SST 2019 S2-03 Group D ISS Blog: Annex A

Investigative Skills in Science
Research Proposal Form

Project Title: Investigation of the sugar concentration of carbonated sugary drink using a hollow prism

Class

S2-03

Group:

SN	Name of student	Email
1	Kieret Kaur Sheena (2)	kieret_kaur_sheena@s2018.ssts.edu.sg
2	Jordan Tan Cheng Yun (22)	tan_cheng_yun_jordan@s2018.ssts.edu.sg
3	Xander Lim Zheng De (25)	xander_lim_zheng_de@s2018.ssts.edu.sg

Type of research:
	Test a hypothesis: Hypothesis-driven research e.g. Investigation of the antibacterial effect of chrysanthemum
✔	Measure a value: Experimental research (I) e.g. Determination of the mass of Jupiter using planetary photography
	Measure a function or relationship: Experimental research (II) e.g. Investigation of the effect of temperature on the growth of crystals
	Construct a model: Theoretical sciences and applied mathematics e.g. Modeling of the cooling curve of naphthalene
	Observational and exploratory research e.g. Investigation of the soil quality in SST

Category of research:	Sub-category:
Physics	Optics, lasers and masers
Reference	https://sst2019-iss.blogspot.com/p/l2-types-of-research-categoriessub.html

Research Plan

Project Title: Investigation of the sugar concentration of carbonated drink using a hollow prism

1. RATIONALE: Include a brief synopsis of the background that supports your research problem and exp lain why this research is important and if applicable, explain any societal impact of your research. (500 words)

Our project title is "Investigation of the sugar concentration of carbonated drink using a hollow prism." Through this experiment, we will be able to find out the different amounts of sugar in mixed drinks using a hollow prism and a laser pointer.

With background research, we learned that we could use liquids of different sugar concentration to change where a laser dot will end up when shone through the hollow prism filled with fluids with varying levels of sugar. With this in mind, we can use this method to find sugars in the drinks by measuring where the dot ends up from the control point, plain water.

We chose this as our project as we were curious whether if there is a way to find out how much sugar is in different drinks instead of just reading the labels at the back of the can or bottle. Using this method is also very convenient as there are not many types of equipment needed for this experiment. The central equipment you would need for this experiment is a hollow prism, a laser and the solution or sample you would like to test. Also, this experiment does not take much time to conduct, so if on a typical day you want to check the sugar concentration of any drink you can do it very quickly and easily. We also could use this method to test sugars in different liquids other than soda such as homemade fruit juice, bottled fruit juices, iced teas, etc.

We can use our knowledge of this topic, and we can use the same experiment, with a hollow prism and laser pointer, to find out how much sugar is in different fruits, fruits in different seasons or fruits of different brands. We can then choose which brand of fruit or which season to buy the fruit if we are looking for sweeter fruits.

For the testing of sugar in fruits, we can use the fruit juices to carry out the experiment.

We can also use this method to measure the amount of sugar in coffee or tea bought in coffee shops, as those drinks come in plastic bags, we have no idea how much sugar can be in them if there is any. If there is a high amount of sugar in a coffee shop bought coffee or tea, we can use this information to advocate people on why they are better off making their coffee at home.

We can also use this experiment to compare for example coffee from different coffee chains and compare what the concentration of sugar is from different coffee chains. Which coffee chain is healthier for you.

We can also test the sugar concentration in for example milk tea from different bubble tea chains, and we can again compare and determine which bubble tea chain is healthier for us

"So, measurements of refractive index are widely used in many industrial and research applications to determine the concentration of the solution" (Belay and Assefa, J Laser Opt Photonics, Introductions)

(504 words)

2. RESEARCH QUESTION(S):

2.1 Research question being addressed

To test for the sugar concentration in different carbonated sugary drinks

2.2 Hypothesis

If there is a higher sugar concentration level, the laser dot will end up further away from the control point.

2.2.1 Independent variable

The independent variable is the type of carbonated sugary drink used/the amount of sugar in each sample.

2.2.2 Dependent variable

The dependent variable is where the laser dot ends up, it will be measured with a ruler/measuring tape from the control point.

2.2.3 Controlled variables

The volume of the different carbonated sugary drinks used
The hollow prism used
The type of laser used

2.3 How is this based on the rationale described above?

When light rays pass from air into water, they bend, because the index of refraction of air is different from the index of refraction of water. In other words, light rays travel at a different speed in air than they do in water. Snell's law describes this phenomenon, providing a mathematical relationship between the light ray's angle of incidence relative to a perpendicular line running through the water, the refractive indexes of both materials through which the light travels, and the refractive angle at which the light travels through water.

