Tyrone Li Science Fehlau 10-2-07 introduction outline

1. Section One

1. Teeth are an important part of today's society.

2. Although they are naturally yellow, modern whitening methods make

whiter teeth more preferable.

3. If you cannot afford an expensive bleaching at the dentists, maybe you

could keep your teeth nice and white in the first place.

2. What beverages cause the most stains on teeth?

• Experimental Variable: Coffee, Tea, Cola, Grape Juice, Tap Water

• Dependent Variable: The darkness of the stain on the egg compared

to the Dentist's teeth stain chart

• Controlled Variables: Amount of time the egg is left inside the drink, the amount

of liquid used for each egg, compared results to the same Dentist's Scale, same container,

same type of egg.

• Control Run: Using water as the drink for the egg.

3. Many science experiments have been used to test which toothpaste is the

best. They also used eggs.

4. If the grape juice is used to soak the egg then the egg will have the darkest

stain because it has acid that would make the eggshell more vulnerable to

stains. There is an acid called ascorbic acid that might make the eggshell

softer or strip away its protective covering. Thus allowing the dark purple

coloring of the grape juice to cling to the shell/teeth.

5. The greater significance of the problem? I hope to learn about what causes

teeth stains to be permanent and what ingredients in beverages can cause

them.