Matthew Code, Justin Lee, Zach O’Kane and Ryan Buyting
Sodium
Analysis in
Fast Food
Burgers
Sodium Chloride
• Chemical Formula: NaCl
• Molar Mass: 58.44
• CAS Registry Number: 7647-14-5
Health Benefits
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Helps regulate blood pressure and fluid volume
Helps line blood vessels
Helps carry nutrients to cells
Aids in keeping calcium and other minerals soluble in the blood
Helps regulate muscle spasms
It plays a part in nerve stimulation by increasing conductivity in nerve cells for
communication and information processing
Plays an important role in maintaining the fluid balance of cells
Necessary for the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach
Clears mucous plugs and sticky phlegm in the lungs
Helps regulate fluid balance when body temperature rises
It is water and salt that energizes and activates our bodies
Risks of Ingesting Excess Salt
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Hypertension
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Vascular Organ Failure
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Hypertension occurs when the water molecules in your blood expand, thus causing high blood
pressure and blood volume which can lead to cardiovascular problems such as a heart attack, stroke,
etc.
Hypertension could cause any vascular organ to shut down because too much salt within your blood
vessels can cause clogging, which leads to the organs shutting down.
Dehydration and Swelling
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When you have too much salt in your blood vessels, your body, via a homeostasis action, wants to
move water into the blood vessels to balance the high salt content. When you have too much water
in your blood vessels you pee it out, leaving not enough in your tissues which is thus dehydration.
How to measure sodium in burgers?
• Grind up each of the individual burgers in a food processor.
• Take a measured amount of the grinded up burger and place it in a beaker
and add a set amount of water.
• Stir the mixture and stick a sodium ion selective electrode (ISE) into it.
• Record the data
How ISE Works
• The ISE is a tool that is placed in a
substance that contains sodium.
When done so, it will ignore
everything else and only measure
the sodium content. The ISE is
plugged into a computer and can
transmit the data through a cord
which can then be displayed on
the screen.
ISE (Specific Instructions)
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Add 20mL of ISA [Ion Strength Adjuster (Fill half of a 100mL volumetric flask with flask with
distilled water and add 214g, of regeant-grade ammonium “NH4Cl”. Under hood, add 270mL
of concentrated ammonium hydroxide “NH4OH”)] per 1L of H2O.
• ISE Preparation:
– Remove the rubber cap covering the electrode tip and the rubber sleeve covering the
filling hole.
– Fill the electrode with the included filling solution to a level just below the fill hole.
– Connect the ISE to the ISE amplifier and insert the DIN connector of the ISE amplifier
into the analog analog channel A or Bon the PASCO computer interface.
– NOTE: All samples and standards should be the same temperature. A difference on 1°C
can change your result by 2%.
Company Stated Sodium Contents
• Big Mac (McDonalds) - 1020 mg
• Baconator (Wendy’s) - 1590 mg
• Whopper (Burger King) - 910 mg
Solubility of Sodium Chloride
40g/100ml
0.4g/1ml
400mg/1ml
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Baconator: 1690mg/4.225ml
Big Mac: 1020mg/2.55mL
Whopper: 910mg/2.275ml
• Photos:
Citations
– (n.d.). Bigmac. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://thewvsr.com/bigmac.jpg
– (n.d.). Baconator. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.absolut-ism.com/wpcontent/uploads/2010/11/baconator_dude25_400.jpg
– (n.d.). Whopper. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://coolcanucks.ca/wpcontent/uploads/2010/11/whopper.jpg
– (n.d.). Nacl. [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from
http://earthsci.org/education/teacher/basicgeol/miner/nacl.gif
– (n.d.). Ise. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.directindustry.com/prod/abb-instrumentationanalysis/ion-selective-electrodes-ise-56271-560983.html
– (n.d.). Table salt. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://3.bp.blogspot.com/hTI4BEe2Vsw/TYW9UIdnCkI/AAAAAAAABUg/WGJ8TtCGc1s/s1600/table salt.jpg
– (n.d.). Giant burger. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5txbDTY43s/S7UqodcKRgI/AAAAAAAAAAk/PDrlSD18_Pk/s1600/giant-burger.jpg
• Articles:
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ChemBlink. (2011). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.chemblink.com/products/7647-14-5.htm
HubPages Inc. (2011). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://len7288.hubpages.com/hub/Health-Benefitsof-Salt
Rundle, C. (2000, May 05). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.nico2000.net/Book/Guide1.html
[Web log message]. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.3fatchicks.com/7-health-risks-of-eating-too-much-salt/
[Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927593