Question

What chemicals are used in aerated drinks?

Answer 1

Well, usually the gas carbon dioxide........hence it is a `"carbonated"` drink.

Explanation:

You can make beer or ginger beer at home, and generally you get good to outstanding results (homebrewing is also very cheap). When you come to bottle the brewed beer, just before you seal the bottle with a crown cap, you would add a half teaspoon of sugar to each bottle. Why?

The residual yeast in your brew ferments the added sugar to carbon dioxide in the usual way:

`C_6H_12O_6 rarr 2H_3C-CH_2OH + 2CO_2`

The carbon dioxide is retained within the bottle, within the solution, sealed by the cap. This makes the drink sparkling, i.e. `"carbonated"`.

Champagne is also carbonated in a similar way.