ROCHELLE — In James Jackson’s Rochelle Township High School chemistry classes last week, he had students burn Flaming Hot Cheetos, using the fire to heat water. The students explained that by measuring the change in temperature of the water, they calculated the energy or calories the water absorbed. 

To measure the water temperature change, they used digital temperature probes. 

Students Lenna Drew and Sierra Ramos explained: “We put water inside of an aluminum can and then recorded the temperature,” they said, adding, “You need to measure the mass of the water + can and the mass of the empty aluminum can to determine the mass of the water.”  As Lenna and Max Orlikowski set to work, Sierra recorded the masses and temperatures called out by her lab partners.

The experiment uses an open flame. The students used wooden matches to ignite the Flaming Cheetos which had been skewered on an unfolded paper clip and secured underneath the elevated soda can.

Ava McGee and Ava Albers explained, “We measured the mass of the Cheeto before we burned it, too. Afterwards, you should also measure the mass of whatever ash remains when the fire goes out.”

Jackson instructed the students, all engrossed in their work, to record their observations in detail and show their calculations in their laboratory notebooks. 

While they hadn’t quite gotten around to conclusions, Jackson told them it would be important to compare the results to the results they might expect if the heat transfer was ideal (no heat lost to the surroundings). They were also to write about any aspects of this experiment that would affect the results. Each team ran two trials.