Why Does A Diet Coke Float
The can of diet coke contains less than one gram of sweetener resulting in a density nearly equivalent to that of water indeed slightly less so it floats.
Why does a diet coke float. Any object that floats displaces a volume of liquid that is equal in weight to that of the object. Actual photograph of the experiment as performed in the why files lab. Subscribe for new videos every day.
However if you put a can of diet coke into the same pool it would float. Some instructors have adapted this demonstration as an experiment to teach students the principles of density and buoyancy. The sugar is much denser that the.
The diet coke can floats because the sugar they put in regular coke has been substituted by a lighter less dense substance a healthier type of sweetness. Clearly if the diet coke floats it must be less dense than water it sinks to the point that it. It takes less artificial sugars to create the same taste like regular sugar so less is needed.
The artificial sweetener used in diet coke is hundreds of times sweeter per unit volume than regular sugar. Note the diet coke breaking the surface on the left. Many science teachers perform a demonstration in which they immerse sealed cans of coke and diet coke in a tank of water.
Coke has about 11 teaspoons of sugar in each can. However if you put a can of diet coke into the same pool it would float. The can of coke immediately sinks while the can of diet coke floats.
Density is usually compared to water which is assigned a density of 1. If you prefer video explanations. The diet uses artificial sugar.