The greater the index of refraction, the more the light bends. Sugar water is denser than plain water, so sugar water has a higher index of refraction than plain water. Here, we will use the physics of refraction to measure the sugar concentration of water.

3.1 Equipment list:

Hollow Prism x1
Laser Pointer x1
Plain White Paper x1 (A3)
Carbonated Sugary Drinks x6
Marker/Pen x1
Sugar x 500g
Rag x1
Funnel x1
Measuring Cylinder x1

3.2 Diagram(s)

L= distance hollow prism away from paper

X= distance laser dot ends up from control point

Figure 1: Experimental setup

3.3 Procedures: Detail all procedures and experimental design to be used for data collection

1. Set up the experiment as shown in the diagram above.

2. Pour plain distilled water (without sugar) into the hollow prism

3. Place a sheet of paper behind the hollow prism

4. Shine the laser through the hollow prism onto the piece of paper

5. Mark down on the paper where the laser dot ends up with a marker/pen, this marking will be our control marking (without sugar)

6. Repeat experiment with different kinds of carbonated sugary drinks

7. Continue marking down where the laser dot ends up on the paper with different drinks

8. By shining a laser through the hollow prism onto the piece of paper we should observe the laser dot ending at different places when tested with different drinks with different sugar concentrations

3.4 Data Analysis: Describe the procedures you will use to analyze the data / results.

9. Tabulate the data and calculate the sugar concentration in each carbonated drink

concentration of

sugar (x axis) distance (cm) where laser dot ends up away from control (y axis)

_____%	1st	2nd	ave
…….
…….

10. Plot a graph of the the distance the laser dot ends up from the control point against sugar concentration of each carbonated drink

11. From the graph, we can find out what the sugar concentration levels of the carbonated drinks are. (The aim)

4. Risk, Assessment and Management: Identify any potential risks and safety precautions to be taken.

Table 1: Risk Assessment and Management table

Risk	Assessment	Management
If dropped, the hollow prism might shatter and the students might get cut from the glass shards.	Medium	Students need to be careful and responsible when carrying out the experiment and if prism breaks, inform the teacher immediately.
As there are many students working in the lab, the laser beam may accidentally shine into a student’s eye	Medium	Conduct the experiment in the corner of the lab or space in the lab where students do not walk past
As the edge of the hollow prism is sharp, it might poke the student carrying out the experiment.	Medium	Wear gloves when handling the hollow prism .
As we are using drinks, the drink may spill and if not careful, someone may slip and fall	Medium	Keep a rag with us to clean up if there is a spill

5. References: List at least three (3) major sources (e.g. science journal articles, books, internet sites) from your literature review. Choose the APA format and use it consistently to reference the literature used in the research plan. List your entries in alphabetical order for each type of source.

Journal Article

Belay and Assefa, J Laser Opt Photonics 2018, “Journal of Lasers, Optics & Photonics”, “Concentration, Wavelength and Temperature Dependent Refractive Index of Sugar Solutions and Methods of Determination Contents of Sugar in Soft Drink Beverages using Laser Lights”, Volume 5, Page 1-4

Website

Kieran S. Mital (2 April 2010)”Measuring the Effect of Sugar Concentration on the Refractive Index of Water Using a Home-made Laser Refractometer"

Retrieved from,

http://cssf.usc.edu/History/2010/Projects/J1913.pdf

Tricia, L (25 April 2017)”How to measure sugar content with a laser pointer.”

Retrieved from,

https://sciencing.com/measure-sugar-content-laser-pointer-7840274.html

Youtube video

The Devil’s Hopyard (2015 September 23) “measuring sugar content by measuring angle of refraction.”

Retrieved from https://youtu.be/2k4Ez1cAV2Y

Yan, J [screen name]. (2016 June 1). “Measuring Sugar Content of a Liquid with a Laser Pointer”.

Retrieved from https://youtu.be/3kw1HFhcsnQ

6. Bibliography: List at least three (3) major sources (e.g. science journal articles, books, internet sites) from your literature review. Choose the APA format and use it consistently to reference the literature used in the research plan. List your entries in alphabetical order for each type of source.

Journal Article

Belay and Assefa, J Laser Opt Photonics 2018, “Journal of Lasers, Optics & Photonics”, “Concentration, Wavelength and Temperature Dependent Refractive Index of Sugar Solutions and Methods of Determination Contents of Sugar in Soft Drink Beverages using Laser Lights”, Volume 5, Page 1-4

Website