Hi Students,
Ravynn had some questions on the lab and so I thought I’d try giving some additional instructions that might be helpful.
The Problem: Certain fruit juices seem to hinder Jell-O from setting.
From this info, several problem questions could arise to be test in the lab: 1) Does canned pineapple juice also inhibit Jell-O from solidifying, or just fresh p. juice? OR 2) Do other fruit juices inhibit Jell-O from setting, or just those on the package label? OR 3) Does the amount of fresh/frozen pineapple added make the difference in the success of Jell-O setting? 4) Would heating fresh pineapple juice before adding to Jell-O make any difference in successfully making Jello? 5) Are all flavors of Jell-O affected equally when adding fresh pineapple juice?
You may use one of these questions for your problem … or one of your own, of course.
Research: Research what is in pineapple juice that inhibits Jell-O (which is mostly protein) from setting. (Hint: it has to do with protein and an enzyme. :-) ) Your research will not need to be more than 5-6 sentences … maybe a little diagram will even make it easy to explain.
You might want to do your research first and then decide on a problem question.
Hypothesis: Form a hypothesis that is based on your research and the your problem question.
The Procedure should be relatively simple … based on mixing up Jell-O!
PS: Use test tubes for your container of choice. :-)
I hope this helps!
Ms. Story