I’ve mentioned in previous posts that the scientific name of table sugar is SUCROSE. In addition to sucrose, there is a long list of other types of sugars each with its own unique characteristics:
GLUCOSE (also known as dextrose) – Glucose is the most common form of sugar that most organisms break down to create chemical energy. It is made up of six Carbon ATOMS, 12 Hydrogen ATOMS, and six Oxygen ATOMS.
FRUCTOSE (also known as levulose) – Fructose has the very same amount and kinds of ATOMS within each of its molecules. However, these ATOMS are bound together in a different way than glucose. This is the sweetest of all the sugars.
This means that a teaspoon of glucose and a teaspoon of fructose would have the same DENSITY!
LACTOSE – Lactose is the sugar that can be found in milk and is less sweet than the other three sugars we have discussed so far.
So far we have already mentioned two of the four basic concepts of science:
LET’S GET TO WORK ON DIFFUSION and the LAW OF CONSERVATION
If you ever looked on the side of a soda can (or nearly any other prepackaged sweetened food product) you probably read one of its ingredients:
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP
What is this super sweet syrup and what is it doing in so many foods?
The secret lies in the ATOMS of both glucose and fructose. Since both of these sugar molecules contain the same amount and type of ATOMS, scientists have learned how to DIFFUSE another chemical into ordinary corn syrup (yes… much of our sugar comes from corn!) in order to rearrange many glucose ATOMS into fructose ATOMS.
And since fructose is TWICE as sweet as glucose, you have now created a “high fructose corn syrup.”
SO WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH ALL THIS FRUCTOSE?
Well, it is important to know that fructose molecules tend to change their ATOMS around a lot when they are dissolved in different liquids.
Now all this rearrangement doesn’t destroy any ATOMS within fructose, nor does it create any new ATOMS to make the molecule any sweeter. This fact follows the LAW OF CONSERVATION perfectly!
In fact, one of the arrangements these ATOMS make happens to be the sweetest of all the fructose molecules AND tends to exist very well in cold and acidic fluids.
Hmmm…. What drink is cold, sweet, AND acidic? Hmmm…..
Cold drinks regularly use high fructose corn syrups instead of table sugar (sucrose) because you only have to use 1/2 the amount of syrup to obtain the same amount of sweetness! This saves the makers of cold drinks a lot of money without sacrificing the taste of their product.
Now that you have a good understanding of the syrupy sweetness inside your cold drinks, I think it’s time we ran a little experiment. Check back next week to see how we can use this knowledge to run a simple test. If you want to play along, all you’ll need is a can of regular Coke, a can of Diet Coke, and a sink-full of water. Stay tuned…
Learn more about chemistry concepts (and many more) in the Classic Science: Series for the Family and be certain to come back every Thursday or subscribe to The Blog of Mr.Q to learn more about how to teach science during breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
