So how much sugar is there really in that can of Coke or Pepsi you’re drinking? Probably a lot. Watch this science experiment video and see a few different ways you can find out the amount of sugar you’re drinking in your soda or fruit juice.
The answers might surprise you, luckily there’s always water as an alternative.
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Determining the Amount of Sugar in Soft Drinks Introduction: Sodas vary widely in taste. There are colas, like Coke and Pepsi, which taste very different from citrus drinks like Mello Yello and Mountain Dew, which taste different from ginger ale... Even within a category such as colas or orange sodas, consumers claim to be able to distinguish different brands. These sodas vary slightly in their formulas, containing different amounts of the flavors used in combination to create their familiar tastes. One ingredient that varies widely in quantity is sugar. Follow the procedure below to determine the amount of sugar in your favorite soft drinks. Hypothesis: Choose three non-diet sodas. (Suggestion: choose competing sodas, like Coke, Pepsi, and RC, or 7-Up, Sprite, and Slice, that fall into the same general category of flavor.) Have a taste test. Pour a cup of each soda. Taste them and compare the sweetness. Write down a short hypothesis stating which you think has the most sugar. (Note: Turn in graph sheets and all other work including questions stapled together.)
Sugars experimentThis is a simple and practical way to get students to discuss sugar content of foods, and leads in to discussion of nutritional content of foods, “healthy” foods etc. It can be run as a competition (either individual or group) in which students have to guess the sugar levels in advance. You will need
The science behind it all The refractometer measures the amount of sugar based on the Brix scale. The Brix scale gives a direct reading of grams of sugar per 100 grams of pure water. If a soft drink gives a measurement of 12 Brix, that means that there are 12 grams per 100 millilitres. So in a 330ml can there would be 70.92 grams of sugar. Some of your findings might be quite surprising. Your test results should show that Coca-Cola contains less sugar than many fruit juices and diet Coke really does contain virtually no sugar. Lemon juice usually has a surprisingly high sugar content –although note how the pH levels compare to the rest of your samples. Sugar reduced beans don’t actually contain that much less sugar than the standard ones and tomatoes contain a lot of water! It just goes to show that some foods that we assume have less sugar than others actually have more. Beyond the science Sugar can be used for more than just making things taste sweet. Certain types of sugar are popular in the processed food industry because they not only add taste but also add colour, bulk and thickness. They can also be used a kind of preservative to stop mould from forming on some foods. Sciencing_Icons_Science SCIENCESciencing_icons_biology biology, sciencing_icons_cells cells, sciencing_icons_molecular molecular, sciencing_icons_microorganisms microorganisms, sciencing_icons_genetics genetics, sciencing_icons_human body human body, sciencing_icons_ecology ecology, sciencing_icons_chemistry chemistry, sciencing_icons_atomic & molecular structure atomic & molecular structure, sciencing_icons_bonds bonds, sciencing_icons_reactions reactions, sciencing_icons_stoichiometry stoichiometry, sciencing_icons_solutions solutions, sciencing_icons_acids & bases acids & bases, sciencing_icons_thermodynamics thermodynamics, sciencing_icons_organic chemistry organic chemistry, sciencing_icons_physics physics, sciencing_icons_fundamentals-physics fundamentals, sciencing_icons_electronics electronics, sciencing_icons_waves waves, sciencing_icons_energy energy, sciencing_icons_fluid fluid, sciencing_icons_astronomy astronomy, sciencing_icons_geology geology, sciencing_icons_fundamentals-geology fundamentals, sciencing_icons_minerals & rocks minerals & rocks, sciencing_icons_earth scructure earth structure, sciencing_icons_fossils fossils, sciencing_icons_natural disasters natural disasters, sciencing_icons_nature nature, sciencing_icons_ecosystems ecosystems, sciencing_icons_environment environment, sciencing_icons_insects insects, sciencing_icons_plants & mushrooms plants & mushrooms, sciencing_icons_animals animals, sciencing_icons_math math, sciencing_icons_arithmetic arithmetic, sciencing_icons_addition & subtraction addition & subtraction, sciencing_icons_multiplication & division multiplication & division, sciencing_icons_decimals decimals, sciencing_icons_fractions fractions, sciencing_icons_conversions conversions, sciencing_icons_algebra algebra, sciencing_icons_working with units working with units, sciencing_icons_equations & expressions equations & expressions, sciencing_icons_ratios & proportions ratios & proportions, sciencing_icons_inequalities inequalities, sciencing_icons_exponents & logarithms exponents & logarithms, sciencing_icons_factorization factorization, sciencing_icons_functions functions, sciencing_icons_linear equations linear equations, sciencing_icons_graphs graphs, sciencing_icons_quadratics quadratics, sciencing_icons_polynomials polynomials, sciencing_icons_geometry geometry, sciencing_icons_fundamentals-geometry fundamentals, sciencing_icons_cartesian cartesian, sciencing_icons_circles circles, sciencing_icons_solids solids, sciencing_icons_trigonometry trigonometry, sciencing_icons_probability-statistics probability & statistics, sciencing_icons_mean-median-mode mean/median/mode, sciencing_icons_independent-dependent variables independent/dependent variables, sciencing_icons_deviation deviation, sciencing_icons_correlation correlation, sciencing_icons_sampling sampling, sciencing_icons_distributions distributions, sciencing_icons_probability probability, sciencing_icons_calculus calculus, sciencing_icons_differentiation-integration differentiation/integration, sciencing_icons_application application, sciencing_icons_projects projects, sciencing_icons_news news.
