Zach Butts
Chem 1010
Molecules Around Me
Ingredients
Water, Glycerin, Hydrogen Peroxide, Propylene Glycol, Sodium
Hexametaphosphate, Poloxamer 407, Sodium Citrate, Flavor, Sodium Saccharin,
Citric Acid.
Ingredients
Sucrose, Calcium carbonate, corn starch, talc, mineral oil, adipic acid, artificial
flavors, sodium polyphosphate, red 40 lake, blue 1 lake.
Ingredients
Fructose, cane sugar, citric acid, tangerine juice powder, natural tangerine
flavor, tapioca maltodextrin, malic acid, silica, glycine, beta carotene, aspartic acid,
tartaric acid, and cysteine hydrochloride.
Crest 3D White – Hygiene
Name: Water
Molecular Formula:
H2O
Organic or inorganic:
Inorganic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: Water (H2O) is one of the basic compounds of life, and used for the most
basic functions of life.
-Name: Glycerol
Molecular Formula: C3H8O3
Organic or inorganic:
Organic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: It is an organic compound manly used for pharmaceutical reasons. It
contains little to no toxicity and is used very often to sweeten things.
-Name: Hydrogen Peroxide
Molecular Formula:
2(HO)
Organic or inorganic:
Inorganic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: Hydrogen Peroxide is used as a cleaner. It is used as a mouthwash, and
also used as a extremely strong disinfectant for wounds. It can also be used as a
cleaner for tabletops, and to bleach hair.
-Name: Sodium Hexametaphosphate
Molecular Formula:
(NaPO3)6
Organic or inorganic:
Inorganic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: Sodium Hexametaphosphate is used as a dispersing, and deflocculating
agent. In some cases it is also used to raise PH. It helps to keep molecules dispersed
and is very often used in paints and photographs.
-Name: Sodium Citrate
Molecular Formula: Na3C6h5O7
Organic or inorganic:
Organic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: Sodium Citrate is very often used to add flavor to foods as it has a sour
salty taste, and can be used to preserve foods. It can help reduce the acidity of foods
and can allow cheeses to melt without becoming greasy.
-Name: Sodium Saccharin
Molecular Formula: C7H5NO3S
Organic or inorganic:
Organic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: Saccharin is used as an artificial sweetener. It contains no food energy,
but is much sweeter than sucrose. Used often in canned food, jello, dessert toppings,
diet sodas, candy, and chewing gum.
Emergen-C (Vitamin) – Food
Name: Cysteine hydrochloride
Molecular Formula:
C3H7NO2S·HCl·H2O
Organic or inorganic:
Organic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: A product given to patients who are lacking cysteine, an amino acid.
Given to people with malnutrition issues involving a lack of protein rich foods. Often
administrated to infants. It is generally nontoxic and does not negatively effect
people.
-Name: Malic acid
Molecular Formula:
HO2CCH2CHOHCO2H
Organic or inorganic:
Organic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: Malic acid is an acid commonly found it fruits, it gives fruits the delicious
sour taste. Found in apple and other fruit juices. Malic acid is also heavily used in the
Calvin cycle, as its carbons are extremely valuable.
-Name: Silica
Molecular Formula: SiO2
Organic or inorganic:
Inorganic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: Silica is very often found in nature. It is basically sand and is used to
make glass. It is used everything from absorbing water, to toothpaste, to electricity
usage.
--
Name: Glycine
Molecular Formula:
NH2CH2COOH
Organic or inorganic:
Organic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: A sweet tasting crystalline solid. It is an amino acid. It is found in protein
rich foods such as fish, meat, dairy, and legumes. Generally two grams are consumed
daily. Helps with prevention of cancer.
-Name: Beta carotene
Molecular Formula:
C40H56
Organic or inorganic:
Organic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: A pigment often found in fruits and vegetables such as carrots, pumpkins,
and sweet potatoes. Often used as a dye, and I believe this is the case with this
Vitamin supplements.
-Name: Aspartic acid
Molecular Formula:
C4H7NO4
Organic or inorganic:
Organic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: Aspartic acid is an acidic amino acid. Plays a role in enzyme active
centers, and helps maintain character of proteins.
Antacid Tablets – Food
Name: Sucrose
Molecular Formula:
C12H22O11
Organic or inorganic:
Organic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: Sucrose is basic table sugar. It is a disaccharide composed of
monosaccharides. Has a sweet taste. Used in foods, and other products to add
sweetness. It comes from sugar cain and sugar beats.
-Name: Calcium Carbonate
Molecular Formula:
CaCO3
Organic or inorganic:
Organic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: Often found in rocks and in the shells of many animals. Found in “hard”
water. Used very often in anti-acid tablets.
-Name: Corn Starch
Molecular Formula:
C27H48O20
Organic or inorganic:
Organic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: Cornstarch is used as a thickener. Used very often in baking different
goods. Can be used to thicken liquids and can also be used as an anti-caking agent.
-Name: Sodium Polyphosphate
Molecular Formula: Na5P3O10
Organic or inorganic:
Inorganic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: Used in many domestic and industrial products such as detergents. For
this reason it is produced in mass amounts. It works as a water softener. It is often
used as a preservative for meats, seafood, poultry, and animal food.
-Name: Adipic acid
Molecular Formula: (CH2)4(COOH)2
Organic or inorganic:
Organic
Molecular Structure:
Summary: Adipic acid is one of the most important dicarboxylic acid. Adipic acid is
produced in massive amounts and is mainly used as the monomer for the creation of
nylon. It is also used to create plasticizers used in PVC.
Over All Summary
From the research I did on these products I found many interesting things.
The first was the fact that there are many amino acids and proteins directly inserted
into the products. I found that of the few products I chose there were many
ingredients that had complicated uses. Ingredients such as Adipic Acid are not only
used in anti-acid it is also used to create plastics, and detergents. Knowing that I was
putting that into my mouth made me rethink what my diet really consisted of. I was
also interested to find that Silica was an ingredient of the Emergen-C vitamins.
Considering that Silica was basically a sand it made me wonder what its use was in
the product. Over all it was good to discover what truly made up the products that I
use daily.
References
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/biochemistry/problem_sets/aa/aspartate.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/546sucrose.html
http://www.befoodsmart.com/ingredients/sodium-hexametaphosphate.php
http://www.educateyourself.org/cancer/benefitsofhydrogenperozide17jul03.shtml