Health and Safety of Disposable Chopsticks | Experiment

Health and Safety of Disposable Chopsticks Experiment swipeI heard few stories somewhat expendable chopsticks being on the hook(predicate) and poisonous. And I wanted to aline go forth myself whether it was true or not. I found out that certain types of usable chopsticks absorb greater risks to be acidic and non- expendable chopsticks are much condomr. My results were important be make peeing I could help evoke the sensory faculty of the risk of victimization disposable chopsticks. This awareness not all husbands us from cancer or damage to body, but in like manner helps gather the world a greener place to live.Background ResearchThis try out is about Are disposable chopsticks true(p) to social function? My scheme is that some disposable chopsticks may not be process appropriately to be safe to habit. I choose this final cause because many restaurants use disposable chopsticks and to raise whether disposable chopsticks are safe or non-disposable chopsticks ar e safe. I actually want to prove if my hypothesis is correct about sundry(a) of chopsticks. For the gumshoe of many people in the world who use disposable chopsticks, it aptitude be recrudesce to use non-disposable chopsticks or the other way close to depending on the results.The normal pH reckon aim irrigate is 6.5 to 8.5 and below 6.5 the wet is acidic, soft, and corrosive. The pH piddle train 8.5 and above is hard, but it can cause aesthetic problems. Chopsticks can be made of bamboo, wood, plastic, and stainless(prenominal) steel. Sulfur dioxide and hydrogen peroxide are used to bl severally the wooden disposable chopsticks. legion(predicate) people use disposable chopsticks all over the world for lunch, dinner, and sometimes breakfast. I hope my experiment provide help raise the awareness of using the right hand kind of the chopsticks and improve the safety for many. Non-disposable chopsticks may be safer than disposable chopsticks, but it will depend on researc h and footrace data to prove. I dont want to digest sick or get illness by using disposable chopsticks. So there is an splendor of this experiment.Experiment DetailsExperiment QuestionWhat is the effect of production processes on disposable chopsticks?How does the improperly processed chopsticks affect our safety?What types of chopsticks are better to use?Experiment HypothesisAre disposable chopsticks safe to use?My hypothesis is that some disposable chopsticks may not be processed appropriately to be safe to use. Ive heard that disposable chopsticks are erect into bleach and this was brought to my concern.Experiment VariablesIndependent VariableThe different types of chopsticks, different temperatures of pissing ( fervent and nipping) and different dripping durations will be changing.Dependent VariableI am measuring the pH level of the irrigate aft(prenominal) soaking the chopsticks for certain duration for time.Controlled VariablesThe chopsticks will stay in the same pro vide and the amount of peeing will stay the same as well.Materials and ProceduresMaterials usepH MeterDisposable chopsticks- 4 kindsStainless steel chopsticks shaping chopsticksHot water supply boiler water tap waterBottle intoxication waterGlassesTimerComputerCameraScotch video tumbleeProcedures look 1 First, characterize the pH level of the tap water and bottle drinking water. Record the readings on paper.STEP2 Next, put hot water into glasses. Then soak four kinds of disposable chopsticks and two kinds of non-disposable chopsticks (stainless steel and plastic) into each designated cups for 30 proceedings.STEP 3 Use the pH standard to time the pH level of each designated water in the glasses. If below pH6.5, it could be acidic, soft and corrosive.STEP 4 Then repeat the above stairs with additional designated period of times.STEP 5 Repeat the same procedures by using shabby water in the glasses and record the results.STEP 6 In the end, we will compare the results of each design of experiments to find out whether the pH level for disposable chopsticks are different from the non-disposable chopsticks with various soaking times and water temperature. We can then conclude if it is safe to use disposable chopsticks or not. Also this will confirm if my hypothesis was correct.Challenges and Technical IssuesThe challenges I had during my experiment are as follows.1. The electrode tip of the pH meter need to be in the water about 3 cm deep. Dipping too deep or too shallow will affect the readings somewhat. However, with some practices and getting familiar with the depth of the tip, it is not trying to adjust.2. The pH meter will declare some time to stimulate the reading. Need to make sure the reading does not fluctuate for a few seconds. Then take the reading. The tip is to practice several measurements and take readings patiently.Experiment ResultsA. Baseline Comparison of Different pissings1. House tap water is on the hard side, pH level 8.30.2. The d ifference of pH level between home tap water and drinking water is 1.21.3. My experiment is using home tap water. So if using nominative pH level water or lower pH level water, the resulted pH levels would be proportionally lower.Water typesetters case(pH)Home Tap Water8.30Bottled Drinking Water7.09Difference-1.21B. Tested with Hot Water1. This experiment is more closely simulating the actual usage of the chopsticks (hot meals hot soup).2. two(prenominal) stainless steel and plastic chopsticks are very perpetual when nettled in hot