Names: ______________________ P: ___
Chemistry Lab: Beverage Density Lab
How well do you know the beverages that you drink? Rank the following four from
lowest sugar content to highest: Coke (Classic), Diet Coke, Welch’s 100% Grape
Juice, PowerAde, and Sprite.
Hypothesis:
_______________ ______________ _______________ _______________ _______________
(lowest sugar)
(highest sugar)
Results:
_______________ ______________ _______________ _______________ _______________
(lowest sugar)
(highest sugar)
Background
Along with adding Calories to a beverage, dissolved sugar also increases the density of the solution. In
this lab, you will first determine the density of five known sugar solutions: 0% (distilled water, not
colored), 5% (colored yellow), 10% (colored green), 15% (colored blue), and 20% (colored purple). You
will then plot these densities on a density vs. sugar content graph. Finally, you will determine the
densities of the four beverages, and then use the graph to approximate their sugar contents.
Procedure:
1. Tare (zero) a 250 mL beaker. Measure 5.00 mL of the 0% sugar solution in the graduated
cylinder. Add the solution to the beaker and record the mass.
2. Push the tare button to rezero the balance for the next mass. There is no need to dump each
solution out in between.
3. Use the beaker of water provided to rinse the pipet between the trials.
4. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with each sugar solution (data table I and each of the beverages
5. (data table II).
6. Calculate and record the density of each solution.
Data
Data Table I: Sugar Standards
Sample
Mass (g)
Volume (mL)
0 % sugar
5 % sugar
10 % sugar
15 % sugar
20 % sugar
Density (g/mL)
Data Table II: Beverage Densities
Sample
Mass (g)
Volume (mL)
Density (g/mL)
Coke
Diet Coke
Grape Juice
PowerAde
Sprite
Analysis
1. Plot your calculated densities (DV = x-axis) vs. sugar content (IV = y axis) for each of the
five known sugar solutions.
2. Use a ruler to draw a best fit straight line through the points (Do not play connect the dots!).
3. Use the densities of the five beverages that you tested to approximate their sugar contents. Start on
the y-axis at a density of one of the beverages (Data Table II), and then follow the density value over
to where it hits the best fit line that you drew, and then go straight down to the x-axis to determine
the corresponding sugar content value. Use a different colored pencil for each drink.
Results Table
Sample
Density (g/mL)
% Sugar
Coke
Diet Coke
Grape Juice
PowerAde
Sprite
Conclusion Questions:
1. How well did you do in guessing the sugar-content rank of the beverages? Did any surprise you?
2. Why was it OK to leave liquid in the beaker from one trial to the next?
3. This lab focuses on sugar content. What assumption does the lab make concerning all the other
ingredients in each beverage?