simple project that is relatively inexpensive.  
 We wanted to know if by introducing different variables to the popcorn, if these variables would affect the way the popcorn would pop.  We wanted to separate our popcorn into three groups using the same brand of popcorn.  We would first dry out one sample group of the popcorn.  We did this by adjusting a fan so that the air would blow directly onto the popcorn kernels therefore drying them out.   Also, we would add water to another sample of popcorn to bring the moisture content of the kernel up.  The third sample of popcorn we would just leave unchanged in the sealed bag that it was bought in.  We wanted to know what would pop the best, and how long it would take to pop each one.  (We are only using 100 kernels of each in the experiment) We also wanted to know what each one would look like after popping.
	Some questions that we had were; what will pop the best?  Will the moist sample pop better or the dried one?  How long will it take to pop each kind of kernel?  Which kind of popcorn will pop the fastest?  What happens to the kernels by using the different kinds of popcorn?  What will the kernels look like?  
	We expected that the dryer popcorn would pop fast and would be brittle.  The popcorn that we did nothing to would pop just like normal.  The popcorn that we added moisture to we thought would probably take longer to pop or may not pop much at all.  
We thought that with the moisture it would take longer to pop because the heat must first dry the popcorn out before the kernel can pop.  With the dried out popcorn we thought that it would pop faster and even shatter because it is already dried out.  We thought that the popcorn kernels might have some of the same characteristics of field corn when it is dried out.  Field corn when dried out too much cracks open and is not considered good for planting.  Thus we thought that if the popcorn was dried out enough it may crack open or it may not pop correctly.
	In our second experiment we wanted to test to see how far the popcorn would pop.  For this experiment we use the same three types of samples of popcorn.  The first was dried out, the second was left unchanged, and the third was soaked in water.  For this experiment we placed a Coleman, gas powered, stove at the center of a bullseye that was six feet in diameter.  There were two inner circles.  One had a one-foot radius and the other had a two-foot radius from the Coleman stove.  We popped each sample of popcorn separately and recorded the data for each trial.  For this experiment we did not keep track of how long it took for each sample to pop all of its kernels we just marked and measured the majority of the kernels on the bullseye to compare how far the kernels flew out of the pan.  
		
Results of Experiment 1
				Moisture:		Time:	
Group 1- Dry popcorn		1 ½ %			1 min.  59 sec.
Group 2- Plain popcorn	14 % 			1 min. 38 sec.
Group 3- Moist popcorn	30 %			44 seconds

Results of Experiment 2	
Key
Normal Popcorn

Dried Popcorn

           Moist Popcorn

We gave each group 100 kernels of popcorn. We soaked one sample in water overnight. The second sample we dried out with a fan overnight.  The third sample we left unchanged in the sealed bag we bought it in at the store.  We let each group drop the kernels into the pan of heated oil and started the timing then.  We stopped the timing when the last kernel from each sample had popped.  We then gathered the information and recorded the data from each trial.  
	We realized that the popcorn that was soaked in the water over night was the popcorn that popped the fastest.  It also did not pop the way most popcorn pops.  The kernels were popped but were not popped fully.  The kernels still had the shells on them.   We also knew that the dried popcorn took the longest to pop.  The dried popcorn popped fully.  This surprised us because we thought that it would be just the opposite.  The plain popcorn popped much like we had expected it to.   It was fully popped and the kernels were light and fluffy.	
	For the second experiment we wanted to test to see which sample of popcorn would pop the furthest out of the pan.  We again used the three samples of popcorn.  In this experiment the unchanged popcorn flew the furthest away from the pan.  Most of the kernels of the unchanged popcorn landed at least one foot away from the pan and many landed two feet or more away from the pan.  Some of the kernels landed as far as four feet away from the pan.  The dried kernels did not pop as well as the unchanged kernels.  However, many of the kernels landed two feet away from the pan.  Also, the majority of the kernels did land within a one-foot radius of the pan.  The moisturized kernels pop landed the closest of all of the samples.  Many of these kernels did not even make it out of the pan.  The few that did mainly landed within a one-foot radius of the pan as well.  The few kernels that landed outside of a one-foot radius were fully popped and did not resemble the other moist kernels.
	In conclusion, the first experiment went very well.  Our initial hypothesis about the first experiment was right in some aspects.  However, we were very wrong in our calculations in other aspects of the project.  One of the first instances of this was that we thought that the wet popcorn would take much longer to pop or it may not pop at all.  This was wrong because all of the kernels popped in a much shorter amount of time than for the other two samples.  The physical appearance of the popcorn was very strange because it did not look like it had popped at all.  In our second experiment we wanted to see how far the samples of popcorn would fly out of the pan.  In this experiment we thought that the dried out kernels would fly the furthest because the kernel should be able to get much hotter because of the lack of moisture in the kernel.  This was not the case however.  The normal popcorn flew the furthest away from the pan.  The dried popcorn did not fly much further than one foot away from the 
pan.  The moist popcorn, in many instances did not even leave the pan.  This made us wonder if there was a certain point that the popcorn had to reach before it was good for popping.  Maybe if the kernel is too far towards one extreme or another the kernel would not be good.  It may have to reach a certain medium to be considered good for popping.
Part 3
A.

