Last week, you got a crash course in the main sweetener of most cold drinks – high fructose corn syrup. This sweetener is created within corn syrup through the rearrangement of ATOMS within its glucose molecules to form a different sugar molecule – fructose.
And since fructose is TWICE as sweet as glucose, this rearrangement converts corn syrup into the super sweet “high fructose corn syrup.”
Okay. That is enough review for now. Well, maybe just one more thing…
You may only need a couple of these four main concepts of science this week! So let’s get to work!
BE CERTAIN TO READ THE LABELS
If you read the ingredients in a can of regular Coke, you probably will read that it contains around 41 grams of sugar (aka – sucrose.)
(To give you an idea of how much sugar this really is, try to imagine pouring out the table sugar within 18 packets you typically find on the tables of restaurants. I’m not kidding here. I really meant to say 18 packets!)
You will NOT find the same ingredient within a can of Diet Coke. So where does the sweetness come from?
Well, scientists have created molecules that are much more sweet than table sugar OR high fructose corn syrup. One of these molecules, ASPARTAME (“asp-ur-tame”), is nearly 200 times as sweet as table sugar!
So… you only need a small pinch of aspartame within your Diet Coke to equal the sweetness within the 18 packets of sugar within the regular Coke.
POP QUIZ TIME!
If both cans you are observing are the same size AND contain the same amount of liquid (they should), which of the two would have the most ATOMS?
If you said the regular Coke, you are correct!
Remember, the Diet Coke only has a pinch of sweetener as compared to the regular Coke. In fact, you can test this very easily by weighing both cans. The regular Coke will weigh a lot more because of all its extra sugar. This means there are far more ATOMS within that can of regular Coke.
What happens to objects that are less DENSE than water when you drop them (gently) in a container of water?
Objects that are more DENSE than water will SINK when placed within a container of water.
I could go into why this happens in great detail; however, I believe you would find it about as interesting as reading your tax forms.
MAKE A PREDICTION
What do you believe will happen to both cans when you drop them into a sink-full of water?
Which one will float? Which one will sink? Will they BOTH sink?
Okay. Ready? Go ahead and drop the cans into the water.
Unless you filled up your sink with ocean water, you should have noticed that the regular Coke sinks to the bottom while the Diet Coke floats on the surface.
TWO THINGS ARE GOING ON HERE
First, the extra ATOMS increase the DENSITY of the regular Coke, which causes it to sink to the bottom.
Second, both cans contain a small amount of empty space once they are filled and sealed up. This “bubble” of air acts like an inflatable raft for both cans; however, the extra ATOMS within the regular Coke make the can too heavy to stay afloat (unlike the Diet Coke.)
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!
