Name____________________________
Period_________
Diet vs. Regular: Density of Soda Lab
Show all work on your calculations for full credit
Introduction:
Most of us have an opinion about diet and regular (sugared) soda. Few of us have
done measurements on either. In this activity you will measure the densities of the
drinks and then test an unknown sample to determine if it is diet or regular (NO
TASTING ALLOWED!) Density is a measure of a substance’s mass per given
volume. Density is useful since it can be used to distinguish one substance from
another. To find density you will also acquire practice in using an analytical balance
and common glassware such as graduated cylinders. You will also apply your
understanding of making a measurement.
The formula for calculating Density is:
Pre-Lab Questions:
1. Which soda, diet or regular, do you think will be more dense? (this will be your
hypothesis)
a. Why do you think this?
2. What is density? (Do NOT just put the formula. Explain what density tells you
about a substance!!!)
3. For the two substances in the data table below, which is more dense? Use math
to prove your answer.
Substance Mass
A
55.0 g
B
99.2 g
volume
17.61 mL
31.06 mL
Procedure:
1. Determine the average density of a 50.00 mL sample of regular soda. Each lab
member should make the measurement independently of each other and then you
will average the densities together.
2. Determine the average density of a 50.00 mL sample of diet soda. Each lab
member should make the measurement independently of each other and then you
will average the densities together.
3. Obtain a sample of unknown soda.
4. Using its density, determine if it is diet or regular soda. DO NOT TASTE THE
SODA. You need to prove whether it is diet or regular using calculations. 
a. Remember that each member of the group needs to make this
measurement and then you will average all the measurements together.
5. Record all your measurements in a data table of your design.
Analysis, Conclusion and Lab Report:
1. You will need to provide a neat, clean data table for your data.
2. You will need to make a bar graph of the average densities of the three sodas
(Regular, Diet and the Unknown) with density of the y axis.
3. You will need to write a report explaining what type of soda, diet or regular, you
think the unknown is. This report needs to include your original hypothesis (from
the pre-lab) about which soda you thought would be more dense.
Sample Report: We thought that the diet soda
would be more dense than the regular soda since
the artificial sweetener packets seem to weigh
more than the sugar packets, while taking up the
same volume. We accept our hypothesis since
we found that the diet soda was denser than the
regular soda. The diet soda had an average
density of 1.2 g/mL while the regular soda had a
density of 0.9 g/mL.
When we attempted to identify the unknown
soda, we found that it had an average density of
1.1 g/mL. Though the density of the unknown
was not the same as the diet soda, it was much
closer to the 1.2 g/mL density of the diet soda
than it was to the 0.9 g/mL density of regular
soda. Thus, we believe that the unknown soda is
diet soda.
I state my hypothesis
and reasoning
I accept my hypothesis
(or reject it)
I provide data to support
my claim
I provide data on the
unknown
I remind of the data on
the diet and regular soda
I make my conclusion
based on the data