Here's the last Puzzler for the semester. You will have until the final exam to submit it.
In class we discussed ethanol, the alcohol that is the least toxic to the human body. It is naturally produced by many micro-organisms, such as yeast during the process of fermentation. It is well known by winemakers, that wine will go "bad" during the fermentation process if the bottle (or barrel) is not properly sealed. The culprit is oxygen gas, which interacts with the methanol in an oxidation reaction.
When served wine, the saavy consumer will break the cork to see if the interior is dry. If not, the wine has probably be contaminated with oxygen. Next, a small splash is tasted. If the wine has been oxidized, the taste of one of the two products of the oxidation reaction will be unmistakeable. Can your figure out the two products from the reaction? The product that can be tasted was mentioned in class in another context.
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