List of MicroSims for Food Science

Interactive Micro Simulations to help 9th-grade students learn food science fundamentals — from molecules and microbes to baking, nutrition, and sustainable food systems. Each MicroSim focuses on a single concept and is embedded into chapters via iframes.

• Bacteria Cell Structure Explorer

  

  Click on each labeled part of a bacterial cell to learn its name and function. Identifies the key structures that make microbes unique.

• Bacterial Growth Curve Simulation

  

  Adjust temperature and nutrients to see how bacterial populations move through the lag, log, stationary, and death phases of growth.

• Carbohydrate Size Ladder — From Sugar to Starch

  

  Climb the ladder from single sugars (monosaccharides) up to disaccharides and starches, showing how small units link into larger carbohydrates.

• Carbon Footprint of Common Foods

  

  Interactive Chart.js bar chart comparing the greenhouse-gas emissions of common foods, revealing which choices have the largest environmental impact.

• Data Graphing Lab

  

  Build and interpret bar graphs and line graphs from real food science data sets. Practice the core scientific skill of turning numbers into insight.

• Digestive System Nutrient Journey

  

  Follow a bite of food through each organ of the digestive system and watch how carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are broken down and absorbed.

• Experimental Variables Identifier

  

  Read a food science experiment scenario and classify each factor as the independent, dependent, or controlled variable.

• Freezing Rate and Ice Crystal Size

  

  Compare slow home freezing to fast commercial freezing and see why crystal size determines whether your strawberry stays plump or turns to mush.

• Gluten Network Development

  

  Watch glutenin and gliadin proteins link into the stretchy network that gives bread its structure. Adjust mixing time and protein content to see the effect.

• Grilled Cheese Science Timeline

  

  A vis-timeline walkthrough of every chemical and physical change that happens while a grilled cheese cooks — conduction, melting, Maillard browning, and more.

• Hydroponic Project Data Dashboard

  

  A Chart.js dashboard for tracking plant height, pH, and nutrient levels in a class hydroponic experiment over time.

• Hydroponic System Types Comparison

  

  Compare the four main hydroponic system types (wick, deep water culture, NFT, ebb-and-flow) and choose the best fit for a given budget, space, and crop.

• Interactive Molecule Builder

  

  Snap together atoms to build water, sugar, and other key food molecules — and see how bonding creates compounds with properties unlike the elements that form them.

• Interactive pH Food Scale

  

  Place common foods on a pH scale from lemon juice to baking soda. Explore how pH connects to sour taste, safety, and food preservation.

• Learning Graph Viewer

  

  Browse the full concept dependency graph for the course. Search for any concept, filter by category, and trace prerequisite relationships interactively.

• Maillard Reaction vs. Caramelization

  

  Step through the two great browning reactions side by side. Compare reactants, temperatures, and the very different flavors they produce.

• Microwave vs. Conventional Oven Heating

  

  See exactly where heat is generated inside a piece of food in a microwave versus a conventional oven, and why the two cook so differently.

• Multisensory Flavor Perception Map

  

  Toggle taste, smell, sight, sound, and texture inputs to see how each sense combines to produce the unified experience we call "flavor."

• NOVA Classification Sorter

  

  Drag foods into NOVA groups 1 through 4 and learn what really separates whole foods from ultra-processed products.

• Nutrient Deficiency Explorer

  

  Match each micronutrient to the deficiency disease it prevents and the foods that supply it — vitamin C and scurvy, iron and anemia, and more.

• Peptide Bond Formation Animator

  

  Step through the condensation reaction that joins two amino acids into a peptide, releasing a water molecule. The first step toward building any protein.

• pH Scale Explorer

  

  Place common foods on the pH scale and connect acidity to taste — sour foods are acidic, bitter foods often basic, and water sits in the middle.

• Protein Source Comparison

  

  Compare beef, chicken, fish, tofu, beans, and insects across protein content, land use, water use, and emissions to evaluate real-world food tradeoffs.

• Saturated vs. Unsaturated Fat Explorer

  

  Compare straight saturated fatty acid chains against kinked unsaturated chains and discover why butter is solid while olive oil is liquid.

• Scientific Method Steps Explorer

  

  Click through the seven steps of the scientific method using food science examples, from asking a question to communicating results.

• Sourdough Rise-and-Fall Cycle

  

  Track a sourdough starter as it rises, peaks, and collapses. Learn to read the cycle so you can time your bake to peak yeast activity.

• Temperature Danger Zone Visualizer

  

  Move food through cold storage, the 40–140 °F danger zone, and safe cooking temperatures. See how time and temperature drive bacterial growth.

• Three Modes of Heat Transfer in Cooking

  

  Identify conduction, convection, and radiation in real cooking scenarios — and see at the molecular level what makes each one tick.

• Water as Universal Solvent

  

  Drop polar, ionic, and nonpolar substances into water and watch which ones dissolve. The molecular reason oil and water just won't mix.

• What Happens Inside a Loaf as It Bakes

  

  A timeline of the chemical and physical changes inside a loaf of bread as the oven temperature climbs — oven spring, starch gelation, crust browning, and more.

• World Map of Fermented Foods

  

  A Leaflet world map of fermented food traditions — kimchi, miso, kefir, sauerkraut, injera, and more — grouped by the fermentation pathway each uses.