Expert: Sue Kayton Date: 6/10/2008 Subject: Soft Drinks
Question Hi, I am from Australia and I am doing an experiment in class for soft drinks.
Is there any way you measure carbonation in soft drnks (ie coke, pepsi)? Also, is there any way to determine the amount of sugar in a soft drink?
Yours Lucy
Answer A quick-and-dirty way to measure carbonation is to measure the pH of the soda. CO2 + H2O = carbonic acid. The more carbonation, the more acidic the soda is. It is influenced, of course, by the presence of flavoring ingredients.
To measure sugar, let the soda dry to a powder or sludge. Then burn it in a calorimeter to directly measure the calorie content. All the calories come from sugar.
A more scientific way to measure carbonation is to capture the gas emitted by the soda while it goes flat, but this is hard to do outside a well-equipped lab.
