Burned Bread Ash: A Magnetic Experiment for Iron Content in 7th Grade Science

[gary350]

TL;DR Summary

Burned bread ash experiment

7th grade sciences class I was given the job to bring burned bread to class for a science experiment. My idea of burned bread was burned toast so we never got to do the experiment. Teachers idea of burned bread was ashes. That was many years ago.

What class experiment can be done with bread that has been burned to ashes?

 

[symbolipoint]

What experiment? Why? What do you want to test? What is the objective? Without some objective, you have no experiment.

One may burn bread so that it is like charcoal; or one can burn bread (I guess,) so that most of the carbon is gone and only ash is remaining.

 

[chemisttree]

What class experiment can be done with bread that has been burned to ashes?

What state did you live in and was it early, mid or late semester? Fall or Spring? Most stated publish their science standards so that might give you a clue. In Texas the standards for 7th grade can be found here.
Most teachers start with Safety and work through to the environment and then to organisms. It might be a little different in your state but probably not too different. Since bread is food, it might have something to do with energy or nutrition but it could also have had something to do with the environment. It was likely going to be used as a visual aid in a lesson.

 

[gary350]

What state did you live in and was it early, mid or late semester? Fall or Spring? Most stated publish their science standards so that might give you a clue. In Texas the standards for 7th grade can be found here.
Most teachers start with Safety and work through to the environment and then to organisms. It might be a little different in your state but probably not too different. Since bread is food, it might have something to do with energy or nutrition but it could also have had something to do with the environment. It was likely going to be used as a visual aid in a lesson.

The year was 1962 we lived in northern Illinois near Wisconsin border small town population 2000 and it was very cold & windy outside with 12" of snow drifting to 8 ft high. I think it was January or Feb.

Objective is to learn what this experiment does?

7th grade was my very first exposure to science class and I loved it. I was very disappointed not to get to see what this experiment does. We lived in a very small town population about 2000. Class room teachers in that small school had to teach all classes, math, science, english, history, etc. The school had ONE 7th grade class of about 25 students. This was back in the day when teachers would mix chemicals in class produce a, fire, explosion, smoke, bad smell, etc. no worry of insurance problems or being illegal. Mr Maley was the teacher and he was FUN i learned a lot in his class. Never did learn what bread ash does? There was a reason it had to be ash from bread teacher said, wood ash & other ash will not work.

 

[Lord Jestocost]

Maybe, he wanted to analyze the chemical residues after incinerating bread, which are mostly common salts.
Have a look at:
The Chemical News and Journal of Industrial Science: With ...

 

[TeethWhitener]

Maybe, he wanted to analyze the chemical residues after incinerating bread, which are mostly common salts.
Have a look at:
The Chemical News and Journal of Industrial Science: With ...

This was a standard experiment when I was TA'ing college freshman chem lab 15 or so years ago (we ashed a variety of different foods and analyzed their mineral content), but I'm skeptical of the chemical analysis capabilities of a 7th grade rural classroom in the early 1960's.

Mass loss from burning the carbon to CO₂, maybe?

 

[Lord Jestocost]

You are right! But bread ash consists mainly of common salts, which would produce different colors when burned in a flame. Or the ash tastes of salt.

 

[gary350]

I remember teacher said, ash has to come from bread because it is made with wheat. Experiment must have something to do with wheat. Burn a slice of bread after fire only thing left will be things that will not burn. What minerals can wheat have in it from the soil where it grew? I am brain storming for ideas. Baking process adds salt & yeast.

 

[TeethWhitener]

You are right! But bread ash consists mainly of common salts, which would produce different colors when burned in a flame. Or the ash tastes of salt.

I doubt the flame test would tell you anything (probably dominated by bright yellow sodium). The taste, on the other hand...that's a pretty neat idea. Only drawback is that ash from plant matter tends to be quite alkaline.

 

[Borek]

I would search Journal of Chemical Education - not sure if their database is still online, it was several years ago.

 

[MAGNADOX]

I made an account just to suggest that it could be Iron content, see dietary iron is the same kind of iron that is magnetic (ferric iron). so you should be able to burn bread into ash then use a magnet to collect any iron in the ash, if you weigh the magnet before and after you could determine the iron content in the bread (also the dietary iron content)! Kinda cool side note is that the same thing can be done with cherrios.