Sugar Levels of Different Soft Drinks for Science ProjectsHow to Take Sugar Out of a Soda Science ProjectWith so many different sugar-filled drinks on the market, discovering the actual make up of any one of them can be an interesting science project. Even without lab equipment to separate the sodas, less sophisticated methods can be used to compare sugar content of soft drinks to each other and to other beverages and foods on the market. Boil Away the WaterYou'll need a scale, small pot, a camera and some graphing paper to document an experiment where you boil away the water content in soda to leave only the sugar. After weighing the soda on a scale, place the soda in a small pan on a stove top and lightly boil it until all the water evaporates to leave the sugar syrup. Measure the sugary syrup again on the scale, making sure to measure in grams. Document the at-home experiment by photos and graphs, showing comparison pictures side by side of the amount of sugar left in each pan and recording exactly how many were grams weighed out. Include cans of soda with any project to show how close home measurements are to the measurement of grams on the can. Convert Grams to TeaspoonsThe grams that are listed on the back of a soda container measure weight, while teaspoons or tablespoons measure volume, but there is a way to demonstrate how many teaspoons or tablespoons are there. Using a piece of paper or parchment paper, calibrate a scale to measure in grams. If a can of soda says 39 g of sugar are in each serving, measure out 39 g of sugar. Funnel the sugar off of the paper and into an adjustable measuring spoon to measure out how many teaspoons the amount of grams equals. Compare Sodas Side by SideAfter converting grams to teaspoons or tablespoons, another eye-opening demonstration is comparing those amounts. Place each can of soft drink next to another. In front of the cans, place a small container with the amount of granulated sugar corresponding to each soft drink. The eye will be able to see which drink contains more sugar than the others; the experiment could be extended to juice drinks and energy drinks as well. Design a Comparison ExperimentAn experiment that tests for the perception of sweetness can be made into a science project. Enlist friends or family to try different sodas and rank their sweetness or to try to tell the difference between natural and artificial sweeteners. To design an experiment, first design a hypothesis, which is what you think will happen. An example hypothesis would be "75 percent of people in this experiment will be able to tell which soda has more sugar in it." A list of materials, procedures and results should be included, and the conclusion should discuss whether what actually happened is what you thought would happen and why you think the results turned out the way they did. Related ArticlesScience fair project on the effect of soda on the body, chalk and vinegar science projects, teeth science projects, ideas for a comparison science project, chemistry science fair projects, 7th grade middle school science fair projects & experiments, how to make a 20% sugar solution, girly science fair projects for kids, experiment ideas using the scientific method, 7th-grade science fair projects with sodas, how to convert .06 to percentage, science fair project: dehydrating fruit, science projects on soda & teeth, what does data mean in a science fair project, girly science fair project ideas, science projects on laundry detergents, how to calculate a test average, science fair projects for eighth grade on sugar vs...., science projects on dish detergents.
