Hydro Priming Seeds With Cheetos

Hydro-priming is the process of soaking seeds in water before planting. Hydro-priming decreases the time it takes seeds to germinate. For this experiment, we wanted to test how different concentrations of Cheetos in the water would affect the germination rates of pea seeds. Do you expect that Cheetos will help or hinder the germination of seeds?

Materials

For this experiment we used:
700 snow pea seeds
7 plastic cups
8 plastic bags
7 paper towels
1 meat tenderizing mallet
30 Cheetos Puffs
Sharpie to label bags and cups
A squirt bottle

Process

First we labeled each of the cups as follows: Dry, 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. For each cup, we put the indicated number of Cheetos in a bag, then used a meat tenderizing mallet to smack the Cheetos into powder. We then dumped the Cheeto powder from the bag into the appropriate cup.

The next step was to add 1/2 cup of water to cups 0 - 10. No water was added to the cup labeled "Dry." The solutions were thoroughly mixed.

Next, 100 snow pea seeds were added to each cup, making 700 seeds total. The seeds were stirred into the solution. We let the seeds soak overnight.

The next morning we drained and cleaned the seeds from their solutions. The dry seeds were not washed. Seven paper towels were prepared by wetting them and then wringing them dry. Each cup of seeds were spread into the center of one of the moist paper towels. The towels were folded in around the seeds and placed in a resealable plastic bag. Each bag was labeled to identify the Cheeto concentration in which the seeds had soaked. 

Every 12 hours the seeds were removed from the bags so we could count the number of seeds that had germinated. The germinated seeds were removed and the results were recorded. The remaining seeds were misted with a squirt bottle to keep them moist, then rewraped in the paper towel, and put back in its plastic bag. 

Results

Here are the results. Click on the table to make it larger.

Here is a graph of the same information.

Observations

The seeds that soaked in the densest concentration of Cheetos were the only seeds that germinated after 12 hours. These concentrations also germinated the highest percentage after all but one of the periods. None of the seeds that were not primed germinated after 48 hours.

It was hard to determine if a seed had germinated. We counted it if part of the root had extended from the seed. If we were to do the experiment again we would only count them if the root were a specified length. Also, since there were so many seeds that germinated between 24 and 36 hours it might have been helpful to count the seeds every 6 or 8 hours, instead of every 12.

Conclusions

Hydro-priming definitely makes a difference. We think it is also safe to conclude that seeds primed in a solution of Cheetos germinate faster, and a higher percentage of seeds germinate compared to seeds primed in tap water. Further experimentation would be necessary to determine if the Cheeto primed seeds would be more healthy, or if the mature peas would taste like Cheetos.

Can Cheetos Keep a Car Afloat?

It is impossible to do most anything now without wondering if there is some way to relate it to a Cheeto experiment. Recently we went boating on a beautiful lake. Today we tried to answer the question:

How many bags of Cheetos would it take to keep a Honda Fit afloat?

A Honda Fit has a curb weight of 2423 lbs. What would be your guess? In the group of people we asked there was a low of 500 bags, and a high of 500,000, an average of 53,800, and a median of 10000 bags.

The Experiment

To do this experiment we used a cooler, a large bag of Cheetos Puffs, two hangers, and a measuring cup.

1. We filled the cooler about half full with water.
2. We put the unopened bag of Cheetos into the cooler.
3. We used the hangers to completely push the bag of Cheetos underwater.

4. We marked the water level.
5. We removed the Cheetos from the water.
6. We measured how much water it took to fill the cooler to the mark.

Results

Archimedes' principle states that the upward buoyant force will be equal to the weight of the displaced water. Google helped us find the weight of a gallon of water, 8.345 lbs. It took 26 cups of water (1.625 gallons) to fill the cooler to the bandaid. 8.345 * 1.625 = 13.561 lbs. Each bag of Cheetos weighs 9.75 ounces or 0.609 lbs. To find out how much buoyancy lift each bag of Cheetos provides we will take the total displacement weight of the bag of Cheetos minus the weight of the bag.

13.561 - .609 = 12.952 lbs total buoyancy.

