Name _______________________________
Block ____
Date _______
BIOMASS IN A BAG
Biomass at a glance:
Biomass is a fancy name for material from plants and animals. Some kinds of
biomass can be burned to produce energy. One common example is wood. Biomass contains stored energy. That's
because plants absorb energy from the sun through the process of photosynthesis. When biomass is burned, this
stored energy is released as heat. Burning biomass releases carbon dioxide. However, plants also take carbon
dioxide out of the atmosphere and use it to grow their leaves, flowers, branches, and stems. That same carbon
dioxide is returned to the air when the plants are burned.
Many different kinds of biomass, such as wood chips, corn, and some types of garbage, are used to produce
electricity. Some types of biomass can be converted into liquid fuels called biofuels that can power cars, trucks, and
tractors. Leftover food products like vegetable oils and animal fats can create biodiesel, while corn, sugarcane, and
other plants can be fermented to produce ethanol.
1.
Why might we look to biomass in the future as to help meet our energy demands?___________________
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2.
What could be some draw backs to depending on biomass to meet energy needs? ___________________
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READ THE PROCEDURES FOR THE EXPERIMENTS BEFORE ANSWERING THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
3.
Which food source will produce the most gas? ________________________________________________
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4.
Predict which biomass source will produce the most to least amount of gas(List all 4) _________________
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ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AFTER YOUR GROUP HAS PERFORMED THE 4 EXPERIMENTS
5.
How did the yeast respond to different substances? ____________________________________________
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6.
Why did the bags inflate? _________________________________________________________________
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7.
What type of biomass was created during your experiments? What byproduct was produced?
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Procedure:
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Label each zip lock bag
Place the food source into the large zip lock bag and crush or mash it
Place in the snack size zip lock
Add one spoonful of yeast and mix it in the bag
Add 50mL of warm water at the same time when instructed by your teacher
Quickly reseal the bag
Sugar > Yeast > Warm water
Cereal > Yeast > Warm water
Start Time:________________________________
Start Time:________________________________
Observations: ______________________________
Observations: ______________________________
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Out of the 4 experiments how did sugar rank in the
amount of gas production? ____________________
Out of the 4 experiments how did cereal rank in the
amount of gas production? ____________________
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Banana > Yeast > Warm water
Grass > Yeast > Warm water
Start Time:________________________________
Start Time:________________________________
Observations: ______________________________
Observations: ______________________________
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Out of the 4 experiments how did banana rank in
the amount of gas production? ________________
Out of the 4 experiments how did grass rank in the
amount of gas production? ___________________
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