water for an hour. So they are safe to use.3. plastic chopsticks are performing the best, with least changes in pH level.4. All four kinds of the disposable chopsticks had pH levels lower by 1.53 to 2.15. Bamboo type3 (PB)) of the chopsticks is the wrap up, pH level lower by 2.15. So these chopsticks could pose safety risks by using them with hot meals/ soup.5. If the baseline water were not pH 8.30, quite of pH 7.09, then the pH levels of all f our kinds of the chopsticks would be take down to the even more dicey acidic levels. So disposable chopsticks are comparatively unsafe to use.6. Bamboo 3 (PB) had the worst yellowish discoloration of water. Bamboo 1 (FL) and Bamoo 2 (GL) also had some yellowish discoloration.MATERIAL TYPE baseline30 Min.Changes from1 HourChanges from(pH)(pH)Baseline (pH)(pH)Baseline (pH)Stainless steel8.308.950.658.890.59Plastic8.308.920.628.640.34Bamboo 1 (FL)8.306.45-1.856.77-1.53Bamboo 2 (GL)8.306.78-1.526.47-1.83Wood8.307.35-0.956.77-1.53Bamboo 3 (PB)8.306.09-2.216.15-2.15C. Tested with nippy WaterBoth plastic and stainless steel chopsticks were very stable within one hour, while all other 4 kinds of disposable chopsticks were starting to turn acidic in an hour.When chopsticks were soaked in water longer than 1 hr, they all turned more acidic, with disposable chopsticks worse.soak in water longer than 1 day, twain 2 age and 4 days, the pH levels for most of the chopsticks were stabilized. Most of the changes happened within the first day.Bamboo 3 (PB) had the worst yellowish discoloration of water. Bamboo 1 (FL) and Bamboo 2 (GL) also had some yellowish discoloration.Data Analysis and DiscussionIt was predicted and confirmed that the disposable chopsticks would have lower pH levels, which could be acidic, than the plastic and stainless steel chopsticks later on soaking in both hot and tap waters. One practical explanation for low pH readings is that some disposable chopsticks used treat dioxide and hydro-peroxide to bleach the chopsticks without appropriate cleaning during the production processes.In the hot water experiment, the results were more prominent, after 30 minutes to an hour we saw hammy pH level changes on the disposable chopsticks. At the same time, both plastic and stainless steel chopsticks, the pH levels were very stable after one hour. The two worst Ph level changes were the third bamboo disposable chopsticks (-2.21 pH level, with the plastic bag wrapping) and the first bamboo disposable chopsticks (-1.85 pH level, with the Fu-Lu characters). The worst pH level reduction occurred at 30 minutes in hot water, not 1 hour.For cold water experiment, the pH level changes were at a slower rate than the hot water experiment as expected. Still the worst pH level changes with cold water are still the third bamboo chopsticks (-0.84 pH at 30 minutes -2.17 pH at 1 day) and the first bamboo disposable chopsticks (-0.71 pH -2.25 pH at 1 day). The pH level changes were stabilized after 1 day. Plastic and stainless steel chopsticks were also more stable on pH readings.The worst kind of the disposable bamboo chopsticks- type 3 (PB) also showed the worst kind of discoloration (yellowish) in both hot and cold water experiment. I further noticed both bamboo type 3 (PB) and bamboo type 1 (FL), the worst two disposable chopsticks have less density in the structure. This could confirm that if they are not cleaned well in the production processes , they could contain most unwanted chemicals (bad stuff) and easier to dissolved into hot (especially) and cold waters.My original question was that Are disposable chopsticks safe to use? My hypothesis was taken in the right direction because after figuring out both the observations of the hot and cold water experiments everything started to fit quite well. This is reenforcement my hypothesis that disposable chopsticks are not as safe. Moreover, if the baseline water were not pH 8.30 (tap water), instead of pH 7.09 (drinking water, difference of Ph1.21), then the pH levels of all four kinds of the disposable chopsticks after soaking in hot water would be even lower and in the more dangerous acidic levels. I will certainly root on using either the plastic chopsticks or stainless steel chopsticks for hot meals and hot soups and avoiding using disposable chopsticks.ConclusionFrom my hot and cold waters experiment with both reusable and disposable chopsticks, I can conclude that its better to use the plastic or stainless steel chopsticks (reusable). The disposable chopsticks are relatively unsafe to use. We should avoid using both Type 3 (PB) and Type 1 (FL) bamboo chopsticks. Also refraining from using the disposable chopsticks will also save the bamboos, trees, forest and earth. Its not only healthy, but also environmental friendly.RecommendationsThis project was done with limited time and resources. The take size of chopsticks and time time interval may not be big enough, the calibration of the pH meter was not done with the sample of pH 7.01 buffer (lack of test sample sheet) and use home tap water (pH 8.30). I will recommend to future project leader to use bigger samples size of chopsticks, take more readings in shorter time interval, calibrate the pH meter with the right sample buffer and use bottle drinking water (pH 7.09, in the middle of the safe drinking water pH range) to perform the experiment. roleplay CitedPH Levels.Freedrinkingwater.com. 29 Sep t. 2010 .Scary Disposable chopsticks. eats-time.blogspot.com. 29 Sept. 2010 .Experiment NotesIn a packet.