Fermentation Laboratory Exercise Helps First Year Students Understand Log Transformed Variables

Lafayette College’s Introduction to Engineering course offers students a chance to learn about five branches of engineering. The students spend approximately three weeks with faculty from each branch, and complete three laboratory exercises during that time. In the chemical engineering branch, the students (from all engineering disciplines) monitor and analyze a polymerization reaction, calculate friction losses in a piping system, and produce ethanol in a fermentation reaction. This article describes the fermentation experiment procedure and assesses the student learning that occurs as a result. The learning objectives of the laboratory experiment include: ≠ Gain an understanding of the fermentation process ≠ Learn to perform a regression of logarithmic data ≠ Calculate yield relationships and understand the implications