About the Author Sarah Thomsen started writing about health in 2006 while pursuing her associate degree in humanities and social sciences. Her published online articles focus on improving holistic health. She holds a Bachelor of Science in nutrition science with a minor in psychology from Russell Sage College and a Health Studies Certificate from Schenectady County Community College. Photo Credits Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images Find Your Next Great Science Fair Project! GOChoose an Account to Log InNotificationsScience project, how much sugar. Grade Level: 4th - 7th; Type: Psychology/Cooking Science To find out whether people are aware of the amount of sugar found in everyday foods. The purpose of this experiment is to measure out the sugar of various foods and find out whether people can correctly determine how much sugar is in certain common foods. IntroductionIn nature, two things have been historically difficult for humans to find: things that taste salty and things that taste sweet. Evolution has designed us to seek out these rare flavors and consume as much of them as we can. Humans crave sugary foods for a good reason. Sugar packs a lot of calories into a small amount of food. For our ancestors, who lived on the edge of survival and starvation, the extra calories in a sugary snack, whether honey stolen from a beehive or fruit found in trees, could mean the difference between life and death. Unfortunately, our taste for sugar has not lessened even as this rare flavor has become easily accessible. We pack sugar into many foods we wouldn’t think to find it in and overload our systems to the point where we can develop diabetes. Much of the sugar we consume every day is hidden in foods that we wouldn’t expect to find it in. Research Questions
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Related learning resourcesAdd to collection, create new collection, new collection, new collection>, sign up to start collecting. Bookmark this to easily find it later. Then send your curated collection to your children, or put together your own custom lesson plan. Remember Me Shop Experiment Using Polarimetry to Identify Sugar and Sweeteners in Beverages ExperimentsUsing polarimetry to identify sugar and sweeteners in beverages. Experiment #13 from Food Chemistry Experiments IntroductionFood chemists must be able to differentiate between various types of sugars in food and beverages. Because sugars can have similar chemical structures and properties, this can often be tricky. Luckily, sugars are chiral molecules that exhibit optical activity. These are easily measured with a polarimeter. A polarimeter is an instrument designed to detect changes in rotation of plane-polarized light in the presence of an optically active compound. The Go Direct Chemical Polarimeter uses a light sensor and a bidirectional optical encoder to detect the quantity of light passing through the sample at each angle as the analyzer is rotated. A graph is produced that shows clear changes in the light’s polarization with respect to angle. Specific rotation is a property that can be used to identify chemical compounds that behave this way. A compound will consistently have the same specific rotation under identical experimental conditions. To determine the specific rotation of the sample, use Biot’s law: α = [α] ℓ c where α is the observed optical rotation in units of degrees, [α] is the specific rotation in units of degrees (the formal unit for specific rotation is degrees dm -1 mL g -1 , but scientific literature uses just degrees), ℓ is the length of the cell in units of dm, and c is the sample concentration in units of grams per milliliter.
Sensors and EquipmentThis experiment features the following sensors and equipment. Additional equipment may be required. Ready to Experiment?Ask an expert. Get answers to your questions about how to teach this experiment with our support team.
Purchase the Lab BookThis experiment is #13 of Food Chemistry Experiments . The experiment in the book includes student instructions as well as instructor information for set up, helpful hints, and sample graphs and data. How to determine the presence of sugar in foodsEasy way to test drinks for sugar What do grapes and milk have in common? Find out in our cool video! Safety precautionsPerform this experiment only under adult supervision Reagents and equipment
Step-by-step instructionsCrush some grapes and pour the juice into a heat-resistant beaker. Add solutions of sodium hydroxide and copper sulfate. Heat the mixture on a stove with candles. Over time, the solution will change colors from blue to orange. If you prepare the same solution with milk instead of grape juice, the solution will also change colors. Process descriptionSodium hydroxide reacts with copper sulfate to form a loose blue precipitate – insoluble copper(II) hydroxide. Many foods, including grapes, contain glucose, which can act as a reducing agent thanks to its structure. Milk contains lactose, or milk sugar, the molecules of which consist of glucose and galactose. Thus, in both cases, copper(II) hydroxide reacts with glucose and is reduced first to orange copper(I) hydroxide when heated, and then to copper(I) oxide. The more glucose, the better the reaction and the brighter the color. Are you keen on chemistry? You’ll love the MEL Chemistry subscription ! Dozens of experiments you can do at homeOne of the most exciting and ambitious home-chemistry educational projects The Royal Society of Chemistry Oversweetened: The Truth About Sugary DrinksYoung people will understand that most popular beverages have a lot of added sugars, and if they drink them too often it can contribute to poor health. 9-14 Years Old What You Need
Healthy Families Newsletter English (pdf) Spanish (pdf) To find out how this health safety lesson fits Physical Education and Health Education standards click here . Newsletter sign-upBe the first to know when new lessons come out. Lesson OverviewThis lesson helps young people understand the sugar content of popular beverages such as sodas, energy or sports drinks. The youth will measure out granulated white sugar so they can picture the true amount of sugar in these drinks. Young people will think of more healthful options to quench their thirst throughout the day. Instructor NotesBefore facilitating this lesson, you may want to review the following information about sugar-sweetened drinks. These facts can be shared with young people during your discussions.
