Sodium Analysis in Potato Chips

ILF Background InformationChemistry 111

March 2011Gwen, Nathalie and Monica

Sodium in Potato Chips

• Frito-Lay Lay's Potato Chips - Original (for a small bag, 28.3 g) claims to have 180 mg180 mg of sodium.

• Old Dutch Potato Chips - Original (for small bag, 28 g) claims to have 130 mg130 mg of sodium.

• Humpty Dumpty Potato Chips - Original (for a small bag, 16 g) claims to have 100 mg100 mg of sodium.

After looking at these sodium counts, we are going to do an analysis to see if these companies are true to their nutrition facts, or if they are a little off...or even way off.

What is the chemical formula, chemical structure, molar mass and the CAS Registry number of the analyte you will be working

with?

The analyte we are working with is Sodium ChlorideSodium Chloride, its chemical formula being 2Na + Cl22Na + Cl2. The structure of this chemical is based as a typical ionic structure, meaning it is a compound, where we cannot state just how many ions there really are. There could be billions of sodium and chloride particles all constantly moving about each other. This chemical also contains ionic bonding, with the sodium having one electron on its outer layer and chlorine needing one more electron for its outer layer. They work together by giving and receiving the electrons needed to fill their ring and forming an ion. The formation of sodium chloride is arranged in such a way that each particle is surrounded by oppositely charged neighbors, such as the picture below. The Molar MassMolar Mass of the chemical is 58.44277 g/mol58.44277 g/mol and has a CAS Registry CAS Registry NumberNumber of 7647-14-57647-14-5..

Find and print out a free MSDS for the chemical you are

studying.  

http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/s3338.htm

What are the health benefits of consuming the chemical you are working with?

 When thinking of Sodium Chloride, most people’s first reaction is that it is bad and unhealthy for you. This is true to the consumption of large quantities; however this chemical also contains many health benefits. Sodium is needed by your body to help with proper blood flowproper blood flow, it helps maintain the electrolyte balancemaintain the electrolyte balance in and out of your cells and is needs to be used to replenish these electrolytes, especially after exercising. Having a good salt to water ratio within your body provides good metabolismgood metabolism, and the chemical can also show early signs of healthearly signs of health problems by examining it in the blood flow. Overall, your body needs certain amounts of sodium each day to properly function and carry out your basic needs.

What are the health risks of consuming too much of the chemical you are working with?

 It is widely known that the quantity of salt we tend to ingest nowadays is not beneficial to our health at all. The amount the general population does intake on a daily basis has risen so high over the years because of the ever growing processed and "convenient" food industries. Most anything we buy in stores are loaded with salt as preservatives of merely to add flavour. This huge difference has proven to cause many health problems in the human population such as hypertensionhypertension, also known as high blood pressure, which elevateselevates the systemic arterial blood pressurethe systemic arterial blood pressure in particular. Hypertension in itself may lead to strokesstrokes, , eyesight troubleeyesight trouble, , heart failureheart failure and causes a lower life expectancylower life expectancy. Other health risks of ingesting high amounts of sodium are osteoporosisosteoporosis and stomach cancerstomach cancer. A certain amount of salt and sodium are in fact necessary to our bodies to maintain balance, but in the same way too much can throw off the equilibrium ofthrow off the equilibrium of fluidfluid in our bodies and cause you to retain water. Overall, people in the world are eating much too much salt and it causes many health risks that nobody wants.

What is the normal or acceptable amount of your group's analyte, in the substance you

will be analyzing?

 The average sodium intake amongst adults in the UK is 3.7 grams per day (equivalent to 9.5 grams or around 2 tsp of salt) and is well above the amount needed to maintain normal functions in a temperate climate. The RNI (recommended nutrient intake) for The RNI (recommended nutrient intake) for

sodium is only 1.6 grams per daysodium is only 1.6 grams per day..

Investigate the instrumentation or techniques required to carry out the analysis you will do.

 The Instruments needed for this analysis of Sodium Chloride are:The Instruments needed for this analysis of Sodium Chloride are: • Sodium Ion Selective Electrode • Sodium Ion Selective Electrode fill solution • Pipette for fill solution • PASCO CI-6738 ISE (Ion Selective Electrode) Amplifier • Science Workshop 2.2.5 of greater • PASCO Science Workshop Computer Interface • Semi logarithmic 4-cycle graph paper for preparing calibration curves • Magnetic stir plate • Lab-ware made of plastic for all low level instruments (do not use glass) Equipment/Instruments need for solutions are:Equipment/Instruments need for solutions are: • Deionized or distilled water for solution and preparation • Ionic Strength Adjuster (ISA) 4 M NH4Cl/4 M NH4 OH • Sodium Electrolyte Storage Solution 5 M NaCl

How does the instrumentation or technique work to measure the substance you are looking for?

 After crushing the potato chips and making a solution with it and the distilled water, you put the ISE (without the cap) into the solution.The instrumentation measures the substance by measuring the conductivity of the water - the solution has a charge because of the ions we are working with. By measuring the conductivity of the solution, we can analyze the concentration of sodium, seeing if the chips contain more than 1.6 g of sodium, the recommended nutrient intake per day. Before using the ISE, you need to make up a fill solution that contains sodium ions. This allows the ISE to recognize what ion we are looking for in the solution, and will then pick out the sodium in the solution of potato chips and distilled water.

