Int1 114.1.1 Task 3
After researching, I found two studies that are similar to my experiment. One study by Sean Boyd (2007) tested to see which brand of microwave popcorn yielded the least amount of un-popped kernels. Mr. Boyd tested five brands of butter flavored microwave popcorn: Aldi, Act II, Orville Redenbacher, Jolley Time and Pop-Secret. His experiment proved his hypothesis partially wrong. Mr. Boyd hypothesized that Orville Redenbacher would be the best and Aldi's would be the worst. His experiment proved that Act II produced the least amount of un-popped kernels while Aldi's did have the most un-popped kernels on average. On the other end of the spectrum, Tammie Mason (2011) experimented to see which brand of microwave popcorn yielded the highest percentage of popped kernels to determine the best value. Ms. Mason experimented with four brands of microwave popcorn, three are major brands and one is a generic: Act II, Pop Weaver, Orville Redenbacher and Sure Fine (generic). Ms. Mason's experience with generic grocery products have been positive and generally satisfactory. Therefore, her initial inclination is that the generic Sure Fine would be just as good as a name brand product. After she reviewed other similar studies, she predicted the name brand microwave popcorn would produce a better value. Her conclusion determined that Orville Redenbacher was the clear leader and the generic Sure Fine proved to be the worst in terms of value.
Experimental Design
Tools and materials needed to reproduce my experiment:
Three bags each of butter flavored microwave popcorn from: □ Jolley Time □ Orville Redenbacher □ Act II □ Pop Weaver
□ GE model #JES0736 microwave oven (700 watt)
□ One 13" x 18" jelly roll pan (or cookie sheet with edges)
□ Small plastic spoon
□ Spatula
□ Eight Ziploc type one-gallon bags
□ Pen or pencil
□ Paper towel
□ Data sheet containing 17 lines and 5 columns (see below)
Experiment Steps
1. Remove one bag of popcorn from the
Experimental Design
Tools and materials needed to reproduce my experiment:
Three bags each of butter flavored microwave popcorn from: □ Jolley Time □ Orville Redenbacher □ Act II □ Pop Weaver
□ GE model #JES0736 microwave oven (700 watt)
□ One 13" x 18" jelly roll pan (or cookie sheet with edges)
□ Small plastic spoon
□ Spatula
□ Eight Ziploc type one-gallon bags
□ Pen or pencil
□ Paper towel
□ Data sheet containing 17 lines and 5 columns (see below)
Experiment Steps
1. Remove one bag of popcorn from the
References: American Popcorn Company. (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 3, 2013, from URL address http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Pop_Corn_Company Boyd,S. (2007)The Jawbreakers of the Popcorn Industry. Retrieved on May 31, 2013, from: URL address http://home.ptd.net/~sequoia1/Science/popcorn.htm Mason, T. (2011)Which Microwave Popcorn Gives the Most POP for Your Buck? Retrieved on May 31, 2013, from: URL address http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6155202/which_microwave_popcorn_gives_the_most.html?cat=46 Orville Redenbacher 's. (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 3, 2013, from URL address http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orville_Redenbacher%27s