Eating Metal for Breakfast Is there iron in my cereal? email to friend
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The procedure I followed began by taking following steps:

First, I picked out five different kinds of cereal to test out for my project.

Second, I got five bags out and crunched up the cereal into very tiny crumbs.

Third, I put the crushed cereal in a big bag then put 3 cups of water in the bag.

Fourth, I left the cereal and came back to it in 3 days and came back to see if there was any iron in the cereal.

Observations

The results I collected indicated a strong amount of pulling of the cereal, although I was not able to see the iron in the cereal.

Types of Cereal

(1) Berry Krispies

(2) Blueberry Muffins

(3) Honey Bunches of Oats

(4) Raisin Bran

(5) Total % of Fortified Iron as per the box

Berry Krispies 10%

Blueberry Muffins 25%

Honey Bunches of Oats 45%

Raisin Bran 60%

Total 100%

1 Crushed 2 spoonfuls of cereal and moved magnet over cereal (Berry Krispies) The cereal did not move with the magnet. (Blueberry Muffins) The cereal did not move with the magnet. (Honey Bunches of Oats) The cereal did not move with the magnet. (Raisin Bran) I felt some pull with the magnet and some cereal moved. (Total) I felt lots of movement with the magnet and saw the cereal move.

2. Touched the magnet to the cereal (Berry Krispies) The magnet picked up a little bit of the cereal. (Blueberry Muffins) The magnet did not pick up any cereal. (Honey Bunches of Oats) The magnet did not pick up any cereal. (Raisin Bran) The magnet picked up some small bits of crumbs. (Total) The magnet picked up cereal.

3. Floated cereal on water (Berry Krispies) The cereal moved a lot and did not spin. (Blueberry Muffins) The cereal did not spin or move. (Honey Bunches of Oats) The cereal had some movement. (Raisin Bran) The cereal did not move. (Total) The cereal had a lot of movement.

4. Added 1 cup of cereal to large bag with 3 cups of water. (Berry Krispies) After draining the water and laying the cereal on paper towels, I found there was no pull with the magnet. (Blueberry Muffin) After draining the water and laying the cereal on paper towels, I felt a little bit of pull with the magnet. (Honey Bunches of Oats) After draining the water and laying the cereal on paper towels, I felt a little bit of pull with the magnet. (Raisin Bran)

After draining the water and laying the cereal on paper towels, I felt a little bit more pull with the magnet than from cereal 1, 2, and 3. (Total) After draining the water and laying the cereal on paper towels, I felt a lot of pull with the magnet.

How does it work?

My conclusions from this experiment were correct only because I was able to feel the magnetic pull from the iron content within the more fibrous breakfast cereals.

I did not feel a magnetic pull from the breakfast cereals with less than 40 percent fortified iron. Although, I did not see all the results I had hoped to see. I did observe that cereals with less fiber did not breakdown in the water like those with a lot of fiber.

This would mean to me that the healthier cereals can be digested easier than those with more sugar content. Looking back, I might have improved my project by having a much stronger magnet in order to see the iron particles.