To find the total number of bags required we will take the total weight of the car, 2423 lbs, and divide the total buoyancy of one bag of Cheetos, 12.952 lbs.

2423 / 12.952 = 187.075 bags of Cheetos. Since we don't have fractional bags of Cheetos we will round up to 188 bags. 188 bags of Cheetos will float a Honda fit.

How many bags would it take to keep your car afloat?  Google "curb weight" and the name of your car. Divide the curb weight by 12.952 to figure it out.

This is a simple experiment and was entertaining for everyone involved. It was easy have lots of parts for everyone to perform, and it helped to get every one's predictions first.
Now, do you think it will be possible to get Frito Lay to donate 188 bags of Cheetos so we can test our theory? Maybe Mythbusters would take on the experiment to build an actual raft with Cheetos.

Cheeto Conductivity

In this experiment we wanted to find out if Cheetos conduct electricity. For this experiment we used a multimeter, water, and various other liquids.

The test to see if Cheetos, or anything, conducts electricity is easy - turn a multimeter to the connectivity setting (it usually has a symbol that looks like a speaker), and touch the probes of the multimeter to a different side of the thing you are testing. We touched the probes to either side of a Cheeto and quickly determined that they do not conduct electricity.

To make the experiment a little more interesting, we wanted to determine if Cheetos resist or help the flow of electricity through water. This was our experiment.

1. We taped the leads of our multimeter against the sides of a plastic cup.

2. We filled the cup with water to the point were water was touching both leads.

3. We turned the meter to 2000 ohms and measured 251. This was our baseline.

4. We then crushed up several Cheetos.

5. We added the crushed Cheetos to the water and read the new measurement. It was 165.

Because the value of resistance went down, that would indicate that something in the Cheetos helps the electrons through the water from one probe to the other.  Substances that conduct electricity are called electrolytes.

Just for fun, we tested the resistance of various other liquids to see if they are electrolytes. Here are our results.

Liquid	Value
Tap Water	251
Tap Water + Cheetos	165
Milk	260
Apple Juice	350
Vinegar	29

Observations: The values of the substances changed with time, more so on the items that are normally kept cold. To get a more accurate measurement, we should probably let the items come to room temperature before testing them.

Here's a small factoid we discovered. The resistance of milk can be used to determine the health of of a cow. Here is a link to a study that was done on buffalo cows. There is a high correlation between a higher than normal resistivity in milk and infected cows.

This was a fun project. The kids liked learning to use the multimeter, and they liked coming up with different liquids to test.

Cheeto Bike Helmets

Have you ever wondered how bicycle helmets are tested? I've wondered if it was someones job to wear a helmet while a weight was dropped from progressively higher distances onto their head. After each impact they would be asked, "Did that hurt?"

In this experiment we try to answer the question, do Cheetos make an effective bike helmet?

Many kids do an egg drop experiment in school. We figured dropping an egg would be a good helmet test. If the egg in a Cheeto helmet remained unbroken when dropped, we will assume that a head wouldn't get cracked either. We started our experiment by wrapping an egg completely in Cheetos, then wrapping the Cheetos in plastic wrap.

Then we went outside and set up a ladder. We dropped the first Cheeto helmet from 10 feet up the ladder. 

We counted down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, drop.... splat. The egg broke. We did several other drops at different heights to find the maximum distance we could drop the Cheeto helmet without the egg breaking.

 

8 feet was the highest distance we could drop a helmet without the egg breaking. Using a little math and Torricelli's equation we figured the velocity of an egg dropped from 8 feet. 


"vi" in this case is 0. There is no initial velocity. 

"a" is acceleration. The only acceleration is gravity, 32 feet / second squared. 
"d" is the distance the helmet fell, 8 feet.   

Plugging in the numbers
v = sqrt( 0 + 2 * 32 feet / sec^2 * 8 feet)
v = sqrt( 512 feet ^2 / sec ^2)
v = 22.63 feet / second

If the end velocity is 22.63 feet / second, how far can it go in an hour?