Introduction
Explain to the youth that in this lesson we are going to see exactly how much added sugar is in some popular beverages. In order to do this we need to understand how to read and get the information we need off of the Nutrition Facts label for each type of drink. Show young people the Nutrition Facts Label handout by projecting the image on the board or printing it out. Point out a few significant statistics from the label (such as serving size, number of servings per container, total carbohydrate and sugars). Tips to teach:
Challenge the youth to read the nutrition label of the next sweetened beverage they want to drink. How many calories and grams of sugar are in it? Remember how the white granulated sugar looks when it’s measured out, teaspoon by teaspoon. See if you can think of a more healthful option to quench your thirst! Continuing the ConversationHand out the Healthy Families Newsletter in English or Spanish , so that families can talk about alternatives to sugary drinks from their pantries at home. Additional Instructor Resources
Power ChargersA set of quick activities to ignite bursts of energy. See all > Choose MyPlate Chaser Fill MyPlate Five Food Group Corners Food and Fitness Freeze Frames Heart Pumping Activity This site is presented for information only and is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice. Health Powered Kids is a trademark of Allina Health System. Presentation and Design © 2015 Allina Health. All Rights Reserved. |
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We chose drinks that were not low sugar varieties, but comparing the two would also be an interesting investigation. Note that this activity was completed in 2016, so the amount of sugar in each could have changed. Instructions. Use the information on the side of the bottle to calculate how much sugar the drink contains. Weigh that amount of sugar.
Eating whole fruit with it's fibre is self limiting, juice is not. Coke 65g (16.25 tsp) - Fanta 83g (20.75tsp) - Orange Juice 80g (20 tsp) - Grape Juice 80g (20 tsp) By drinking one 600ml bottle of juice or soda, children are drinking almost an entire weeks worth of their recommended daily intake which is 3 tsp/day.
Record the mass of each beaker. You will use the first 3 beakers to make pure sugar solutions and the other 3 beakers to test the sodas. If you are using a different number of soda samples, adjust the number of beakers accordingly. In one of the small beakers, add 5 ml (milliliters) of sugar. Add water to get 50 ml of total volume.
The food industry refers to the percent sugar as degrees Brix, (°Bx) so a 30-percent solution is 30 degrees Brix, or 30°Bx. Sugar is a key ingredient in soda, and in many more of our favorite foods and drinks. It provides the sweetness that makes the soda so appealing, yet is also full of unnecessary calories.
Quick steps to complete this science project: 1. Gather a bunch of drinks that kids love…drink them and save the packaging. Buy sugar cubes. 2. Talk about how much added sugar kids are supposed to have per day (3 teaspoons) and be prepared to be shocked…less than ONE Capri Sun! 3. Talk about the difference between naturally occurring sugar ...
Get the Irish language version. This experiment focuses on the mass of sugar dissolved in fizzy drinks and how this affects whether fizzy drink cans float in water. First watch the video showing the 'heavy sugar' demonstration, then find out how your learners can explore the mass of sugar in their favourite fizzy drinks.
Remember, 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar is equivalent to 4 grams of sugar. Encourage children to drink water first when thirsty. Serve water, 4-6 ounces of 100% fruit juice or low/non-fat milk at celebrations and events. Ask parent volunteers to chop fruits for an infused water taste test. Have volunteers reach out to local businesses to ...
