Food Science B

[dholdgreve]

I apologize if this question has already been answered--

In terms of the salinometer build for Food Science, is it permitted to build an Arduino or Raspberry Pi electric salinometer? It is rather unclear in the rules if this is allowed.

Thanks for your time!

Of course this is not the forum for Official Responses, just opinions. For formal responses, go so soinc.org That being said, note that in rule 2d, the device is referred to as a "salinometer / hydrometer" ... not once, but twice. A "Salinometer" by itself might be constructed using a computer and probes, but a hydrometer, by its very definition must float within the solution, so I think this might get you in trouble. If you do decide to test those waters, I'd bring a book of documentation that you actually built it and programmed it using nothing but component parts. Not sure it is worth all that, when building one is so much simpler (and way cheaper.)

[gz839918]

I apologize if this question has already been answered--

In terms of the salinometer build for Food Science, is it permitted to build an Arduino or Raspberry Pi electric salinometer? It is rather unclear in the rules if this is allowed.

Thanks for your time!

Of course this is not the forum for Official Responses, just opinions. For formal responses, go so soinc.org That being said, note that in rule 2d, the device is referred to as a "salinometer / hydrometer" ... not once, but twice. A "Salinometer" by itself might be constructed using a computer and probes, but a hydrometer, by its very definition must float within the solution, so I think this might get you in trouble. If you do decide to test those waters, I'd bring a book of documentation that you actually built it and programmed it using nothing but component parts. Not sure it is worth all that, when building one is so much simpler (and way cheaper.)

The FAQ for food science specifically permits electrical salinometers. If your event supervisor says no to an electrical salinometer, you can specifically point to this FAQ from SO Inc. to prevent or overturn disqualification for using an electrical device. Hope this helps!

[trehank]

Hi, this is my first time doing food science. I'm truly stuggling trying to find information due to the lack of info that Science Olympiad has given on this event. If anyone is willing to share where they were able to find information that would be very helpful. Also, I'm sure this has already been answered but are people making 2 identical cheat sheets for this event or 2 sheets with different information?

[SilverBreeze]

Hi, this is my first time doing food science. I'm truly stuggling trying to find information due to the lack of info that Science Olympiad has given on this event. If anyone is willing to share where they were able to find information that would be very helpful. Also, I'm sure this has already been answered but are people making 2 identical cheat sheets for this event or 2 sheets with different information?

Generally, two cheatsheets with different information is the norm. I can't help with regard to resources as I am not doing this event and have no background, but I'm guessing you've already tried the wiki?

[trehank]

Yes I have tried the wiki and all of the information is old and useless due to the different subtopics.

[jaah5211]

Yes I have tried the wiki and all of the information is old and useless due to the different subtopics.

This year topic is about fermentation so I think you should try to focus on the processes and the organisms involved in those. If you want, I can send you a test that I made for an invitational. It is comprehensive enough that it covers all the aspects of the rule.

[trehank]

That would be extremely helpful if you could post that test. I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

[Frost0125]

Hi, this is my first time doing food science. I'm truly stuggling trying to find information due to the lack of info that Science Olympiad has given on this event. If anyone is willing to share where they were able to find information that would be very helpful. Also, I'm sure this has already been answered but are people making 2 identical cheat sheets for this event or 2 sheets with different information?

I don't have specific links, but the FDA website is a great place to start.

[ndkuma01]

In the rules of food sicence it says that one of the subjects to be tested is
"Water activity"
what does it mean by this?
Any help would be much appreciated.

[DragonTownEpic]

Water activity is the amount of "free" water in a food. It's useful for determining food safety as spoilage bacteria can only live on foods above a certain water activity. The symbol for water activity is a_w.
To determine the water activity of a food, say a pickle, you would
Take the mass of the food (Initial Mass)
Put the food in a plastic bag and squish it as much as you can
Cut a small hole in the corner of the bag and drain out the liquid
Measure the mass of the remaining pulp (Final Mass)
Then, to calculate the water activity, use the equation (Initial Mass - Final Mass)/(Initial Mass)*100.