Chemical Concept Demonstrated: Density
Demonstration:
| A can of Coke/Pepsi and a can of Diet Coke/Pepsi are added to a 4-L beaker filled with 3-L of water. | |
Observations:
The regular can sinks. The diet can floats.
Explanation:
Diet drinks are less dense than their regular counterparts because the sweetener added to them is "sweeter" than sugar. Less of the artificial sweetener is necessary to make a diet cola taste as sweet as a regular cola, so the final density is less.
Regular Coke/Pepsi has a higher density than water, so a can of it sinks in water. Diet Coke/Pepsi has a lower density, so a can of it floats.