The Molecules Around Me Chemistry Project

Alex Forkel(1): Food and nutritional supplements

Name: Kirkland chewable vitamin CPurpose: Source of vitamin C Ingredients: Sorbitol, Sodium Ascorbate, Ascorbic Acid, Corn Starch, Magnesium Stearate, Silicon Dioxide, Sucralose, Yellow 6 Lake, Natural and Artificial Orange Flavors, Natural Orange Juice Powder, Lactose (Milk), Red 40 Lake.

Compound(1):Name: Magnesium Stearate

Molecular formula: Mg(C18H35O2)2Organic or Inorganic: Organic because it has Carbon. Molecular structure:

Summary: Magnesium stearate is a white substance, a powder that becomes solid at room temperature. Magnesium stearate melts at approximately 120 °C, but is not soluble in water, and is for the most part, considered safe for human consumption at levels below 2500 mg/kg per day.Compound(2): Name: Silicon Dioxide

Molecular formula: SiO2Organic or Inorganic: Inorganic because it does not contain any Carbon. Molecular structure:

Summary: Silicon dioxide is a chemical compound that is an oxide of silicon. It has been known for its hardness since ancient times. Silicon is found most commonly in nature in the form of sand or quartz.Compound (3):Name: Sucralose

Molecular formula: C12H19Cl3O8Organic or Inorganic: Organic because it contains Carbons. Molecular structure:

Summary: Sucralose is an artificial sweetener. Most of ingested sucralose is not broken down by the body, so it’s non-caloric. Sucralose is about 600 times as sweet as sucrose (table sugar), twice as sweet as saccharin, and three times as sweet as aspartame (the sweetener in gum). The most common brand names of sucralose-based sweeteners are Splenda, Sukrana, SucraPlus, Candys, Cukren and Nevella.

Compound(4):

Name: Sorbitol

Molecular formula: C6H14O6Organic or Inorganic: Organic because it contains Carbons. Molecular structure:

Summary: Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol that the human body metabolizes very slowly. It can be obtained by reduction of glucose. Sorbitol can be found in apples, pears, peaches, and prunes.

Compound(5):Name: Lactose

Molecular formula: C12H22O11Organic or Inorganic: Organic because it contains Carbons.

Molecular structure:

Summary: Lactose is a disaccharide sugar that comes from galactose and glucose that is most commonly found in cow milk. Lactose makes up around 2~8% of milk (by weight).

(2): Healthcare and medicinal products Name: Ibuprofen

Purpose: Pain reliever\Fever reducer Ingredients: Colloidal Silicon Dioxide, Corn Starch, Croscarmellose Sodium, Hypromellose, Iron Oxides, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Polyethylene Glycol, Polysorbate 80, Stearic Acid, Titanium DoxideCompound(1): Name: Corn Starch

Molecular Formula: C27H48O20

Organic or Inorganic: Organic because it comes from corn, which contains Carbon. Anything that contains Carbon is organic. Molecular Structure:

Summary: I read that they put Corn Starch in Ibuprofen to actually hold the tablet together. Some people add it to their homemade gravy to thicken it. It’s not exactly healthy, but like most things in this world, in small increments, it won’t harm you. Compound(2): Name: Croscarmellose Sodium

Molecular Formula: C12H10Ca3O14.4H2OOrganic or Inorganic: Organic because it contains carbon.Molecular Structure:

Summary: Because it is soluble in water, but it must sit in water for a while before it breaks down, they put in in Ibuprofen to keep the tablets from breaking down too soon. If you took Ibuprofen on an empty stomach, (you have to take a lot for this to occur) you’d have a really upset stomach. So they do that to allow time. Compound(3):Name: Iron Oxide

Molecular Formula: Fe2O3Organic or Inorganic: Inorganic because it contains no Carbon. Molecular Structure:

Summary: It is a combination of Iron and Oxygen (just in case you couldn’t tell) and it is what makes the Ibuprofen have it’s red color. There are a total of

16 known Iron Oxides. Most rust is a form of Iron Oxide.

