What do vanilla ice cream and chili peppers have in common? Other than being something to eat, you may think that they have nothing in common. Their common bond lies in the fact that both contain very powerful chemicals called flavinoids that give them their distinctive flavor. Chili peppers contain capsaicin (pronounced cap-SAY-uh-sun) and vanilla ice cream contains vanillin. What is remarkable is that the chemical structures of capsaicin and vanillin are similar. Let's go to the Internet and compare the structures of capsaicin and vanillin.

1. Go to The Science Bit and draw the chemical structure of capsaicin.
   
   
2. Draw the chemical structure of vanillin.
   
   
3. What do the structures of capsaicin and vanillin have in common?
   
   
4. Identify the functional groups in a molecule of capsaicin.
   
   
5. Identify the functional groups in a molecule of vanillin.
   
   

Additional Activities

1. Work this polymer crossword puzzle. You may have to visit Polymers: Up Close and Personal before you start.
   
   
2. You can do a simple experiment with soap to learn more about the chemical structure of surfactants. It's described at HyperChemistry under Experiments you can do at home.