Diet Coke and Regular Coke

Question 1

What was the procedure and purpose of the teachers experiment involving cans of diet coke and regular coke?

Answer 1

We had to weigh both cans to figure out their mass so we could divide it by their volume (to get density)

Question 2

But, it turns out that for both cans, their masses were larger than the given volumes on the cans, which would mean that both of the cans should’ve sunk (because the density of water is 1g/ml) - why?

Answer 2

This was because the labelled volumes only applied to the volume of the fluid itself, and not the can as a whole

Question 3

In order to find out the real volumes of the cans, we needed to find out the _______ _________.

Answer 3

general range

Question 4

FULL EXPLANATION

Answer 4

To find out the true volumes of the cans, we needed a rough range. Let’s say the regular coke weighed 560.24g and the diet coke weighed 538.45g. We figured their volumes must fall between these weights for the regular coke to sink and the diet coke to float. So, we estimated both cans to have a volume around 545g, matching our observations. The regular coke is denser than water due to its sugar content, while the diet coke is less dense because it has less sugar.