Probably a lot. Watch this science experiment video and see a few different ways you can find out the amount of sugar you're drinking in your soda or fruit juice. The answers might surprise you, luckily there's always water as an alternative.
beverages. The sugar concentrations are mass percent—a 10% sugar solution, for example, is made by dissolving 10 g of sugar in 90 g of water. ... experiment is that sugar is the main ingredient whose concentration determines the beverage density. This assumption
Activity/Procedure: Weigh six small (60-100 mL) dry beakers before beginning the experiment. Pour 5 mL of sugar and 45 mL of water into a small beaker. (Note: Be careful to measure the exact amount so that the volume of your total solution is 50 mL) Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Weigh the beaker and subtract the dry weight to determine the ...
Fill the bottle with 2 liters of water. Shake until all the sugar is dissolved. This is your 5% sugar solution. Repeat steps 2 and 3 in two other bottles, with 200 grams and 500 grams of sugar. These are your 10% and 25% sugar solutions, respectively. Fill one bottle with just water. Place the hydrometer in the only water solution, and record ...
the average of your results. Record your results in table 4.Using a syringe, empty the ho. cylinder and fill it with plain water and empty it again. T. en repeat the procedure for 20%. nd then 30% sugar solutions. Record your results in table 4.6- Now measure the angle of refraction.
Sugars experiment. This is a simple and practical way to get students to discuss sugar content of foods, and leads in to discussion of nutritional content of foods, "healthy" foods etc. It can be run as a competition (either individual or group) in which students have to guess the sugar levels in advance. Materials. You will need. Suggested ...
Experiment with Beverages Science Projects. (5 results) Discover for yourself what your drink really contains. Build an electronic device to measure the strength of tea or test electrolytes (a salt that can conduct electricity) in a sports drink. Or discover ways to test sugar content in milk or soda. Electrolyte Challenge: Orange Juice Vs.
A science teacher shows how much sugar is in a fizzy soda drink, by boiling away all the water and leaving the unhealthy residue behind.After about 2 hours a...
Convert Grams to Teaspoons. The grams that are listed on the back of a soda container measure weight, while teaspoons or tablespoons measure volume, but there is a way to demonstrate how many teaspoons or tablespoons are there. Using a piece of paper or parchment paper, calibrate a scale to measure in grams. If a can of soda says 39 g of sugar ...
Using a metric scale, measure out the amount of sugar in your first food. Place the sugar in an empty mason jar. Label the bottom of the jar with which food this represents and how many grams of sugar you placed in it. Repeat steps 2-4 for your different foods. Set up a table with the different foods you used displayed and the jars of sugar ...
In honor of #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience, we're celebrating with a fun science experiment you can do with your kids using items you already have...
In this video, Twinkl Teacher Mitisha demonstrates how you can teach your children all about having a healthy lifestyle using our How Much Sugar is in Drinks...
Food chemists must be able to differentiate between various types of sugars in food and beverages. Because sugars can have similar chemical structures and properties, this can often be tricky. Luckily, sugars are chiral molecules that exhibit optical activity. These are easily measured with a polarimeter.
In this part of the experiment the students determine the sugar content in various degassed * soft drinks. Sugar solutions of other (unknown) concentrations, as well as other types of drinks (fruit juices, etc.), could be used. Procedure 1. Fill the long plastic tube with a degassed* soft drink follo w ing exactly the
Crush some grapes and pour the juice into a heat-resistant beaker. Add solutions of sodium hydroxide and copper sulfate. Heat the mixture on a stove with candles. Over time, the solution will change colors from blue to orange. If you prepare the same solution with milk instead of grape juice, the solu ...
A useful worksheet for use exploring the hidden sugar content in drinks. All you need to provide is drink bottles/ labels and pupils can investigate the sugar in each drink. Plot your results on our Think Before You Drink experiment worksheet. Twinkl Taiwan Grade 4-6 (age9-12) / 小學4-6年級 (9-12歲) Health & Physical Education / 健體 ...
Tips to teach: One teaspoon of sugar has 16 calories. One teaspoon of sugar weighs 4 grams. Ask for volunteers to demonstrate for the large group or divide young people into small groups. The youth will figure out how many teaspoons of added sugar are in some popular drinks. Pass out an empty beverage container, granulated sugar, measuring ...
As of 1998, the average American sugar consumption has risen to 148 lb. per person per year, which is over 1/3 lb. or 600 Kcal per day! In this experiment, we will analyze a number of types of soft drinks to see how much sugar they contain. Objective. To determine the amount of sugar in certain sodas by extrapolating from graphical data.