Date Class
Calories
necessiuyto raise the tempera-
Heat ls often measuredin calories,which is the amount of heat
(with a capital c) is equal
iur. uf 1 gram or *"1". ry 1 degreecelsius. The familiar food calorie
to 1000 calories. so one calorL ir equal to the amount of heat (energy)necessaryto raise 1000
grems, or 1 kilogram, of water by 1 degreeCelsius'
1, Let's start this activity by answering a few preliminary questions.
a. What is your mass in kilograms?
degreesFahrenheit) to degreesCelsius'
b . Convert normal body temperature (OA.O
of about 105 degrees
c. A dangerously high fever is associatedwith a body temperature
f'ahrenheit. Whaiis this temperaturein degreesCelsius?
into heat energy dur-
Let,s assume that all of the food that goes into your body is converted
is turned into
ing digestion. (In reality, only, some 6f tnu "ttetgy tiberlted during digestion
(not a bad rough approximation)'
fr6[t.) Let's "lro "rrr.t r"'yorrt Uoay is made of pure water
your body temperature to
Z, How many Calories of food would you have to ingest in order for
become dangerouslYhigh?
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F
F
i
. Name Date Class
a
:
3. What is the Calorie content of a typical candy bar? How much of that candy bar would be
sufficient to raise your body temperatureto dangerouslevols?
Let's talk about dieting. It seemsthat everyone knows someonewho is trying to loso waight
by dieting. One pound of fat storesabout 3500 Calories of energy. Thus if your body uses
3500 Calories of energy, you will lose a pound of fat (provided you are maintaining a bal-
anced diet at the time). Your body uses energy when you drink cold water. Why? Because
the cold water must be heated to normal temperature by your body. So it's possible (in prin-
ciple) to lose weight by drinking water.
4. If you drank one liter (1 kilogram) of ice water that was initially at zero Celsius, how much
would its temperature increase inside your body?
5. How many Calories of energy are necessaryto raise the temperature of one liter of water by
this amount?
6. How many liters of ice water would you need to drink in order to lose a pound?
7. Is this a reasonableway to go about losing weight? Explain.
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