•	I. Children’s Ideas
To get a firsthand answer to what a child would think about this experiment we decided to interview a child.  For this interview we asked Ryan, an eight-year old some questions about our experiment.  First, we explained our experiment to Ryan and asked him what he thought made popcorn pop.  Ryan responded by saying that the heat from the stove make the popcorn pop.  Our second question for Ryan was, do you think that by adding water to or taking water away from the popcorn kernels will make a difference in how the popcorn pops.  Ryan responded by answering, yes, if we add water to the popcorn it will not pop very well because water is cold and the cold water will not allow the popcorn to get hot enough to pop.  This answer brought about another question because he seemed to know that the temperature would effect the popping time of the popcorn.  I asked Ryan if the temperature of the pan would effect how the popcorn pops.  His response was yes, that the hot the pan is the faster the popcorn will pop and the better it will pop.  
	We found that some of Ryan’s responses were very interesting for a boy of only eight years old.  One of the most interesting responses we thought was when he commented on how the moisture of the kernel would effect how the kernel popped.  However, we thought that his reasoning for how the water effected the kernel was quite different from what we had expected.  Ryan created a relationship between water and temperature.  When we told him that we were going to add water to the popcorn he immediately began thinking cold water.  Thus this explains some of his reasoning for saying that the popcorn will not be able to get hot enough to pop very well because of the water.  This, we felt was a very interesting view to have about how the moisture content of the kernel effects how it pops.  Does water add some sort of temperature difference to the kernels that create another variable that we should have considered throughout our experiment?
•	II. Science ideas
	Learning in Science specifically discusses how relating what children already know to education can be a valuable resource to all teachers.  It states that cooking is a part of everyday life, and now the children can make sense of experiments in a new way by applying what they already know (learning in Science, 2001).  By relating an experiment about the change of matter to cooking popcorn to show the change in matter, we have now given the students an opportunity to apply what they already know about cooking to what they may not quite understand about the change of matter.  Also, the book states that science experiments should have some relevance to everyday life.  If science is always presented to the students in a way that has no direct relevance to everyday life, the students may loose their enthusiasm for the subject matter.  
	The Popcorn Board also provides many great resources for teachers to use when dealing with popcorn.  Mainly they answer the question of why popcorn pops.  It says that each kernel contains a small amount of water stored in a circle of soft starch inside the hard outer casing (Popcorn Board 2001).  When the kernel is heated, the water expands, creating pressure within, until eventually the casing gives way, and the kernels explode and pop (Popcorn Board).  Also, the Popcorn Board states that the kernels that do not pop actually do not have sufficient water contained within the starch to create the build up of pressure needed to pop the kernel (Popcorn Board).  This is very interesting because the kernels that we added water to would not pop at all.  There must be some sort of medium that has to be attained to reach the proper popping moisture content of the kernels.  
•	B. History of ideas in science
When thinking about the change of matter one often thinks about how water changes from a liquid to a gas during the process of evaporation.  Also, some would think about how the ingredients to a cake such as eggs and milk, which when stirred are in a liquid form can be baked and come out as a solid.  Another great example of a change in matter is when popcorn is popped.  The kernel is simply heated and it pops and turns from a small seed to a fluffy white material.  There are two different scientific explanations for how popcorn pops.  The first, presented by The Farmers Almanac says, corn pops due to expansion of air trapped within the sealed kernel when heat is applied (Farmers Almanac, 2001).  Thus saying that air that is inside the kernel is what causes the popcorn to pop.  However, the Popcorn Board has a different explanation for what causes popcorn to pop.  They say that each kernel contains a small amount of water which when heated expands creating pressure inside the shell of the corn (Popcorn Board, 2001).  When the pressure is too great for the shell to hold the kernel pops open (Popcorn Board, 2001).
•	C. Ideas in standard science
For this section we were able to interview Dean Gibson.  Dean is a former field annalist for the Missouri Department of Agriculture.  He worked out of the Department’s branch office in Jefferson City Missouri.  We asked Dean some questions about the variables we introduced to our popcorn samples to see if he could shed some light in our results.  Dean said that in the past couple of years the Missouri Department of Agriculture has performed some extensive research on what the effects of moisture have on grains.  Such as the germination percentage and the yield of the crop if the seeds are used for planting.  Dean said that the moisture content of all seeds could have good or bad effects on the output of the seed depending on whether the moisture is too high or too low.  Dean also told us that when using a seed that is considered a corn seed the moisture content will effect the seed more than it would in other types of seeds such as wheat and soybeans.  Dean informed us that a new type of stove has been introduced in recent years that burns field corn.  He said that if the corn were too dry or too wet the corn would not burn.  However, if the corn is at a medium moisture content in can produce as much as 40,000 BTU’s of heat energy.  This helps explain some of our results when the popcorn sample had a very high and a very low moisture content it did not pop correctly.  If the seed was not in the medium range it will not pop.  
•	Comparison of A, B, and C.
The ideas in parts a, b, and c are very interesting.  However, the concepts, thoughts, and explanations of the three parts do not completely agree with one another.  The child that we interviewed thought that the wet popcorn would not pop because the water that was added to it was cold.  This made the temperature of the pan have to raise the temperature of the kernels before it could actually pop the corn.  Also, the Farmers Almanac and the Popcorn Board had two very different opinions for what actually makes the popcorn pop.  One thought that the water inside the kernel expands which makes the kernel pop and the other attributed the popping to the gas trapped inside the kernel building up so much that the shell could no longer contain it.  Our expert Dean Gibson seemed to think that the moisture of the popcorn seed probably effected how it popped the most.  He thought that the seed must reach a, medium, moisture content before it will be able to produce the correct popping results.  All three views probably have their own integrity and all three should be considered when analyzing the entire project.  All three views add their own piece of information and their own views on why popcorn really pops and what effects the popping the most. 

