Conservation of mass/episode of Brainiac

  • Thread starter Thread starter .....
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Conservation
AI Thread Summary
In a recent episode of "Brainiac," an experiment measured a girl's mass before and after eating a quarter pounder burger, revealing a weight gain of less than a quarter pound, which raised questions about the conservation of mass. Viewers expressed disappointment that the show did not provide explanations for the discrepancy, prompting inquiries about the difference in weight, the absence of a control group, and the timing of measurements. Factors such as sweat, breathing, and other bodily functions were suggested as potential reasons for weight fluctuation. Concerns were also raised about the accuracy of the scales and possible experimental errors. Overall, the episode was criticized for prioritizing entertainment over scientific rigor.
.....
Messages
53
Reaction score
0
Conservation of mass/episode of "Brainiac"

I saw an episode of Braniac recently... I believe it's an english show... the yankees might not know it... but anyway, on it, they conducted an experiment in which a girls mass (pounds) was taken, to four decimal places.. then she ate a Mcdonalds quarter pounder burger (which was also weighed, and had ketchup added to it to make it a quarter of a pound accurately). Immeadiately after this, she was weighed again, and the measurement was less than one quarter of a pound more than her previous mass... fascinating, but the so-called "brainiacs" offered no explanation for it... very dissapointing indeed.

so tell me... where does the mass go?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
How much was the difference?
 
Did they have a "control"? Someone else who didn't eat anything who was weighed twice? Did they try weighing this person every 10 minutes or so to determine how much weight change that person experienced over time?

You can loose weight through sweat, and I suspect just through breathing, burping and ... farting too! lol
 
And giving off heat and doing work.
 
How many times did the skinny girl throw up to keep herself thin after she ate the quarter pound?
 
You can learn about as much science from Braniac as you can learn about nuclear reactors watching Homer Simpson at work. Its all about entertainment, not at all about science.
 
(I think) it was an ounce off... no they had no control group... but does your mass really fluctuate that much within 10 mins? All she did was eat the burger & get straight back on the scales... I wouldn't imagine she did too much work/sweating/giving off heat between weighings... burping/farting maybe... I guess... but would that account for a whole ounce?
 
How accurate were their scales? Because a great deal of it could be experimental error.
 
Did she eat the packaging?

Carl
 
  • #10
Hell your skin coming off coudl result for parts of it, oil from touching things... all sorts of crap.
 
Back
Top