Sweet Relief?

Overview

Objectives/Goals My objective was to determine whether or not certain candies could neutralize a strong acid. I hypothesized that candies with magnesium present as an ingredient would work towards neutralizing the acid. Methods/Materials Seven different brand-name candies (Mentos, Wrigley's Doublemint Mints, Tic Tacs Freshmints, Peppermint Life Savers, Strawberry Pop-Rocks, Bubble Gum Pop-Rocks, and one generic antacid as the control group) were crushed and dropped into 10 mL of cola, after which the mixture was tested with litmus paper (in Phase 1). The number of candies was increased by threes (1, 3, 6...). In Phase 2, the procedure was the same, but the mixtures were tested with a digital pH meter. The materials were: pencil, computer, SOLO plastic cups, paper towels, Diet Go2 Cola, notebook, the six aforementioned candies and the aforementioned antacid, and red and blue litmus paper. Results Tic Tacs (which contained a form of magnesium, magnesium stearate) and the antacids were the only candies that reached a neutral pH or higher, the Tic Tacs after 27, the antacids after 2. My hypothesis was therefore correct. Conclusions/Discussion My hypothesis was correct in that magnesium neutralizes acid. I discovered that Tic Tacs can act as an antacid, because they contain magnesium. However, the anti-health factors of eating 27 Tic Tacs overrules their benefits.

Competition history

• CSEF 2007 Product Science (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1824

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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