The aim of the experiment was to test different types of soft drink on calcium carbonate marble chips, which were used in place of human teeth, and record what percentage of the marble chips dissolved when it was left in the soft drink overnight. These results will show which of the five soft drinks tested was the most harmful, and the ingredients will be examined to explain why the particular soft drink was the most detrimental to human teeth. Human teeth are covered in a hard substance called tooth enamel, which is made of hydroxyapatite. Enamel is the hardest tissue in the body and is vital in protecting teeth from decay (Callison, 2018). Enamel erosion occurs when acids wear away at the teeth and can result in painful temperature sensitivity, discolouration, cracks and chips, and indentations appearing on the teeth, and will result in cavities (Smith, 2013). While it is known that soft …show more content…
These are particularly noteworthy in Mountain Dew, which, in two of the five trials, resulted in a mass gain of the teeth. This is also present in Trial 2 of the Pepsi. It was first assumed that the mass gain was due to the mass of the soft drink still on the marble chips, but after measuring them again the next day after allowing them to dry out, this theory was not supported. It is more likely that the initial mass of the marble chips were incorrectly noted, which resulted in incorrect data. Furthermore, both Coke and Fanta had a drastic difference in their highest and lowest percentage mass loss, with Coke’s greatest difference at 9.23% and Fanta’s at 8.18%. Pepsi was the most consistent in its percentage mass loss, but not, as the hypothesis stated, the most damaging of the five soft drinks. Instead, Solo, which was relatively consistent in its numbers, had the highest mean percentage mass