Name: ______Date:______

Chemistry Lab: Beverage Density Lab

Background

Along with adding Calories to a beverage, dissolved sugar also increases the density of the solution.

In this lab, you will first determine the density of five known sugar solutions:

  • 0% (distilled water, not colored)
  • 5% (colored yellow)
  • 10% (colored green)
  • 15% (colored blue)
  • 20% (colored purple).

You will then plot these densities on a density vs. sugar content graph. Finally, you will determine the densities of the four beverages, and then use the graph to approximate their sugar contents.How well do you know the beverages that you drink? Before you begin, rank the following five from lowest sugar content to highest on page three:Coke (Classic), Diet Coke, Welch’s 100% Grape Juice, PowerAde, and Sprite.

Procedure:

  1. Tare (zero) a 250 mL beaker. Measure 5.00 mL of the 0% sugar solution in the graduated cylinder. Add the solution to the beaker and record the mass.
  1. Push the tare button to re-zero the balance for the next mass. There is no need to dump each solution out in between.
  1. Use the beaker of water provided to rinse the pipet between the trials.
  1. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with each sugar solution (Data Table I)
  1. Plot your calculated densities (DV = y-axis) vs. sugar content (IV = x axis) for each of thefive known sugar solutions. Be sure to follow graph requirements on page 15 in your notes forfull credit.
  1. Use a ruler to draw a best fit straight line through the points.
  1. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with each beverage (Data Table II)
  1. Clean up lab station and return to your seat.
  1. Calculate and record the density of each solution.
  1. Find the density of each beverage on the graph and determine the sugar content. Use a different colored pencil for each drink.
  1. Make a key for what each color represents and record the densities in the Results Table.

Data:

Data Table I: Sugar Standards

Sample / Mass (g) / Volume (mL) / Density (g/mL)
0 % sugar / 5.00
5 % sugar
10 % sugar
15 % sugar
20 % sugar

Data Table II: Beverage Densities

Sample / Mass (g) / Volume (mL) / Density (g/mL)
Coke / 5.00
Diet Coke
Grape Juice
PowerAde
Sprite

Analysis:

Results Table
Sample / Density (g/mL) / % Sugar
Coke
Diet Coke
Grape Juice
PowerAde
Sprite

Hypothesis:

______

(lowest sugar) (highest sugar)

Results:

______

(lowest sugar) (highest sugar)

Conclusion Questions:

  1. How well did you do in guessing the sugar-content rank of the beverages? Did any surprise you?
  1. Why was it OK to leave liquid in the beaker from one trial to the next?
  1. This lab focuses on sugar content. What assumption does the lab make concerning all the other ingredients in each beverage?

Potential Sources of Error:

Potential Errors / Effects on Results
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