The Impact of Food Coloring on Activity in Milk Types

Based on the observations in my data table, I can conclude and rank which types of milk increased in activity (from least to most movement in food coloring) when food coloring was added. The results go as followed, country creamer had the least amount of movement, followed by whole milk, 2%, and skim (fat free), with half and half having the most movement when food coloring was added. Overall, my hypothesis was mostly supported by the data with only a few slight differences. For example, I predicted that half and half would have the most movement because it had a very high water content as opposed to fat content, and would be on the more hydrophilic side of the spectrum. According to my results, half and half moved 2 centimeters. I predicted that skim milk (fat free) would have a great deal of movement which proved well in that it had the second most amount of movement.

According to my results, skim milk moved 1 centimeter as it has a very low fat content and contains mostly water. I predicted that 2% milk would have more movement than the creamer but less than skim. This proved mostly true in my results as 2% milk moved just about ¾ centimeters and didn’t rank the lowest in its amount of movement but certainly wasn't close to the highest. I predicted that whole milk would have very little movement, after testing it, whole milk had second to the least amount of movement. According to my data whole milk moved ½ of a centimeter. I predicted that country creamer would have the least amount of movement and this held true in my results as it did not move at all. Each type of milk that was mentioned above contains different water and fat contents that contribute to their hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties. For example, half and half which is a mixture of equal parts of milk and cream has a milk fat content between 10% and 18%, meaning it's water/other content succeeds 80%, making it a majority hydrophilic substance. This means that when dish soap, a hydrophobic substance is added to the half and half, it will show movement because the hydrophobic dish soap repels the more hydrophilic milk. And why food coloring, a hydrophilic substance moves freely in the half and half as “like dissolves like”. Fat free milk contains no more than 0.2% milk fat, and is mainly hydrophilic. This influences the food coloring’s movement in milk because it's very low fat content means it's hydrophilic and because food coloring is hydrophilic it is able to move freely. 2% milk has a 1% milk fat content making it primarily hydrophilic. This means it can move around in the milk because a hydrophilic substance dissolves in a hydrophilic substance. Whole milk contains 3.25% fat, meaning it is slightly more hydrophobic than the others. This influences the food coloring’s movement because it can’t move as much as the others due to its fat content. Country creamer contains no less than 36% milk fat causing it to be the most hydrophobic substance tested. This influences the food coloring movement as it is hydrophobic and the food coloring is hydrophilic. So, the food coloring would be unable to move in the creamer.

Adding soap to the various types of milks and creamers; half and half, fat free, 2%, whole milk, and creamer, caused the food coloring to moving seemingly more than when the food coloring was first added and caused an almost kaleidoscope like appearance. Based on the observations in my data table, I was able to rank the types of milk in increasing activity (least to most movement of food coloring) when dish soap was added. The results go as followed, country creamer had the least amount of movement followed by 2%, fat free, whole milk, and half and half with the most amount of movement. My hypothesis can be supported by the data. For example, I predicted that half and half would have the most amount of movement because it wasn't fully milk or cream, as shown in the data, it moved 9 and ½ centimeters and moved the most out of the five. It was hypothesized that fat free milk would have a great deal of movement and this can be supported by my data as it moved 7 centimeters. I predicted that 2% milk would have only a slight amount of movement and this can be proved true as it moved 6 centimeters. It was hypothesized that whole milk would have little movement, however it actually performed better than 2% and fat free milk as it moved just about 8 centimeters.

Lastly, I predicted that country creamer would have the least amount of movement and this held true as it didn’t move at all. Since dish soap is nonpolar or hydrophobic, it repels the primarily hydrophilic milk and food coloring. This causes the food coloring to move because it has no affinity for water and gets pushed away almost like two negative sides of a magnet repel each other. So, in milk with a higher fat content, the food coloring will move less when reacting to the dish soap because the milk itself is more hydrophobic and has the ability to attract nonpolar substances. There was a significant difference in the way dishsoap reacted with the milk’s, as mentioned earlier milk with a higher fat content causes for less movement when dish soap is added. This can be shown through country creamer which had no movement due to it's very high fat content, as opposed to fat free milk with it's very low fat content. Based on the results of this lab, I can infer that the structure of water is polar and hydrophilic, and fat has nonpolar or hydrophobic properties. Soap is a unique substance in that it has both hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties also known as being amphipathic, this allows it to clean dirty dishes by lifting and separating grease and oil by surrounding, breaking down, and suspending the unwanted substances in water. However, when comparing it to water and fat, soap is most similar to a fat. Soap has a hydrophobic carbon chain, a hydrophobic end, and a hydrophilic end.The hydrophobic end goes for dirt, and the hydrophilic end goes in water, in this case, the molecules move in a circle. There is a correlation between the molecular structures and how they interacted in milk because food coloring, made primarily of water is hydrophilic and was able to move freely in the milk, as opposed to dish soap which is mainly hydrophobic and repelled against the food coloring, causing it to move.