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STUDENT ASSESSMENT TASK: Operation: Space-Age Food PART A: Overview of task Have you ever wondered how long your cereal has been in its box before you even open it? Or why the margarine in your fridge lasts so long? Have you considered what astronauts eat while in space? If you have answered YES to any of these questions you are about to be amazed! Houston, we have a problem! The Canadian Space Agency has just been introduced to the latest food preservation technology, food irradiation. They are contemplating using this technology for food preservation on the next mission, Expedition 101, to space, but are unsure if this is an ideal method. They have recruited you, a highly acclaimed food scientist, to help them understand the technology, as well as several other food preservation technologies. Your job is to research food irradiation and one other food preservation technology. You must then present your findings to the Canadian Space Agency mission planning crew, explaining the strengths and weaknesses of each food preservation technology. Are you up to the challenge of feeding our countrys astronauts?

PART B: Task Directions 1. INVESTIGATE: You have each been given the opportunity to discover the food preservation methods of three items in your home. Choose three different foods; one that is mainly carbohydrate, one that is a lipid and one that is a protein. Record each food items name, ingredients and any clues for preservation from how the product was packaged. List the type of preservation technology used for each food. Use the chart on your handout to record your information. 2. RESEARCH: You and a partner will now choose two different food preservation technologies to compare. One MUST be irradiation, and the other is your choice from one of the technologies you discovered in part 1 of the task. This may include one of the following: salt preservation, trans-fat addition, lowering pH, preservative spices or chemicals, air tight sealing or other methods, with consent from the teacher. You may choose to use the school library, public library, or internet for your research. Be sure to list the resources you used on your project. List the strengths and weaknesses of each preservation technology and compare the two technologies. Answer the following questions about each technology: a) Where and by whom was this food preservation technology first discovered? b) How does the food preservation technology work? c) Describe the chemical compositions of the three macromolecules and their enzymes prior to

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preservation. d) Describe how the food preservation technology alters the composition of the macromolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins) in the food. e) Describe how the food preservation technology effects the enzymes of the macromolecules (carbohydrases, lipases and proteases) in the food. f) What are the advantages of the technology? How does it solve problems? g) What are the disadvantages of the technology? How does it create problems? h) Are there any health concerns associated with the technology? 3. PRESENT YOUR FINDINGS: You and your partner must now prepare a 6 minute presentation for the Canadian Space Agency mission planning crew and the class. Your presentation must address all of the strengths and weaknesses of the food preservation technologies addressed in your research, as well as the answers to the research questions from part 2. Remember to use your knowledge of the chemical nature of the macronutrients and their enzymes to support your arguments. You may be creative with the method of presentation you choose, whether it be a poster, PowerPoint, song, video, commercial, music video, etc. Remember, its your job to inform the Canadian Space Agency of the many possible food preservation technologies available. RECORD: As an audience, you must complete a chart (on the handout) for each food preservation technology presented to you and the Canadian Space Agency, that you did NOT research. After all the presentations have finished, you will recommend which food preservation technologies are most suitable for space travel and which are not. You must create a convincing argument for the Canadian Space Agency mission planning crew, as to why or why not the chosen technology is suitable. The chart you complete during the presentations will better inform you as to which food preservation technology you may recommend the Canadian Space Agency use for their next mission, Expedition 101.

4.

5. PEER AND SELF EVALUATION: Complete the peer and self evaluation form on your handout. Scientists ready?? GO!!

Part 1 - INVESTIGATE Macromolecule Food Item Ingredients

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Packaging- How has the item been packaged for longterm storage?

Technology used for Preservation

Carbohydrate

Protein

Lipid

Part 4 RECORD

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As an audience, complete the chart for each preservation method that you did NOT research. List the two methods you and your partner researched below. The two methods I researched were: _______________________&________________________. Preservation Technology Strengths Weaknesses How does it solve problems? How does it create problems?

Name___________________ Date___________________ *Based on your chart above, you must now recommend to the Canadian Space Agency which food preservation technology is most suitable for space travel, and which is least suitable. Provide a convincing argument to support your recommendation. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SELF and PEER ASSESSMENT: For this assignment I worked with:____________________________________________

The following list of statements is to be answered using the numbers below. Think carefully about the numbers you assign yourself and your partner. 5-Strongly Agree 4-Agree 3-Neutral 2-Disagree 1-Strongly Disagree

SELF Contributed positively to the pair Helped my partner whenever necessary Completed work on time Completed work accurately Contributed to half of the project Worked well with my partner Valuable asset to the pair Put forth a best effort on the task overall

PARTNER