JCE Online Journal of Chemical EducationDivision of Chemical Education, American Chemical SocietyAmerican Chemical Society
 | Subscriptions  | Software Orders  | Support  | Contributors  | Advertisers  | 

JCE Print
   Current Issue
 Previous Issues
 Supplements
 Search JCE Index

JCE Digital Library
   ChemInfo
 DigiDemos
 Featured Molecules
 LivTexts
 LrnCom
 QBank
 SymMath
 WebWare

JCE Software
   Latest Releases
 Software & Video
 Downloads
 Support

Only@JCE Online
   JCE Online Store
 JCE HS CLIC
 JCE Discussion Forums
   Biographical Snapshots
 ChemEd Resource Shelf
 Featured Molecules
 Hal's Picks
 Project Chemlab
 Reviewed WWW Sites
 "Web-Ed" Articles

About JCE
   Features
 Publications
 Operations
 Outreach
 Contact Us


  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2007  > April  >
In the Classroom
JCE Featured Molecules
Molecular Models Candy Components
William F. Coleman
Department of Chemistry, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA 02481
Cover
April 2007
Vol. 84 No. 4
p. 621
Full Text
This month’s Featured Molecules come from the paper by Fanny K Ennever on using candy to illustrate various principles. They include sucrose and the invert sugar that results from the hydrolysis of sucrose. Students should look for structural similarities between sucrose and the hydrolysis products glucose and fructose, and verify that all three are indeed hydrates of carbon. They should also inspect the models to see whether the position of the substituents in the five and six membered rings are the same in the sucrose and in the hydrolysis products. Also included are two esters important in fruit flavoring of candies. Flavor and aroma are inexorably intertwined in the taste experience and no single compound is responsible for that experience. Methyl cinnamate, included here, is one of over 100 esters, and over 300 compounds, involved in the taste of strawberries (1). Isoamyl acetate is a major component of the taste of bananas. Lastly, chocolate—perhaps nothing else need be said. There is a great deal of confusion in the popular press and on the internet between theobromine, found in cocoa beans, and caffeine. Both molecules are included here and students should easily see why the two might be confused. Consequently there are many exaggerated claims about caffeine in chocolate. An interesting assignment would be for teams of students to find reliable data on the physiological effects of these similar molecules, and to find good analyses on the actual level of caffeine in cocoa beans, versus the amount added in the candy production process, if any.

glucose

 

methyl cinnamate

Fully manipulable versions of candy components and other molecules in the collection are available at the JCE Digital Library Web site.

Literature Cited

  1. 1. Aharoni, A. et al. Plant Cell. 2000, 12, 647–662.
More Information
*
Citation
Coleman, William F. J. Chem. Educ. 2007, 84, 621.
*
Keywords
Computer-Based Learning; Consumer Chemistry; High School / Introductory Chemistry; Molecular Modeling
*
History
Created:
Last Updated:
3/6/2007
3/6/2007
<< Previous Article Table of Contents Next Article >>
  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2007  > April  > Page 621


Subscriptions
 Subscription Info
 Order Forms

JCE HS CLIC

Our Secondary School editors work hard to distill all the JCE materials to produce a fraction of particular interest to high school teachers. We call it CLIC.
 JCE HS CLIC

Contributions Welcome
JCE welcomes your submission
 Contributors' Corner

Advertisers
In recent years we have worked hard to better match our advertisers with our readers. When shopping for chemistry education materials, visit our advertisers' WWW sites first.
 Recent Advertisers

Be An Ambassador
Take JCE along on your outreach missions. Copies of the Journal, guest access to JCE Online, our publications catalog, and more are available for your participants.
 Outreach with JCE

Comments to
jceonline@chem.wisc.edu		 Copyright © Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society.
All rights reserved.