Part 4
	
•	Teaching idea 1: What pops?
Grade level: 5-8
Integrative areas: Math, Science, Art
Objective:  Having the children make popcorn.  You will be using several different types of popcorn to see what will pop and what pops the best. The object is to see what will pop, what pops the quickest, and what kind of popcorn has the most popcorn pop.  This project is always good to do around Christmas time.  The popcorn that falls on the floor or that is not edible can be made into a Christmas decoration.
Materials needed: 1) you will need four or five different kinds of popcorn.  2) A cooking pan. 3) Cooking oil. 4) A video recorder.
Procedure:   Separate the children in four or five different groups depending on how many different types of popcorn you use.  Let each child know what popcorn they will be using.  You want to take out 100 of the kernels to use.  By using a hot plate or a Bunsen burner, pour 1-2 tbsp. of oil into the pan.  Let stand for 30 seconds.  Now put the popcorn into the pan and start recording.  Collect data while you are watching the experiment.  All of the children in all of the groups need to be watching and recording.  Give each of the popcorns only three minutes per sample.  Repeat until all the different kinds of popcorn have been popped.
•	Teaching idea 2  
Grades 6-8
	Objective: Class will perform tests to see what the proper temperature is for the cooking oil when popping popcorn.  Not only will the students find out how hot the oil must be to begin popping the corn but also they will find out what the peek popping temperature is. Materials needed: thermometers, popcorn, a pan, cooking oil, Bunsen burners or hot plates, goggles, and aprons to insure that they do not get grease and oil all over their clothes.  Separate the students into small groups of about 3 students per group.  This will allow all of the students to participate in a hands-on experience with the project.  Pour enough oil into the pan that the thermometer is about an inch under the surface of the oil.  Put about ten kernels of popcorn into the pan and oil and begin heating the oil.  Not what the temperature is after the first popcorn kernel pops and after every kernel after that until they have all popped.  Average the temperatures and that should give an accurate portrayal of the best popping temperature.

