High School

If something asks how much total fat is in potato chips, how do you calculate it?

Answer :

Final answer:

To calculate the total fat in a serving of potato chips with known calorie, carbohydrate, and protein content, subtract the calories from carbs and protein from the total calories and divide the remainder by 9 to find the fat content in grams.

Explanation:

To calculate the amount of total fat in a serving of potato chips, you can use the nutritional information available for that food item. For instance, if we know a serving has 160 kcal and it contains 15 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of protein, we can use the caloric values for macronutrients to determine the fat content. Carbohydrates and protein each provide 4 calories per gram, so we multiply the number of grams by their respective caloric values and subtract the total from the overall calories to estimate the calories from fat. Then, we divide the result by 9, because each gram of fat provides 9 calories.

Here's a step-by-step calculation using the information provided:

  1. Calculate the total calories from carbohydrates: 15 g × 4 kcal/g = 60 kcal.
  2. Calculate the total calories from protein: 2 g × 4 kcal/g = 8 kcal.
  3. Add the calories from carbohydrates and protein: 60 kcal + 8 kcal = 68 kcal.
  4. Subtract this total from the overall calories: 160 kcal – 68 kcal = 92 kcal (remaining are from fat).
  5. Divide by the caloric value of fat: 92 kcal ÷ 9 kcal/g = approximately 10.2 g of fat.

Therefore, a serving of potato chips has approximately 10.2 grams of fat.

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