Please read the following scenario to answer the following questions.
Cooking oils, such as olive oil, are largely made up of unsaturated fats. If you have ever heated
cooking oil in a pan, you might have noticed that eventually the oil begins to smoke. The
temperature when this occurs is called the “smoke point.” At the smoke point, the fatty acids and
glycerol molecules that make up the unsaturated fats in the oil begin to break down and form
smoke. Different oils have different smoke points, and these smoke points depend on the
molecular composition of the oils. Below is a table with data for four different types of cooking
oils, including their smoke points (values are for 1 tablespoon each [15 ml]).
Type of cooking oilCalories Saturated fat (g) Unsaturated fat (g) Smoke Point (∘F)
Olive 119 1.9 11.4 375
Avocado 124 1.6 11.9 520
Canola 120 1.0 12.0 400
Peanut 119 2.3 10.3 450
4) Suppose that you wanted to conduct an experiment to determine the smoke points of the oils
listed in the table. What would be the experiment that would give you the best information to
determine which oil has the highest smoke point?
A) Add some olive oil to a pan, heat it over a flame, and measure the temperature of the oil when
it begins to smoke. Repeat for the other three oils.
B) Mix all four oils in a pan, heat them over a flame, and measure the temperature of the oil
mixture when it begins to smoke.
C) Add some olive oil to a pan, heat it over a flame, and measure how long it takes for the oil to
begin to smoke. Repeat for the other three oils.
D) Mix all four oils in a pan, heat them over a flame, and measure how long it takes for the oil
mixture to begin to smoke.
5) Which of the following statements about the data in the table is TRUE?
A) Saturated fat content and smoke point are positively correlated (related to one another).
B) There is a negative (inverse) correlation between unsaturated fat content and smoke point.
C) You can use the saturated fat content of an oil to reliably predict the smoke point of an oil.
D) Unsaturated fat content and smoke point are not correlated.