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Sugar Content in Beverages

Using Density Analysis and Osmotic Tubes

Introduction Nutritionists have recently raised concerns about the increasing popularity of sodas, fruit drinks, and other beverages due to their high sugar content. Do you know how much sugar is in your favorite beverage? Soft drinks (soda, fruit drinks, sweetened teas, sports drinks, etc.) are the largest source of refined sugars in Americans' diets. Would you ever sit down and eat 17 teaspoons of sugar? That's how much sugar is in a 20-ounce bottle of soda. That's more refined sugar than is recommended for an entire day. People who drink more sodas and other soft drinks consume more calories. The calories they drink don't seem to register as well as the calories they eat from solid food. So people who add a 20-ounce soda to their lunches probably won't make up for it later by eating 250 fewer calories of solid food. Drinking just one 12 oz can of soda every day for a year is equivalent to 55,000 calories, or 15 pounds a year. The density of a solution depends on its concentration, that is, how much solute (solid) is dissolved in the solvent (liquid). If the density of a solution is plotted on a graph against the concentration of solute, a regular pattern is evidentdensity is proportional to concentration. The resulting graph, called a calibration curve, shows a straight-line relationship between the density of a solution and the concentration of solute. A calibration curve can be used to determine the concentration of solute in an unknown solution whose density has been measured. In this lab we will determine the % of sugar in soft drinks using density and determine if it will make our cells thirsty or hydrated. Materials Beverages (at room temperature)*, Graduated cylinder, 25-mL Balance, centigram (0.01 g) precision Thermometer Beakers or plastic cups, 250-mL, Osmotic tubes, dialysis tubing, rubber bands Procedures Sugar Percentage 1. Place a clean 25-mL graduated cylinder on the balance and hit the tare or rezero button. 2. Fill the cylinder to the 10.0-mL mark with a beverage. Measure and record the mass of the beverage in the graduated cylinder. 3. Measure and record the temperature of the beverage. 4. Rezero the balance with the graduated cylinder containing 10.0 mL of beverage. Fill the graduated cylinder to the 20.0-mL mark with a second sample of the same beverage. Measure and record the mass of the second beverage sample in the graduated cylinder. 5. Calculate and record the density of each beverage sample. Hint: Since the sample volume is always 10.0 mL, the calculation should be easyyou dont even need a calculator! Determine the average density of the beverage solution. 6. Plot the known density on the y-axis versus percent sugar on the x-axis for the following sugar

reference solutions. Use a ruler to draw a best fit straight line through the data points. Percent Sugar 1% 5% 10% 15% 20%

Density at 1.002 g/mL 1.018g/mL 1.038 g/mL 1.059 g/mL 1.081 g/mL 20 C 7. Use the graph to estimate the sugar concentration in the beverage: Locate the point on the yaxis that corresponds to the beverage density. Follow that point on the y-axis across horizontally to where it meets the best-fit straight line through the data points for the reference solutions. Draw a vertical line from this point on the best-fit line down to the x-axis. The point where this vertical line meets the x-axis corresponds to the percent sugar in the beverage. Estimate and record the per-cent sugar for the beverage. Osmotic Tubes 1. Collect 1 tube, fill the tube with 5 ml of cell solution. This is the amount of sugar and water found in a typical cell. 2. Place a small section of dialysis tubing over the test tube opening and secure it with a rubber band. 3. Invert the tube and check for leaks. Record the height of the liquid. 4. Place tube into the assigned solutions. 5. Let sit overnight 6. Remove the tube, carefully dry the sides, and record the height of the liquid. 7. Calculate the difference, a negative indicates a loss of water, and a positive will indicate gain in water. Analysis: 1. For each drink, would it make your cells thirsty or hydrated? 2. Do you think these drinks make you feel thirsty or hydrated? Discussion 1. 4 grams of sugar =1 teaspoon. How many teaspoons are in the drinks we studied? 2. What are the calories in the drinks you searched? 3. Go to this web page: http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/jumpsite/calculat.htm Determine how long you would have to exercise to burn off the calories from one serving of the beverage.

B.L.R.F. Grading Rubric Sugar Content in Beverages

Subtract Point (-3 points each)
No margin at least 1 cm Not on 8.5x11 paper White out Wrote on back of paper Ink other than blue or black No Ruler No Title Page Extra 2 Points for extra good work 10 3 3 4 5 1 1 3 20 5 5 5 5 20 5 5 5 5 20 5 5 4 6

Introduction
Problem/hypothesis and Purpose Defined (subject of the lab), and the experimental design (control and variable)

Materials and Flow Chart

Pictures, description of consumables Pictures, descriptions of apparatus Summary

Data Table
Used Ruler Titled Columns Headed Units shown

Results
Ruler Used Titled Units-Axes labeled Written Results

Conclusion
Matches Introduction Explains what is happening in the experiment and uses results. Explains the discussion question

F=1-44, D=45-52, C=53-59,B=60-67, A=68-75