(60 seconds * 60 minutes) * ( 22.63 feet / second) / (5280 feet/mile) = 15.43 mph

Simplified, you can use this formula to calculate the speed in miles per hour of an object dropped from any hight "d", measured in feet: (SQRT( 64 * d) * 3600) / 5280.

Or, here is a chart.  

Our experiment shows that a Cheeto helmet can withstand an impact of 15 miles per hour.  So would Cheetos make a suitable bike helmet? You would probably be alright if your head hit the ground slower than 15 miles per hour. Not only could the helmet protect your head, but imagine the fashion statement you could make in the neighborhood with a helmet made out of Cheetos. And it would be a convenient snack!  This was a fun Cheeto experiment that didn't take a lot of time.

For those wondering how bike helmets are actually tested, here is a video we found on YouTube that shows some actual helmet tests. They're not quite as fun, but are more practical. Perhaps we might do some accelerometer tests in the future.

Cheeto Cannonballs

In this experiment we use Cheetos as cannonballs to figure out which angle will shoot the furthest.

For this experiment we needed a rocket launcher, modified to shoot Cheetos Balls. There are lots of plans on the Internet for compressed air rockets, such as this one from Kip Kay and Make Magazine. We built ours out of 3" pipe in a U shape. Instead of gluing most of the pieces, we opted to use threaded connections that would allow us to change the angle of the launch without repositioning the entire launcher. We added a larger piece of PVC pipe on the end that a Cheetos Balls could fit in - since they wouldn't fit in the 1/2 inch pipe used for launching rockets.  

We ran a long measuring tape down the center of our yard. We constructed a large protractor out of cardboard so we could determine the angle. and we filled the launcher each time with 20 pounds of pressure. 

We shot three Cheeto Balls from 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 degrees using 20 pounds of pressure. After shooting a Cheeto, we measured how far it went down this center tape, and the distance it landed away from the center line. Here are the results.

  

Our purpose in doing the experiment was to see which angle shot the Cheetos the furthest. We didn't measure how far the Cheetos traveled, only how far they went down the center line, and their offset. To determine which Cheeto went the furthest, we needed to use a little math. We had two sides of a right triangle, A and B. Pythagoras came up with the equation to find the length of side C: A squared + B squared = C squared. (This is an interesting YouTube video on the subject, explaining how Pythagoras did not think about his theorem the way we do.)  We applied Pathatoreans theorem to get the actual distances.

  

Degree	Left -1, Right 1	Center Distance	Offset	Computed Distance
30	1	630	68	633.66
20	1	604	54	606.41
40	1	588	69	592.03
30	1	584	21	584.38
20	-1	567	-51	569.29

Why didn't each Cheeto land in the same place if shot at the same angle with the same pressure? There was a slight breeze, which might have helped some Cheetos and hindered others. Also, though we tried to always fill the launcher to 20 lbs, there could have been variations.

Why didn't 45 degrees shoot the Cheetos the furthest? The higher the Cheetos went, the more opportunity there was for the breeze to change its course. As Yogi Berra said, "In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is."   

Feel free to leave a comment with your observations of the data, or with suggestions for future Cheeto experiments or crafts.

Cheetos as Sunblock

The situation is frequent and familiar to most kids in the summer. You are at a picnic enjoying Cheetos. With no place to wipe your Cheeto fingers, you wipe them on your shirt. The question we try to answer in this experiment is, do Cheetos make an effective sunblock? Does wiping your fingers on your shirt increase the sunblock protection of the shirt?

To do this experiment, we first ground up some Cheetos into a powder.

Then we took the Cheeto powder, some 50 SPF sunblock, and some towels and headed to the back yard. We exposed our stomachs to the sun and put a strip of sunblock and a stripe of cheeto powder.

We tanned in the sun for 20 minutes. It is 97 degrees (36.6 C) outside.

Observations: Sister's skin was the most sensitive. After 20 minutes her face and belly were red. The stripe of sunblock was clearly visible. The Cheeto stripe looked more like reverse freckles where the thicker specks of cheeto dust had been. Dad and Brother did not have significant coloring in that time, and only the faint line of sunblock was visible. (Brother almost didn't make it the 20 minutes in the sun. He summed up his the experience commenting, "I'm dying to death!")

