How Much Soda Do You Loose From Fizz When Pouring?

Intro:

You know the routine, you open of a 16 ounce bottle of Pepsi and start filling your glass. As you pour the soda you notice a fizz is starting to form causing you to stop and wait so the carbonated bubbles don't spill over the rim of your cup. While waiting you begin to wonder, how much soda am I loosing by pouring it? Maybe I should just drink it from the bottle, at least I wouldn't need to wait for the fizz. The purpose of this activity is to figure out how much, if any, soda you loose when pouring it.

What You Will Need:

• Multiple 16 ounce bottles of soda (one for each group)

• A measuring cup that measures 16 ounces (16 ounces = 2 cups)

• Activity Sheet (below)

• Paper Towels

• An intro speech about being careful to avoid spills

Outline of Activity

Students will split-up in groups. Each group will pour 16 ounces of soda into a measuring cup (WITHOUT SPILLS!). They will wait for the fizz to halt and continue pouring until all soda has been poured. Students will then estimate how much, if any, soda was lost during the pouring stage and then express this number a percentage loss. Note, there will certainly be a margin of error in this activity, as most measuring cups are not accurate and there will be some amount of soda left in the bottle. However, these will serve as great after-activity discussion questions.

After Activity Discussion:

How much soda did each team loose during the process?

Why do you think soda was lost when pouring?

Is this enough loss to avoid pouring?

Does anyone know what creates fizz—be sure to ask your science teacher?

How accurate do you think your estimates are?

What could be throwing off your results?

How much soda do you think is left in the bottle?

Homework:

Estimate how much soda your family looses per month from pouring soda?  

Activity Questions:

1) How much soda is in the bottle?__________

2) How much soda, if any, was lost during the pouring?_____________

3) Express this loss as a percentage_____________