BAGHAI-RIDING, NINA LUCILLE. Department of Biological Sciences, Delta State University, Cleveland, Mississippi 38733. - Using Microwave Popcorn to Teach Scientific Methodology.
Students enrolled at Delta State University must complete two
laboratory science courses as a part of their general education
requirement. Principles of Biology is a course that many biology
majors and non-majors use to partially fulfill this requirement. A
fundamental goal of this course is development of a sound
understanding of scientific process and methodology through
experimentation. Particular emphasis is placed on observation,
hypothesis development, and hypothesis testing. During the past four
semesters (Fall 1999 - Spring 2001), students enrolled in my
Principles of Biology course, have popped and counted kernels
contained in 3.5-ounce bags of commercial, microwave brands of popcorn
as their first laboratory exercise. Each class tabulates, graphs, and
compares the percentage of popped kernels for each brand. Tested
brands have included Popweaver, Act II Original, Act II Butter Lovers,
Act II Extreme Butter, Orville, Cousin William, Kroger Lite, Kroger
Yellow and Pop Secret. Students are instructed to propose additional
questions and formulate additional experiments that could be
conducted. Students also compared 100 kernels of 20 year-old popcorn
that lacked preservatives to 100 kernels of Popweaver and Act II when
placed into non-insulated brown-paper lunch bags sealed with scotch
tape. Results from these laboratory investigations revealed that
commercial bags of Popweaver frequently contain more kernels than
other brands of microwave popcorn but that Act II brands have a higher
popping rate percentage. In addition, most kernels of the
non-microwave popcorn usually pop, but are burned. Students conclude
that possible differences in their results may be related to
uncontrolled variables such as artificial additives, grade of popcorn,
and product freshness.
Key words: brands of popcorn, freshman biology, general education, investigative science, scientific methodology