Science: Study of Water in the Foods We Eat

In science this week we have been studying water & how it is needed by all living things.  It keeps plants, animals, & people alive.  We also discussed the amount of water in the things we eat.  Not surprising to me was that watermelon is nine-tenths water.  However, what did surprise me was the following statistics.

Milk is nine-tenths water, apples eight-tenths, eggs seven-tenths, peaches nine-tenths, & potatoes eight-tenths.  Wait...potatoes?  So we did a little experiment to prove this point.  First we sliced a baking potato & weighed a couple of the slices on our food scale.  The two slices together weighed 1 ounce.

We then placed the slices on a paper towel & left them in the window to dry for three days.  After drying for a few days we weighed them again & I was shocked....one-fourth ounce!  Three-fourths the weight had evaporated away.

Even then all the water was not removed.  It would have taken several days drying in an oven to remove all the water.  So if you are looking for an easy experiment to show your kids how much water is actually in the foods we eat & how important water is to us, try this experiment.  It is quick & easy to do.