# How much gas is dissolved in a liter of soda pop? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 13, 2019, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-is-dissolved-in-a-liter-of-soda-pop/838605 "2019-08-13T15:50:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-is-dissolved-in-a-liter-of-soda-pop/838605/1 "2019-08-13T15:50:24Z")
I’m going with a liter/litre because I’m as inclusive as Hell. I can convert it to a 12oz can on my own. Anyway, I’m not belching after a soft drink as I used to, but I’m passing more abdominal gas. Much more. I assume much of the gas is what I didn’t belch because it isn’t all that stinky, like the CO2 just passed through cleanly, but there’s an awful lot of it. So, how much can I blame on a sub-Trumpian amount of Diet Coke and how much can I credit to my friendly bacteria? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-is-dissolved-in-a-liter-of-soda-pop/838605/2 "2019-08-13T15:56:00Z")
There is a fairly in-depth discussion here: > Basically 2.2 grams of CO2 per 12 ounce soda can. Volume, pressure, etc. are all in the link. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-is-dissolved-in-a-liter-of-soda-pop/838605/3 "2019-08-13T16:15:55Z")
There are moles in Diet Coke? But moles are poisonous! And not listed in the ingredients. However, I’ve seen how foamy my dog’s mouth got when he tried to eat one, and it explains why Diet Coke tastes so nasty. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-is-dissolved-in-a-liter-of-soda-pop/838605/4 "2019-08-14T00:12:27Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > There are moles in Diet Coke? But moles are poisonous! And not listed in the ingredients. However, I’ve seen how foamy my dog’s mouth got when he tried to eat one, and it explains why Diet Coke tastes so nasty. :eek: Ignorance fought! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-is-dissolved-in-a-liter-of-soda-pop/838605/5 "2019-08-14T13:12:50Z")
OK, so **dropzone** obviously isn’t being completely serious, but there’s a chance that he really doesn’t know what “moles” mean in this context. In chemistry, amounts of various substances are often measured in moles, which fundamentally, is just a count of the number of molecules or atoms or ions or whatever you have. But in typical situations, the number of molecules would be a very, very large number, so we don’t count them directly: We use a number-unit, similar to a dozen. Just as a dozen is twelve of something, a mole is 6.02\*10^23 of something (this number is chosen such that a mole of the lightest atom, hydrogen, weighs one gram). The number of moles of any given substance, then, is usually a much more manageable number than the number of molecules or whatever. Measuring substances in this way is useful for chemistry, because it makes chemical reactions clearer: For instance, water has two hydrogen atoms for every one oxygen atom, so if you react two moles of hydrogen with one mole of oxygen, you won’t have any of either left over. And it’s especially useful for gases, because (at any given pressure and temperature), the same volume of gas will contain the same number of moles, no matter what substance or mixture of substances the gas is made of (at typical temperatures and pressures humans are comfortable in, a mole of gas takes up about a cubic foot). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-is-dissolved-in-a-liter-of-soda-pop/838605/6 "2019-08-14T13:49:43Z")
Just for completeness sake, that 2.2 grams of carbon dioxide will have a volume of a little over a liter at STP. BELCH!!! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-is-dissolved-in-a-liter-of-soda-pop/838605/7 "2019-08-14T16:19:49Z")
I’m guessing that soda is pretty comparable to beer in terms of CO2 solubility, and soda is generally a lot fizzier than beer. Considering that most mass-market lager is carbonated with roughly 2.5-3.0 volumes of CO2 (i.e. 1 liter of beer contains 2.5-3.0 liters of dissolved CO2), I’m guessing that most sodas are probably in the 3.5-5.0 volumes of CO2 ballpark. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2019, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-is-dissolved-in-a-liter-of-soda-pop/838605/8 "2019-08-15T00:18:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And it’s especially useful for gases, because (at any given pressure and temperature), the same volume of gas will contain the same number of moles, no matter what substance or mixture of substances the gas is made of (at typical temperatures and pressures humans are comfortable in, a mole of gas takes up about a cubic foot). For _ideal_ gases. We generally work with gases that are very close to ideal, but aren’t exactly, and if you get the pressure high enough, they’ll be less and less ideal.