Additive Lab Report

Problem
What do additives – like citric acid, sugar, salt, baking soda, cornstarch, and powdered milk – do to the strength ̸̸̸density of gelatin?
Hypothesis
I hypothesize that the higher the density of the additive is, the higher strength/density the gelatin will have.
The materials you will need for this experiment are;
• 2 packs of unflavoured Knox gelatin (1 box)
• A pencil/pen and paper to record data
• 3 tablespoons of citric acid
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 3 tablespoons of salt
• 3 tablespoons of (skim) powdered milk
• 3 tablespoons of baking soda
• 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
• Popsicle molds with a minimum of 12 spaces, with a lid
• Popsicle stick(s)
• A small paring knife
• A nail file
• Quarters
• 2 paper cups
• Masking tape
• Sauce pan (large enough to fit about 4 cups of water)
• 4 cups of water, 2 cups cold and 2 cups boiling
• A microwave
• A spoon
• Tablespoon
• Half of a tablespoon
•
You must be very careful while doing this experiment so you do not injure yourself.
Variables
Independent Variable – The test additive added to the gelatin.
Dependent Variable – The amount of quarters the gelatin can hold.
Controlled Variables – The gelatin-to-water ratio, the popsicle stick and cup “tester”, the amount of gelatin added to each mold, the size and shape of the mold, the amount of additive added to the gelatin, etc.
Intervening Variable – Not all of the additives would fully dissolve into the gelatin.
Procedure
1. First, I prepared my molds by labelling all 12 molds with their corresponding additive. I did this by writing it on a piece of masking tape and putting it on the mold.
2. Then I prepared my additives by adding 1 and ½ tablespoons of the additive in to each