Kombucha, a popular probiotic beverage,
contains detectable concentrations
of ethyl alcohol. To be sold as a nonalcoholic product, alcohol concentrations
in kombucha must be shown to be less than 0.5% by volume. This paper
describes the use of an inexpensive, commercially available sensor
to reliably and accurately measure alcohol concentrations in kombucha
across a variety of undergraduate chemistry laboratory courses. Procedures
and assessment data are also provided for two courses: an introductory
course for nonchemistry majors and upper-division analytical chemistry.
In the case of the analytical chemistry course, results from the alcohol
sensor were compared to headspace gas chromatography as a capstone
assessment. In all cases, the alcohol content of multiple commercial
kombucha samples were determined, and students submitted final reports
using appropriate scientific writing aligned with precise learning
objectives.
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