# Need Chemistry Help! Urgent! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2003, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-chemistry-help-urgent/164291 "2003-03-26T15:02:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gumbercules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gumbercules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gumbercules)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-chemistry-help-urgent/164291/1 "2003-03-26T15:02:43Z")
I’m a chemistry teacher (and a chemist) and my principal just asked me to analyze a bottle of Powerade to see if it has any ethanol. A quick sniff says no, but I need to know for sure. The State Police can’t help, so it’s up to me. Is there any simple, easy test to detect the presence of ethanol? Bear in mind I only have access to limited chemicals and very little lab equipment. A quick web search turned up nothing useful. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-chemistry-help-urgent/164291/2 "2003-03-26T15:09:51Z")
Try to burn it. Ethanol volatises into flammable vapors. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-chemistry-help-urgent/164291/3 "2003-03-26T15:18:43Z")
How about reading the label? Failing that go down to your local police deptmartment and chug a bottle and ask them to put you on the breathaliser? Failing that find a college lab with a gas comatagraph. (which I’m sure I screwed up the spelling on) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-chemistry-help-urgent/164291/4 "2003-03-26T15:23:32Z")
Try distilling it. Surely you’ve got equipment to do that? The key is not to boil the mixture, but heat it, as I’m sure you know. Run the process a couple times; after a few cycles, you ought to be able to smell alcohol if any measureable quantity is present. ---
**Author:** ![Gumbercules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gumbercules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gumbercules)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-chemistry-help-urgent/164291/5 "2003-03-26T15:28:40Z")
I had actually considered drinking it and having a breathalizer test, but the bottle has been opened. It was confiscated from a student. I am going to try a dichromate assay I found, but it requires a spectrophotometer, which of course I don’t have. I think there will be a visible color change, though. If that fails, I will have to try the distillation thing QED suggested. BTW, this is just to see if it is worth the expense sending it out for real testing. Like I said, I couldn’t smell anything. ---
**Author:** ![Jammers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@Jammers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jammers)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-chemistry-help-urgent/164291/6 "2003-03-26T16:10:32Z")
If the solution is mixed with acidified potassium dichromate solution, there should be a colour change from orange to green. Hazy memory, mind. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-chemistry-help-urgent/164291/7 "2003-03-26T16:58:24Z")
I suspect that the sugars in Powerade could also reduce dichromate and give a false positive. Perhaps suspending a bit of dichromate in the vapors above a warmed pot of the drink would give a less ambiguous result. [http://www.uq.edu.au/\_School\_Science\_Lessons/topic15.html#15.2.11](http://www.uq.edu.au/_School_Science_Lessons/topic15.html#15.2.11) ---
**Author:** ![Gumbercules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gumbercules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gumbercules)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-chemistry-help-urgent/164291/8 "2003-03-27T03:36:41Z")
OK Here’s the results. I tried pretty much everything suggested here, plus I bought some new Powerade and added ethanol to it so I could compare the smells. No alcohol. The kid’s off the hook. I’m not sure what the big deal was, maybe a probation issue. Anyway, thanks for all your help! ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-chemistry-help-urgent/164291/9 "2003-03-27T03:57:48Z")
Man, If you thought it tested positive and the kid got in trouble for it, I could see a whoppin’ lawsuit coming down the pike. No way should a high school chemist with inadequate equipment be used to make a decision on whether or not a kid gets seriously punished. As an old high school chemistry teacher, I would have said “I can’t do it reliably” Your principal doesn’t understand what is required to do that level of science. ---
**Author:** ![Gumbercules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gumbercules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gumbercules)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-chemistry-help-urgent/164291/10 "2003-03-27T04:23:17Z")
Yeah, we thought of that. Teachers are probably as paranoid about lawsuits as doctors are. What a wonderful age we live in. I believe I mentioned that this was just to see if it was worth sending it out for testing.