Scientists: Camryn H, Malinah J and Jason B.

The Criminal Behind Soda

Question

How does the type of soft

drink you drink affect your tooth

enamel ?

Research•Phosphoric acid is used in cleaning products to break down grease and rust.•Shells from boiled eggs have calcium amounts similar to tooth enamel.Margles, Samantha. Mythbusters Science Fair Book. New York: Scholastic, 2011. Print.•Soda can erode tooth enamel.•Tooth enamel is the protective layer of your tooth and soda destroys it. Enamel is the hardest substance in your body.http://www.brainpop.com/health/bodysystems/teeth/preview.weml• Sugar and acid (citric and phosphoric ) cause tooth enamel damage.http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/4-health-side-effects-of-diet-soda.html

Scientific ClaimWe think if a boiled egg sits in a cup of Sprite, Coca-Cola, and Diet Coke. Then we believe that the egg will erode most in the Diet Coke. That is because Diet Coke has both phosphoric acid and citric acid. While Sprite only has citric acid. And Coca-Cola only has phosphoric acid. Therefore, Diet Coke will erode the egg more.

VariablesIndependentType of soda

DependentEgg erosion

Controlled• The amount of soda in each cup

•Time egg sits in soda•Same amount of eggs in each cup of soda

• Same beakers used to pour soda• same type of cups

Materials• one 2 liter bottle of Sprite, Diet Coke and Coca-Cola•Fifteen 9 ½ cm by 4 ½ cm plastic cups• 15 hard boiled eggs •data sheet• 1 dipper (from Easter egg kit) or a plastic spoon• 3 rulers• 3 pieces of yarn (enough to wrap around each egg)• two 150 ml beakers•One permanent marker

Procedure1. Label the three cups with each type of soda and trial in

permanent marker.2. Pour 150 milliliters of the sprite into 5 cup, diet coke in to

another 5 and then the coca-cola into the last 5 cups.3. Wrap the piece of ribbon around each egg tightly4. Pinch where the two ends of yarn meet5. Unwrap the yarn until straight ( still pinch where the end meet)6. Measure the length of the string ( from end to where you are

pinching using centimeters)7. Record on data sheet and repeat steps 3-6 on the rest of the

eggs 8. Place one hard boiled egg into each cup of soda9. Record the time you put the eggs in, and wait 24 hours.10. Take the dipper or plastic spoon and remove each egg from the

cup11. wrap the yarn around the eggs and repeat steps 4-612. Dump the soda out of the cup into a sink13. Repeat steps 1-12 four more times14. Take the egg circumference from before the eggs were put in

soda and subtract it from the egg circumference after it was put in the soda for each type of soda

15. Add up the scores of the circumferences for each different soda and divide that by 5

16. Whichever soda has the greatest mean is the one that eroded the egg the most

EvidenceEffect of Soda on Erosion of Teeth (Egg

Shells)

Type of Soda

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5Average

Decrease in Egg’s

Circumference (cm)

Egg Circumference (cm)Befor

eAfter Befor

eAfter Befor

eAfter Befor

eAfter Befor

eAfter

Sprite 14.1

13.5

12.2

12.2

12.9

11.9

14.6

13.4

13.9

12.9 -0.86

-1.1 -0.0 -1 -1.2 -1

Diet Coke

14.3

13.2

14.3

13.5

13.2

12.5

12.2

12.2

13.3

12.8 -0.62

-1.1 -0.8 -0.7 -0.0 -1

Coca- Cola

14.2

13.7

12.5

12.2

14.6

12.2

14.5

12.8

13.2

12.5 -1.1

-0.5 -0.5 -2.3 -1.7 -0.7

Data Graph

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 50

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Effect of Soda Erosion on Teeth

Sprite

Diet Coke

Coca-Cola

Ero

sio

n (

cen

tim

ete

rs)

Written AnalysisWe tested sodas effect on tooth enamel

and used eggs instead of teeth. We put eggs in cups of Sprite, Diet-Coke and Coca-Cola. We waited 24 hours then measured the amount of erosion. We found out that the average amount of erosion of eggs in Sprite was 0.86cm, Diet-Coke was the least at 0.62cm, and Coca-Cola was the most eroded at 1.1cm. Coca-Cola did the most damage. When we took the eggs out Sprite had no color change. Diet-Coke turned the egg to the darkest brown color and the eggs in Coca-Cola changed to the dark brown but not as dark as diet. The eggs in Coca-Cola felt rough but the other two stayed smooth. Yes there was a relationship because the different soda eroded differently on the eggs.

Scientific ReasoningOur scientific claim was not supported

because we thought Diet-Coke did the most damage but Coca-Cola did the most damage. One thing I can infer from my experiment is sugar causes more damage then acid. Or maybe it’s a combination of sugar and phosphoric acid, since Coca-Cola has phosphoric acid and 39 grams of sugar. So Coca-Cola did the most damage. In this experiment, I found out that different types of soda you drink effects your tooth enamel differently. The data showed that Coca-Cola did the most damage. It had phosphoric acid and 39 grams of sugar. Compared to Sprite which has citric acid and 38 grams of sugar. And Diet Coke has phosphoric acid and citric acid and 0 grams of sugar, and did the least damage. I would also like to find out is how much acid is in each soda? Are there other soda’s that damage your teeth more than Coca-Cola?

Before the eggs were put in soda:

After the eggs were put in soda: