Flexi answers - Is the cooking of pancakes on a griddle a physical or chemical change? (2024)

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Flexi answers - Is the cooking of pancakes on a griddle a physical or chemical change? ›

Flexi Says: Cooking pancakes on a griddle is a chemical change. This is because new substances are formed as a result of the heat, such as when the batter changes color and texture to become a cooked pancake. These changes are not easily reversible, which is a characteristic of chemical changes.

Cooking pancake batter and burning paper or wood are examples of chemical changes. Generally, a chemical change is irreversible and will create a new material that looks, feels, smells, and/or tastes very different. The kitchen is a great place for students to make observations and explore the basics of chemistry.

The lactic acid reacts with the bicarbonate in the self-raising flour to produce carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas. Bubbles of gas are caught in the batter as it cooks and this is what makes the pancake fluffy.

Cooking food is an irreversible, chemical change. During cooking, the molecules that are present in food changes to form new substances. Also, cooked food cannot be reverted to the raw state.

That's why a griddle is the superior cooking tool for pancakes—its thick metal plates do a better job of storing and retaining heat and then transferring that heat evenly to your pancakes. Thinner pans just can't do the same job and will lead to undercooked or unevenly cooked cakes.

Griddles can cook food items faster than other traditional cooking methods. One of the main reasons for this is that the large surface area of the griddle allows for the cooking of multiple items at once.

Cooking Food is an example of chemical change.

Physical changes do not produce a new substance. Chemical changes result in the production of a new substance and cannot be reversed.

Application of heat to certain substances causes only physical changes in which no new substance or substances are formed. Application of heat to some substances causes chemical changes, or chemical reactions, in which one or more new substances are formed, with different properties from the original.

The batter browns and hardens into a spongy, solid, cakelike material. When you eat pancakes, more chemical changes take place as your body digests the food. Some other examples of chemical changes are rusting, tarnishing, and burning. Each of these chemical changes produces different matter.

Is mixing batter a physical or chemical change? ›

Simple forms of dissolving and mixing are considered physical changes, but mixing the ingredients of a cake is not a simple mixing process. A chemical change starts to occur when the ingredients are mixed, forming new substances.

When foods are being processed or cooked at high temperature, chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars leads to the formation of Maillard reaction products (MRPs). Depending on the way the food is being processed, both beneficial and toxic MRPs can be produced.

Examples of physical changes: boiling water, breaking a glass, melting an ice cube, freezing water, mixing sand and water, crumpling of paper, and melting a sugar cube. Physical changes are the changes that influence the type of a synthetic substance, yet not its compound creation.

In a physical change the appearance or form of the matter changes but the kind of matter in the substance does not. However in a chemical change, the kind of matter changes and at least one new substance with new properties is formed. The distinction between physical and chemical change is not clear cut.

Cooking a pancake, results in the breaking of molecules in the cake and to form new products and thus not only the physical changes such as melting or boiling occurs there. Hence, both the given changes are chemical changes.

Pancakes are made up of a mixture of dry and wet which forms a hom*ogenous mixture. The dry mixture consists of baking powder, glucose, sodium, and flour. The wet ingredients include water and or milk and canola oil.

When the materials are heated they undergo a chemical change. The reaction is non reversible. The sugar, flour and eggs can no longer be separated. The properties of the materials have changed so it is a chemical change.

Baking cake is a chemical change. Baking soda and baking powder are key ingredients of cake. The baking soda reacts with the ingredient of the cake to produce bubbles of CO₂ gas that get trapped in the batter. The gas bubbles expand in the heat of the oven and rise up as a fluffy cake.