Running head: SUGAR IS SUGAR! OR IS IT? 1

Sugar is sugar! Or is it?

[Student Name]

[Course/Number]

October 2, 2018

[Instructor Name]

Abstract

Since so many people argue about different types of sugar, their value and properties and many commercials and man-made sugar substitutes contend that all sugar and substitutes are equal, this experiment sought verification of such. Using Equal (aspartame), white sugar, white sugar with food coloring and brown sugar as variables in the rock candy recipe, the results demonstrated that all sugars are not equal. Rather, each has its own properties and cannot therefore be equally interchanged.

Sugar is sugar! Or is it?

If sugar is sugar simply because it is sweet and can therefore be exchanged in an ad hoc fashion, then all sugar should betechnically created equal. If the man-made equivalents for such are truly substitutes and fulfill the same premises as natural sugars, then these substitutes should be sugars because they are also sweet. Accordingly, they should be interchangeable with their natural counterparts. Therefore, using the rock candy recipe should produce the same quality of candy and should yield candy of equal sweetness if the “equality” principle is true.

Heading for Section 1 of Your Paper (Must be bold!)

To test the equal value of the different types of sugar and the man-made substitute Equal, a simple experiment using the rock sugar candy recipe should substantiate the phrase that sugar is sugar. It should demonstrate that each type of sugar and/or sugar substitute produces rock candy of equal density and sweetness. Failure to do so would negate the statement that sugar is sugar and thereby has the same properties.

Hypotheses Statements

  • If each type of sugar is equal then the recipe using white sugar, brown sugar, white sugar with food coloring or the Equal (aspartame) will yield rock candy.
  • If each type of sugar or sugar substitute is equal, each recipe will yield rock candy of the same sweetness.
  • If each type of sugar is equal, each recipe will produce the same volume and quantity of rock candy.
  • If food coloring merely changes the color of the rock candy, then the sugar utilized in the recipe and the addition of food coloring should produce rock candy of the same sweetness and quantity as the recipes made without food coloring do.

Problem Statement

The experiment will utilize white sugar made from sugar cane or sugar beets, brown sugar, made from molasses and sucrose and Equal (aspartame), a man-made substitute. Using the same process each time, the type of sugar or sugar substitute will serve as the independent variable. The dependent variable will be the production of rock candy itself, its quality, quantity and sweetness

The Procedure

Using deductive reasoning, the following procedure/recipe will be used. In each formulation, only the type of sugar will differ. Therefore, the recipe will be completed three subsequent times, each time with a different type of sugar.

  • Pour 2 cups of water in a pot
  • Heat the pot on the stove
  • Add 4 cups of sugar
  • Stir it until all sugar has dissolved (add a food coloring if needed in other experiment)
  • As it has dissolved pour the mixture in a cup
  • Tie the string around a pencil
  • Tie a paper clip on the other end of string
  • Drop the paperclip in a mixture, pencil is staying on a top of the cup
  • Put a paper towel on a top of the cup
  • Keep it in a quiet, dark place

The Results

The first time this recipe was completed, none of the resultant combinations changed. Nor crystallization in any form was observable. Therefore on the third day, I repeated the procedure with each type of sugar. The data is shown in the following table.

Type of sugar / Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3 / Day 5 / Day 9 / Results
Observation / Observation / Observation / Observation / Observation / Sweetness / Size
Regular sugar / No change / Redid the procedure / Some thin crystallization / More crystallization, more density / Crystallization and density increased / Sweet / 4.4 oz.
Brown sugar / No change / Redid the procedure / Crystals barely observable / Crystals still barely visible / Barely crystallized / Not as sweet / -
Regular Sugar with Food Coloring / No change / Redid the procedure / Some thin crystallization / More crystallization and density / Crystallization and density increased / Sweet / 7.1 oz.
Equal / No change / Redid the procedure / No observable change / No observable change / No observable change / Not as sweet and also tart / -

Conclusion

Based on these results, sugar is not simply sugar. Each has different qualities. In fact, the data demonstrated these differences accordingly each of the hypotheses statements were nullified.

  • If each type of sugar is equal then the recipe using white sugar, brown sugar, white sugar with food coloring or the Equal (aspartame) will yield rock candy.
  • Negated-only the white sugar and the white sugar with food coloring produced rock candy.
  • If each type of sugar or sugar substitute is equal, each recipe will yield rock candy of the same sweetness.
  • Negated- Not every type of sugar produced some mixture or candy with the same sweetness.
  • If each type of sugar is equal, each recipe will produce the same volume and quantity of rock candy.
  • Negated- The findings illustrated only white sugar in the rock candy recipe yielded rock sugar.
  • If food coloring merely changes the color of the rock candy, then the sugar utilized in the recipe and the addition of food coloring should produce rock candy of the same sweetness and quantity as the recipes made without food coloring do.
  • Negated- The rock candy recipe with the white sugar and the one with white sugar and food coloring yielded different quantities. In fact, the recipe using the food coloring and the white sugar produced almost three ounces more than white sugar alone. Therefore, food coloring does more than provide color in this recipe. It may be catalyzed or otherwise catalyze the ingredients.

References

Belitz, H.-D., Grosch, W., & Schieberle, P. (2009). Food Chemistry. (Food chemistry.) Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

Berk, Z. (2009). Food process engineering and technology. Burlington, Mass: Academic Press.

Merisant, Inc. (2012). Faqs. Retrieved from