TESTING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ANTACIDS
Background:
Commercial antacid tablets currently on the market include Tums,
Rolaids, Alka Seltzer, and Maalox. Each claims to be the most effective
in combating heartburn. Aside from commercial brands, baking soda
also is used to control heartburn. Heartburn is diagnosed with stomach
pains caused by an excess of stomach acid. This excess acid lowers
the overall pH of the stomach, and can cause tissue damage to the
stomach lining and the lower esophagus if left untreated. Antacid
tablets act as buffers by neutralizing the excess stomach acid.
Neutralized stomach acid has a pH of 3.5.
Problem:
With so many antacid tablets on the market, it is difficult to
determine which antacid is the most effective in fighting heartburn.
Advertisements on TV and radio are misleading. Your research team’s
challenge is to conduct an experiment to determine which antacid can
neutralize the greatest amount of acid. Each research team will
conduct a titration of an acid into an assigned antacid and determine
the equalization point (mL acid needed to neutralize). You have one day
to conduct as may trials as possible.
Lab Assignment:
 Conduct trials of a titration of an acid into your antacid.
 Plot pH vs mL of acid graph of each trial and determine the
equalization point. Save your graphs and observations to the
ANTACID folder on the student server.
Written Assignment:
Opition #1: CONSUMER REPORT ASSIGNMENT
You are a consumer reporter for a well-known newspaper and your
editor has assigned you the task of writing an article on antacids. He
wishes you to look at the issue from several different perspectives. For
instance, what antacid neutralizes the most acid, what antacid is the
best buy, and what should the public be aware of in terms of side effects
of antacids. He wants you to conclude the article by making several
recommendations based on all the information. Recommend an antacid
to the public and make a recommendation for people with kidney
problems and / or high blood pressure. The editor has also said that the
article must be around 200 words long and has set a deadline for
Wednesday, 17th April.
Option #2: ADVERTISEMENT ASSIGNMENT