What it shows
Many drinks carry a lot of sugar. By converting the grams on the label into teaspoons of sugar, you can see in a vivid way how much sugar is in a glass.
The science
One level teaspoon of sugar weighs about 4 grams. Dividing the grams of sugar per serving on the label by 4 gives the number of teaspoons. Seeing the pile makes a percentage on a label easier to understand. Labels also show sugar per 100 ml, so the serving size matters.
Materials
Cost: under Rs 50. Many items come from home or from waste; spare parts such as LEDs, motors and wire are in the store.
- Labels or photos of five drinks: cola, a fruit drink, packaged juice, sports drink and a lassi or milk drink
- A kitchen scale or a measuring spoon
- Sugar from the kitchen
- Clear plastic cups or small bowls
- A calculator
- Card for labels
Safety
For this project: Do not taste leftover or open drinks from the lab. This project gives general information and is not dietary advice; ask a doctor or dietitian about any diet.
Never use mains electricity: power models with cells, batteries or a low-voltage adapter. Sharp and hot tools, flames and lab chemicals need an adult or your teacher beside you. Keep magnets, button cells and small parts away from young children, and wash your hands after making.
All the safety rulesStep by step
8 steps. Do them in order, and test each part before you go on to the next. Write what you notice in a notebook as you go.
Collect the label details for five drinks: serving size and total sugar in grams per serving.
If the label gives grams per 100 ml, multiply by the bottle size divided by 100.
Divide each sugar amount by 4 to get the number of teaspoons.
Measure out that many teaspoons of sugar into a small cup for each drink.
Place each cup in front of the drink name card to build a display.
Rank the drinks from most to least sugar and note any surprises.
Add a water cup with zero sugar for comparison.
Write a short note comparing the sugar in each drink with the pack sizes sold in shops.
What you should see
A table of five cups of sugar on display that show how many teaspoons are in a typical glass or bottle of each drink.
Viva questions
A teacher or a judge will ask how it works. Try to answer each question before you open it, then compare.
1How many grams are in a teaspoon of sugar?
About 4 grams.
2Why does the serving size matter?
A larger serving holds more sugar even if the label looks the same per 100 ml.
3Where on a label do you find sugar?
In the nutrition information table under carbohydrates.
4Does juice have no sugar?
No, fruit juice has natural sugar too.
Take it further
Survey classmates on how many sweet drinks they have in a week and convert the data to teaspoons.
Change one thing, measure what happens, and add a table or chart of your readings: that is what turns a model into your own investigation.
Free ebooks for this project
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