Determination of Sugar Content in Commercial Beverages by Density

Background: Commercial beverages often contain surprisingly high concentrations of sugar.

This sugar may be in the form of corn syrup, or fructose, or sucrose, or other sugars. This
experiment uses sucrose, or cane sugar, as a readily available standard for the determination of
the concentration of sugar in a variety of commercially available beverages. The concentrations
will be determined by finding the density of the beverages and comparing to the density of
solutions of sucrose in water whose concentration is known.

Materials:
Balance, weighs to 0.01 g
25 mL volumetric pipets 100% cane sugar (sucrose)
pipet bulbs or pipetters beverages to test
paper cups water
Procedure:
A. Prepare standard solutions as percent-by-mass solutions of sucrose in water.
1. Obtain 3 plastic cups and label them as standards A, B, and C.
2. Weigh the plastic cups.
3. Weigh out sugar into each cup for each standard solution, between 4 g and 18 g each.
4. Add water to each cup until the total weight is close to 100 g. Record the precise weight.
5. Calculate the concentrations for each cup:

Weight of sugar x 100% (report answer to 3 or 4 sig figs.)

Total weight

Weight cup + sugar Weight cup Weight sugar Weight cup, Weight of solution Concentration
sugar and water (sugar + water) (% by mass)
A.
B.
C.

6. Using 25 mL volumetric pipets and preweighed paper cups, aliquot duplicate 25 mL volumes
from each standard solution. Determine the weight of each sample, filling in the following
chart. Also make duplicate measurements of water as a control (0% sucrose) sample.
7. Calculate the density using the formula D = m / V (g/mL).
8. Take the average of each set of duplicate density measurements.
9. Plot density vs % sugar for each standard solution. Construct a calibration curve by drawing
your best straight line through the four data points.
Concentration Weight Volume Density Average
(% by mass) density
0 % (water) 25 mL

A: 25 mL

B: 25 mL

C: 25 mL
B. Density of the Beverages:

1. Degas carbonated beverages under mild vacuum (or leave out to get flat for a day).
2. Label and weigh dry paper cups.
3. Aliquot duplicate 25 mL samples of 4 different beverages using 25 mL volumetric pipets.
4. Weigh each sample.
5. Calculate the density of each beverage. Take the average of each set of duplicate density
measurements.
6. Determine the % sugar of each solution by interpolation on your calibration curve.

Sample id Weight Volume Density Average % sugar in % sugar

density sample from
container
25 mL

25 mL

25 mL

25 mL

Questions to consider:
1. Was it a fair assumption to use sucrose as a standard for the different sugars in each
solution?
2. Was it a fair assumption to say that the contribution to the density of other components
present was negligible?
3. Why is it important to do duplicates in an experiment of this sort?