Pacific Science Center
Bringing science to life.
PacSci-Doku: “Wonderful Together, Terrible Apart”
By Dennis Schatz – Senior Advisor
Do you Sudoku? It’s one of the hottest number games around! Well, here’s a twist we think you’ll love. We call it PacSci-Doku. Can you guess why? Here’s how it works. Instead of filling in the blanks with numbers, we use letters. Hidden in one of the columns or rows is the answer to a science question. You’ll find information about the answer on the answer tab below.
The question in this edition is:
What substance do many people crave, but its separate components stink?
To find the answer, complete this PacSci-Doku using the following nine letters:
E O o A L T C c H
Puzzle Difficulty: Easy
The Answer
The question in this edition is:
What substance do many people crave, but its separate components stink?
The answer: Chocolate
Acetic acid by itself smells like vinegar. Dimethyl trisulfide smells like cabbage, and 3-methylbutanic acid has a rancid smell. These are just three of the 25 substances that produce chocolate’s attractive aroma. It is the just right combination of the many compounds that makes chocolate irresistible – not to mention all the other wonderful substances we add to it, such as milk, sugar, almonds, salt . . . . Read more about the research that narrowed down the key 25 substances that make so many people crave chocolate.
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