Conclusion: Cheetos do not make good sunblock unless you like a pokadot tan. But they do make great treats as you are passing the time in the sun.

Update: As we were getting ready for bed we were again comparing outcomes. The color had set in with time, and we all had red bellies. All of us had a pronounced line where the SPF 50 sunblock had been, and a less pronounced spotty line where the cheetos had been. We were suprised how red we all were after just 20 minutes in the sun. So if you are at a picknic or at the pool and don't have sunblock, smear yourself in Cheetos. It is definitely better than being unprotected.

Cheetos as a Bullet Proof Vest

All Ralphie Parker wanted for Christmas was a Red Ryder, carbine-action, 200 shot range model air rifle. "You'll shoot your eye out" was all anyone ever replied. BB guns can be dangerous. Like Ralphie, dad received a Red Ryder BB gun when he was a kid. In this experiment we are going to test a way to make BB guns safer. We ask the question - how many Cheetos does it take to stop a BB?

For the first part of our experiment, we wanted to know how fast the BBs are traveling when shot. This would help us establish their momentum. (Momentum is velocity x mass.)

We thought of several ways we could test for the speed.

• We could shoot the BB through two laser beams.
• We could shoot the BB straight into the air and time how long it takes to land.
• We could shoot a BB at a mobile police radar unit that warns drivers of their speed.

We decided that we could use sound instead. We measured 10 feet from a fence, then recorded shooting a BB at the fence.

We used a program called Audacity to measure the time difference between the sound of the gun firing and the sound of the BB hitting the fence. It was 0.07 seconds.

There are 5280 feet in a mile, so it would take a BB ((5280 / 10) * 0.07 = ) 36.96 seconds to go a mile. To get miles per house we take 60 seconds/minute * 60 mintues/hour  = 3600, and divide that by 36.96 seconds. The total (3600 / 36.96) is 97.4 miles/hour. 

A BB is 5.23 grains, which is .01 ounces.

Next, we pinched a row of Cheetos between two kabob skewers.  

 Then we attached the skewers onto the BB gun.

Then we fired a BB into the Cheetos.

We did the experiment twice. The first time, the BB went through 3 Cheetos and stopped at the 4th. The second time, the BB embedded itself in the middle of the 4th Cheeto.

Are you soon going to be able to go to Cabelas and buy a BB-proof vest made of Cheetos? Probably not. But Cheetos just might have protected Ralphie when he was firing his BB gun.

Cheetos as Thermal Insulators

Suppose you are on a picnic and it's hot outside, and you would like to keep your soda cold a little longer.  You happen to have some Cheetos at the picnic. Could you keep your soda cold by wrapping the can in Cheetos?

For this experiment we took a soda out of the refrigerator, opened it, put a digital thermometer in it, and recorded the temperature every 30 seconds, for 35 minutes.

Then we took some duct tape and put cheetos on it. We learned from our last experiment that Cheetos Puffs really don't stack nicely, so we tried cutting the cheetos into straight pieces. This gave us smaller gaps between the Cheetos.  

Then wrapped the Cheetos around a cold can.

Since the can had been out of the fridge for a while as we wrapped our Cheeto insulation around it, we put the can back in the fridge for 30 minutes to let it cool back down. We then took it out and followed the same procedure, measuring the temperature every 30 seconds for 35 minutes. 

For the last part of the experiment we put a can in a foam can holder designed for the purpose of keeping cans cool. We expected this to work the best. 

During the first 10 minutes of all of the experiments the temperature of the soda fluctuated up and down. We think this had to do with the carbon dioxide bubbles being released from the soda. (If we were to do the experiment again we would use plain water.)

This charts shows our measurements of the temperature rising over time.  

Amazingly enough, the Cheetos were the best insulator with the soda rising only 3.2 degrees. The soda in the foam can insulator rose 3.7 degrees, and the plain can rose 4.4 degrees farenheit. So the next time you want to keep your soda cold, make sure you have a handful of Cheetos.