There are many different experiments that you could do with children dealing with popcorn.  You can look at different kinds of popcorn to use.  You can also look at the cooking methods that can be used.  You can introduce different variables to the popcorn itself, such as salt, sugar, or seasonings.  Also, you can add moisture to the popcorn or dry it out.  You can find old popcorn that may have been sitting out for months or even years and see if age effects how well the popcorn will pop.  Children love doing activities that are hands on activities.  They also like experimenting with materials that they know well.  Food products are always good for children.  They love food.

Part 5
•	Teaching Experience and Presentation
Set up for this experiment takes about five minutes.  The kernels that are soaked should be soaked in about one cup of water over night to insure that the kernels absorb all of the water. First we counted out one hundred kernels of each sample type.  Then we set up the Coleman burner and put oil in the frying pan.  Next we lit the burner and began to preheat the pan.  While the pan was preheating we had the group test the moisture of their sample.  Last we put the kernels into the frying pan and started the stopwatch to measure the time it took for all of the kernels to pop.
We started off our lesson by telling the class a little bit about what makes popcorn pop.  Next we explained to the class that we had three samples of popcorn to test.  One of the samples had been dried, one had been left alone, and one had been soaked in water.  Then we showed the class how a grain moisture tester works.  Next we split the class up into three groups, one group of each sample of corn.  One group at a time, we had the students come up to the front and test their sample of corn.  Then we had the students pour their sample into the frying pan that was already preheated.  We had one student from each group time the length of time that it took for all of the kernels to pop once they were placed in the pan.  We repeated this process for all three groups and recorded the data.  It seemed that all of the students were very interested in the experiment.  Also, we thought that all of the students did learn something about how the moisture content of the popcorn kernels effected how the kernels would pop.

