06. Instrumentation Laboratory

2024 Topic:  Food dye in sports drinks

2024 Event Descriptions

Coordinators: Dr. Gregory Edens and Dr. Mieke Peels

Important: All documents and files for your experiment must be submitted by April 17th 2024!

 

Determining the Concentration of a Food Dye in a Sports Drink

Objective & Background sports drinks

Marketing companies have learned how to make products that appeal to consumers.  Color has a large influence over a customer’s choice and opinion.  The sale of sports drinks, which have a variety of colors, amounts to almost 9 billion dollars a year in the US. The objective of the event is to determine the concentration of a primary FD&C food dye in a sports drink using UV-VIS Spectroscopy. (No Kits allowed)

Materials Provided by NJIT on the Day of the Event:

  • Commercial Sports Drink

  • Graph paper (1/4 inch)

Materials & Methods Brought by Team to the Competition:

  • Bring whatever is needed to perform the experiment.  
  • Make sure the team has brought enough deionized water. 
  • Prior to starting, each team must provide the judges with a typed step-by-step description of the methods intended to use to address the objective of this experiment. It is necessary to have a work cited page and in-text citations.
  • ***Update:  We will provide basic UV-VIS spectrophotometers in the event room and assistance to run the equipment.  If you would like to bring your own spectrophotometer, please email us.***

INSTRUCTORS NOTES ON SPECIAL SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: 

  • Laboratory should be supervised by instructor/coach at all times. 
  • Review all procedures for safety concerns. 
  • Teams will be permitted to perform the submitted experiment only if the procedure is approved by the judges in accordance with safety protocols.
  • Safety protocol must be addressed in the team procedure submitted for evaluation prior to event.
  • Teams must practice procedure prior to event day. Judges reserve the right to dismiss unprepared teams on the day of the event.

 

Prior to the event:

A step-by-step description of the Theory, Materials, Methods, and Safety Protocol must be received by the Event coordinators no later than April 17, 2024. The procedure should be practiced thoroughly. Judges may disqualify entrants that have not cited the lab procedure properly, are not confident about the procedure, and as a result, pose a safety risk.  Be familiar with and be prepared to follow all safety guidelines associated with the method chosen.

On the Day of the event:   

  • Follow the submitted laboratory procedure to collect and record data for a minimum of two trials.
  • A graph must be generated of known concentrations of the appropriate food coloring.
  • The concentration of the unknown (reported in molarity) should be determined by interpolation of the graph or the linear regression formula.
  • Clean up and then submit the and report showing all calculations on the back of the report page.

Time Limit:   75 minutes

 Judging

  • Description of methods, 30%
  • Description of safety concerns addressed within the procedure, 10%
  • Presentation of Data and Calculations, 25%
  • Accuracy molarity of sample, 25%
  • Time, 10%
  • ** NOTE: Please supply a works cited page and in-text numbered citations.

Notes:

  • In the event of a tie, the team that completes this session in the shortest period of time will win the tie.
  • Teams must clean up and remove all materials brought to this event and return to their own schools. 

ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BRING (APPROVED) GOGGLES, GLOVES AND AN APRON OR LAB COAT, AND USE SAFETY EQUIPMENT AT ALL TIMES DURING THE COMPETITION.  STUDENTS MUST ADHERE TO BOTH GENERAL LAB SAFETY PROTOCOLS AND THOSE SPECIFIC TO CHOSEN PROCEDURE.