Sugar Assignment

A.Me Request Description

Task: Sugar is a common substance that is a large portion of many peoples’ diets.  Recent research has shown that most people consume too much sugar.  In this task you will examine the structure of sugar, it’s effects on health and make recommendations about steps to increase human health.  Remember to use the rubric to guide you!

Part 1: The Structure of Sugar

• Determine the molecular formula for table sugar (sucrose)
• Draw a Lewis Structure for sucrose
• Classify the molecule fully (ex. Primary amine, aliphatic)
• From your Lewis Structure and knowledge of linkages, identify the structures (names are NOT important) of the parent molecules that formed sucrose.
• Describe the 3 dimensional shape of the central atoms of sugar using VSEPR.  Include the bond angles on your Lewis structure
• Show the hybridization filling diagram for the bonds around one of the carbon atoms and one of the oxygen atoms in the molecule
• Determine the reaction for the complete combustion of sugar
  • Assign oxidation numbers to determine if this process is redox
  • make a conclusion and justify it

Part 2: Health Impacts of Sugar

Visit http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/sugar-guideline/en/ and read the WHO press release on the recommendations on sugar intake.

• Write a brief summary of the press release, including:
  • What is meant by “free sugar”
  • The potential health effects associated with excess sugar consumption
  • The levels of sugar that the WHO recommends in a diet
  • The general factors that determine sugar consumption in individuals
  • Describe and support the goodness of the source and of the information presented
• The complete combustion of 1.00 mol of table sugar, C12H22O11, yields 5.65 x 103 kJ of energy
  • Identify the type of calorimeter used to perform this analysis
  • The average Canadian currently consumes approximately 40 kg of sugar a year, far in excess of the WHO recommendation of about 10 kg of sugar annually.  Determine the amount of EXCESS energy we are getting from the sugar in our diets
• Explain, in general terms, what happens to this excess energy and how this will impact the health of Canadians.  Use research from outside sources.  You may want to explore long term as well as short term health impacts of excess sugar consumption
• Blood sugar is regulated at equilibrium through the hormones insulin and glucagon, which decrease and increase blood sugar respectively. 
  • You can think of this as a chemical statement as follows: glucose + insulin <-> glucagon + glycogen
    • • Predict what would happen to sugar and glycogen levels if:
        •  Insulin levels increased
        • Glucagon levels increase
• The formation of glycogen from sugar is an endothermic process with a high activation energy; however, this process occurs fairly easily in the body.  What does that let you conclude about what must be present?

Part 3: Recommendation, Reflection & Response to Learning

• FULLY describe and support ONE action that could be taken to reduce the consumption of sugar 
  • Consider the feasibility of the action proposed carefully (how will it be enacted, who will enforce it, where will funding come from). This should be something realistic. Consider what has been done in other countries.
  • Consider how the proposed action will benefit society and the economy
• Outline your reaction to learning. 
  • • Include how this project related to at least 4 of: structures and properties, organic chemistry, energy and rates, equilibrium and electrochemistry
    • Include how this assignment impacted your view on the importance of chemistry
    • address a possible related career
    • Address any behavioural changes you will make due to the information you have gathered