What makes Coke and other soft drinks acidic? These drinks are carbonated, so a freshly-opened can should have a lot of dissolved carbonic acid, but the ingredients also lists phosphoric acid. Would flat Coke be significantly less acidic than carbonated Coke?
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If you look at the list of ingredients, you will find that Coca-Cola and many other brands contain phosphoric acid (food grade - don't worry). This is probably the dominant cause of acidity. Citric acid is another common component. Of course, the carbon dioxide is also acidic, but weakly, so there should be very little difference between carbonated and flat. |
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Mostly Carbonic acid, probably. Because it is the only species in coke, that can escape in the form of gas. Just shake a coke, or heat it and see how much of the acidity is gone. It is the part that is due to $\ce{CO2}$. |
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