 

What other chemicals are required to do the analysis?

 

The chemicals needed are distilled waterdistilled water, Sodium Electrode Storgage SolutionSodium Electrode Storgage Solution, Ammonium SolutionAmmonium Solution, Ammonium HydroxydeAmmonium Hydroxyde, Ionic Strength AdjusterIonic Strength Adjuster and Sodium ChlorideSodium Chloride.

Look up and print out the MSDS for each chemical required to do

the analysis.  

Distilled Water MSDS

Sodium Electrode Storage Solution MSDS

Ammonium Chloride MSDS

Ammonium Hydroxide MSDS

Ionic Strength Adjuster MSDS

Sodium chloride MSDS

Outline the steps required to carry out the analysis.

 

Electrode Preparation -Electrode Preparation - Remove rubber cap from electrodeHook up the electrode to amplifier and computer Experiment Preparations -Experiment Preparations - 1. Buy different brands of potato chips2. Take the chips and crush them up as much as possible, to as little as possible a size (use

a mortar)3. Weigh out a measurement of the chips, 10 grams being a good starting point4. Whatever the weight you chose, add 10 times as much water to the chips to form a

solution5. Place the solution in the Magnetic Stirring Plate overnight so that the sodium will be

extracted from the chips6. After the solution is mixed in the beaker it must be transferred to a larger Volume Flask

for more precise measuring7. Stir the solution again with the Magnetic Stirring Plate to be sure you have a homogenous

solution8. Measure 50 ml of the solution into a beaker and add 1 ml of ISA 9. Place the ISE into the sodium solution so that it can measure the amount of sodium found 10. Be sure to record all data in your Lab Book

Make a list of the skills you will need to have training in, in order to perform the analysis properly.

 - Before performing this analysis, you should be sure to

have the proper WHMIS training as well as basic computer skills.

- For the experiment itself, you should know how to use the Magnetic Stirring Plate as well as the ISE (refer to manual for instructions).

References 

Question OneQuestion One Kurtus, Ron. (2004, January). Chemistry equations. Retrieved from

http://www.school-for-champions.com/chemistry/equations.htm  Clark, Jim. (2010, February). Ionic stuctures. Retrieved from

http://www.chemguide.co.uk/atoms/structures/ionicstruct.html Encyclopedia, Britannica. (2008, February). Sodium chloride stucture. Retrieved from

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/552185/sodium-chloride-structure Baker, JT. (2009, August 17). Sodium chloride. Retrieved from http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/s3338.htm  Question TwoQuestion Two Baker, JT. (2009, August 17). Sodium chloride. Retrieved from http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/s3338.htm Question ThreeQuestion Three Hannemen, R. (2001). Diet&lifestyle salt research. Internet Health Library.

http://www.internethealthlibrary.com/DietandLifestyle/salt-health-danger-research.htm

MediLexicon, . (2004). Salt (sodium chloride), what it is and how it affects your health . Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/13273.php

 Question FourQuestion Four MediLexicon, . (2004). Salt (sodium chloride), what it is and how it affects your health . Medical News Today.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/13273.php

References Cont.Question FiveQuestion Five

 MediLexicon, . (2004). Salt (sodium chloride), what it is and how it affects your health . Medical News Today.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/13273.php 

Question SixQuestion Six

PBoyle, Peter . (1997). Sodium Ion Selective Electrode. (1997). Instruction Manuel and Experiment Guide . PASCO scientific.

 Pictures found at: http://pipettetip.cn/html/Product/view_21.html http://www.pasco.com/featured-products/ion-selective-electrodes/page_3.cfm  Question SevenQuestion Seven

PBoyle, Peter . (1997). Sodium Ion Selective Electrode. (1997). Instruction Manuel and Experiment Guide . PASCO scientific.

  Question EightQuestion Eight

PBoyle, Peter . (1997). Sodium Ion Selective Electrode. (1997). Instruction Manuel and Experiment Guide . PASCO scientific.

References Cont.Question NineQuestion Nine

Decagon, (2007). Material safety data sheet distilled water 40464. Pullman, Washington: Decagon Devices. Science Lab.com. Material safety data sheet sodium nitrate, 5m ionic strength adjustor msds . Houston, Texas: Science

Lab Chemicals & Laboratory Equipment. Thermo, . Orion 841101 sodium electrode storage solution material safety data sheet . Beverly, MA: Thermo Scientific. Baker, J.T. (2007). Ammonium chloride msds. Phillipsburg, NJ: Malinckrodt Chemicals. Science Lab.com, . Material safety data sheet ammonium hydroxide msds. Houston, Texas: Science Lab Chemistry

and Laboratory Equipment.  Question TenQuestion Ten

PBoyle, Peter . (1997). Sodium Ion Selective Electrode. (1997). Instruction Manuel and Experiment Guide . PASCO scientific.

Question ElevenQuestion Eleven PBoyle, Peter . (1997). Sodium Ion Selective Electrode. (1997). Instruction Manuel and Experiment Guide . PASCO

scientific.