Hi Katherine,

What an exceptional science experiment choice! The fun is that you'll get to try so many different brands, all in the name of science. Lucky you!

It would be remiss of me to just tell you the answer, when they can be found on our Web site. So I'll point you in the direction of the answers and you can read them for yourself. Our "Encyclopedia Popcornica" section contains some answers (be sure to look in "Industry Facts" among others); the "For Teachers" section contains other answers (look in "From Seed to Snack" and "What Makes Popcorn Pop" sections).

The oil question is simple: the oil helps conduct heat and prevents the kernels from burning while they cook.

And popcorn doesn't necessarily get old, but it does lose moisture, which is key to maximum popability. Again, look in the "What Makes Popcorn Pop" section for more explanation.

I hope this helps. Enjoy your project!

poppy plz right back need info about popcorn need your help

does what is on the popcorn affect its popability ie. butter, salt ,sugar for microwave popcorn

Not necessarily. It's really the amount of moisture in the kernels which affects popability. Popcorn needs between 13.5% and 14% moisture to pop. Oftentimes when making microwave popcorn, people tend to stop the microwave too early and end up with lots of unpopped kernels.