ScienceSource.ca Dry Lab Activity

Unit B - Chapter 4

Investigating Science 10

Quick Lab

Iron for Breakfast

Mixtures are combinations of pure substances, and depending on whether the mixture has visible parts or not, the mixture is homogenous or heterogeneous. However, mixtures can sometimes appear to have different parts, yet other parts of the mixture may not be visible. Take for example breakfast cereal. Many cereals are fortified with iron. The iron is added during the manufacture of the cereal, but it is not readily visible in the end product.


Purpose

To determine whether or not iron has been added to breakfast cereals.


Materials and Equipment

  • long bar magnet
  • white paper towels
  • instant oatmeal
  • timer
  • wooden dowel
  • 2 dry breakfast cereals
  • 3 sealable plastic freezer bags
  • plastic containers
  • triple beam balance or electronic scale
  • plastic spoon
  • warm water

Dry Lab

A "dry lab" activity includes collected data and/or a video solution for your convenience. You can simply watch the following video and use the provided data, or if you wish to perform this lab for yourself, follow the procedure steps 1 through 7 described in the video. The same steps are included in written form in the documents available for download on the bottom of this page.



Questions

  1. A student performing the procedure steps 1 through 7 recorded the following results when testing various breakfast cereals. What the results indicate about iron contents of the cereals?

    Cereal

    % Daily Value of Iron

    Observations

    Oatmeal

    48

    A few gray-black iron filings on towel

    Corn Flakes

    100

    Several gray-black iron filings on towel

    Oat Rings

    45

    A few gray-black iron filings on towel



  2. Would you classify the cereals tested in this investigation as homogeneous or heterogeneous mixtures? Explain your answer.
  3. Is the iron that is extracted from the cereal an element or a compound? Explain your answer.