Compound(4):Name: Titanium Dioxide

Molecular formula: TiO2Organic or Inorganic: Inorganic because it DOES NOT contain Carbon. Molecular structure:

Summary: Titanium dioxide is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium. When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white. It has a wide range of applications, from paint to sunscreen to food coloring. When used as a food colouring, it has E number E171.

Compound(5): Name: Stearic Acid

Molecular formula: C18H36O2Organic or Inorganic: Organic because it contains Carbons and to be considered organic, a compound must contain Carbon.Molecular structure:

Summary: Stearic acid is a saturated fatty acid with an 18-carbon chain. It’s a waxy solid. The salts of stearic acid are called stearates, which is where the stearic in the name comes from. Stearic acid is one of the most commonly found (in nature) saturated fatty acids besides Palmitic Acid.

(3) Personal hygiene and cleaning productsName: Crest 3D white toothpaste

Purpose: To clean and significantly whiten teeth with results you can see in just 7 days. Ingredients: water, sorbitol, hydrated silica, disodium pyrophosphate, sodium lauryl sulfate, flavor, cellulose gum, sodium hydroxide, sodium saccharin, carbomer, xanthan gum, polyethylene, mica, titanium dioxide, blue 1 lake.Compound(1): Name: Water

Molecular formula: H2OOrganic or Inorganic: Inorganic because there’s no Carbon in it. Molecular structure:

Summary: A water molecule is made of one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms that are bonded by covalent bonds. Water exists in a liquid crystal state near hydrophilic surfaces.Compound(2):Name: Hydrated Silica

Molecular formula: SiO2 · nH2OOrganic or Inorganic: Inorganic because it doesn’t contain any Carbon Molecular structure:

Summary: Hydrated silica is a form of silicon dioxide, that contains a variable amount of water in the formula. It is also known as silicic acid, the term generally used for it when it’s dissolved in water. It’s found in nature as opal (which has been mined as a gemstone for centuries). It also tends to be sold for toothpaste. As soon as it’s dehydrated, the gel is used as a desiccant that we know as silica gel. It also tends to be used in many paints and varnishes.

Compound(3): Name: Disodium Pyrophosphate

Molecular formula: Na2HPO4Organic or Inorganic: Inorganic because it does not contain Carbon. Molecular structure:

Summary:Disodium hydrogen phosphate is sodium salt made of phosphoric acid. It is a white powder that’s soluble. Because of that, it is commercially sold as an anti-caking additive in powdered products. It is commercially available in both the hydrated and anhydrous forms.Compound(4):Name: Cellulose Gum

Molecular formula: -CH2-COOHOrganic or Inorganic: Organic because it contains Carbon.Molecular structure:

Summary: “Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) or cellulose gum, is a cellulose derivative with carboxymethyl groups bound to some of the hydroxyl groups of the glucopyranose monomers that make up the cellulose backbone. It is often used as its sodium salt, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose.” (Wikipedia.org)

Compound(5):Name: Xanthan Gum

Molecular formula: C35H49O29

Organic or Inorganic: Organic because it contains Carbons.Molecular structure:

Summary: “Xanthan gum is typically used as a food additive and rheology modifier, commonly used as a food thickening agent (in salad dressings, for example) and a stabilizer (in cosmetic products, for example, to prevent ingredients from separating). It is produced by the fermentation of glucose, sucrose, or lactose. After a fermentation period, the polysaccharide is precipitated from a growth medium with isopropyl alcohol, dried, and ground into a fine powder. Later, it is added to a liquid medium to form the gum.” (Wikipedia.org)Summary: Overall, I learned that there are things that you can learn stuff about in my own house and it’s super quick and easy. It’s just Google. That’s way cool. Also, I’d never tasted a chewable vitamin C before I pulled it out of my cupboard to use. So that

was cool. I always just took the liquid. They’re really good. I think what I learned that most relates to chemistry is that the FDA DOES NOT approve of a lot of things for us to consume that are put in ibuprofen and vitamins (I learned this from other’s projects). I think it would’ve been really cool if we’d had some way to look at other’s projects because I learned probably just as much reading theirs as I did probably doing mine.