Part 6 
•	Reflection
In reflecting back on our entire project we had to try to connect each individual section of the project to make one single project.  In part one of this project we created a starting point which we based all of the decisions of the project from.  In this section we decided what entities we wanted to experiment about the change of matter.  During this section we were able to formulate questions we had about how popcorn pops and what variables can effect how well popcorn pops.  Also, we decided what the best way to show the change of matter was.  This is when we came up with using popcorn to show what it looks like when matter changes form.
In part two we actually thought up, prepared for, and preformed our experiments.  The first experiment determined what effect the moisture content of the kernels had on how well the kernels popped.  The second experiment tested how far the popcorn would pop when the kernels had different moisture contents.  Both experiments had different outcomes than what we had originally expected in some aspects.  However, some of our initial thoughts about each project were very true when it came time to test for the outcomes.  Overall this section of our project was the most interesting because we actually had hands on contact with experimenting to discover what answers we could find for the questions we formulated during part one of the project.  
Parts three and four of the project could prove to be the most important sections of the entire project.  In part three we were able to interview a boy who was eight years old.  He gave us some very interesting answers for some our questions.  Also, he showed us how a young child may look at tackling such an experiment.  Throughout the interview we were reminded that young children will always try to relate something that is unfamiliar to them to something that is very familiar and may be a part of their everyday life.  In part four we came up with teaching ideas for this project.  The topic of how matter changes is a very interesting subject and is very easy to integrate between one or more subject areas.  We were able to come up with two very interesting lessons, which will probably be  considered as being very engaging for middle school students.  Also, the lessons seem to be very relevant to everyday occurrences in children’s lives.
In part five we taught a lesson for the class on how the moisture content of the popcorn kernels effects how well the popcorn will pop.  This was the most fun for the entire experiment.  Here we were actually able to see what other people thought of our experiment.  We were also able to determine what their thoughts and hypothesis were for the effect of the moisture in the kernels.  After reviewing the rubrics that we handed out for this part we were able to make a few assumptions based on the responses the students wrote.  Everyone gave us a high rating on the way that we presented our material and how easy the material was to follow.  The interesting part was the responses we got on what the students learned from the lesson.  It seems that no one really knew that the moisture content of the kernels could have such a dramatic effect on how the popcorn popped.  It seemed to us that everyone in the class enjoyed the experiment greatly and everyone seemed to take some sort of knowledge from the experiment away with them.  That could be the most important part of presenting a lesson, making sure that everyone is interested in the experiment and that everyone learns something from the experiment.
•	Reflective Narrative
This project satisfies many of the Missouri Standards.  First this project satisfies goals 1.1-1.5.  This project satisfies these goals because we performed all of these functions while doing this project.  First we developed the questions that we wanted to find answers to which lead to us starting our research on the subject at hand.  Next we actually conducted our research on how popcorn pops and what variables effect the popping of the kernels.  Then we designed and conducted our own laboratory investigations and experiments to test how the popcorn was effected by different variables.  Then we used technological tools to organize our information, data, and thoughts into a concise project.  Last, we were able to comprehend visual and written demonstrations on this subject area that we applied in some cases to our project.
Also, we were able to satisfy another goal of the Missouri Standards.  This goal was goal 4.5.  We satisfied this goal because at the start of this project we had to devise a plan of action to insure that we completed all parts of the project on time.  Throughout the experiment we had to revise our plan of action because of personal conflicts and obligations.  However, we were able to revise it in a way that we did not jeopardize the entire project.  Thus we were able to meet our deadline for this project and accomplish our goals.

Part 7
Annotated Bibliography

Farmers Almanac. “The Maize Page”. 2001. Retrieved on 12/10/01 from http://www.ag.iastate.edu/departments/agronomy/popcorn.html 
	We found many facts about how popcorn pops at this site.  Also, we found many interesting ideas on what methods for popping popcorn work the best at this site.

Gibson, Dean interviewed 12/1/01 in Tipton Missouri.
He gave us some very useful information about how grain is effected by moisture.  Also, he gave us his professional opinion on what effected our results the most.

Gibson, Ryan interviewed 12/1/01 in Tipton Missouri.
	Ryan gave us some great ideas about how an eight-year old would look at an experiment such as this one.  His thoughts about how the moisture effected the popcorn were very interesting.

Osborne, Roger and Peter Freyberg.  Learning in Science.  “The implications of children’s science”.  Heinemann. Hong Kong. 2001. Pg.51-59.
	We found information regarding the concepts of children relating new information to old information that they have already attained in chapter five of this book.

Popcorn Board. 2001. Retrieved on December 11, 2001 from http://www.popcorn.org/teachers/teachtools/popability.cfm 
	This is an Internet site that is designated specifically to popcorn.  We found many useful ideas and facts on this site.

“The Show-Me Standards”.  Missouri State Board Of Education. January 1996. Http://www.dese.state.mo.us/standards/goal1.html  10/22/01.
	We used this site to find out what the Missouri Standards are and how our project satisfied those standards.

Peer Evaluation Rubric

1.	What do you think was the strongest part of our project?

2.	What in your opinion was the weakest part of our project?

3.	How could we have improved upon our weak portions of the project?

4.	Was our project informative and easy to follow?

5.  Overall how would you rate our project on a scale of 1 to 10? ( 1 being the lowest    rating and 10 being the highest rating )

Popcorn Experiment

The material was presented in a clear manner.
1	2	3	4	5

The material was informative and easy to follow.
	1	2	3	4	5

The presenters work well together and showed knowledge of the subject.
	1	2	3	4	5

What did you learn from the popcorn experiment?

Did you think that the moisture content of the popcorn effected the popping time?
	Yes			No

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