Vitamin C and the Oxidation of Apples Science Fair Projects

Oxidation

Oxidation is basically the combination of oxygen with something else. This is a common chemcial reaction that causes decomposition.

DNA Extraction	Student's Microscopes

Objectives/Goals

The objective of this project was to determine the effects of various levels of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) on the oxidation in apples. The experiment observed the antioxidant's effectiveness at retarding both area of oxidation and intensity of oxidation.

Methods/Materials

50 apple samples were observed during a 6 day period in this experiment. The samples were equally distributed among 5 variable levels: 0 mg of ascorbic acid, 250 mg, 500 mg, 750 mg, and 100 mg. Water and the appropriate level of antioxidant were mixed to form 5 solutions in which to contain the samples. The solutions were poured into specimen jars, where the samples were then placed.

Data was taken over the next 5 days. Statistics collected were for area of oxidation (% of surface oxidized, measured via a 10x10/sq. in. transparency) and intensity of oxidation (color of affected area, measured with a color scale).

Results

The general trend appeared to be that the higher the potency of ascorbic acid in the solution, the less pronounced the effects of oxidation were, both in area and intensity. In "area" statistics, the final averages were: (with potency levels in ascending order) 0 mg yielded 100% surface area oxidized, 250 mg yields 89.5% oxidized, 500 mg yields 60 % oxidized, 750 mg yields 54.5% oxidized, and 1000 mg yields 28% oxidized. The same results appeared in "intensity" statistics, with 0 mg yielding a Level 4.4 color (referring to color scale) and the rest of the levels yielding a Level 2 color.

Conclusions/Discussion

The antioxidant worked both to delay the oxidation reaction as well as lessen its overall effect. Increasing levels of antioxidant caused decreasing oxidation effects. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the higher the level of antioxidants in a specimen, the more effective the retardation of oxidation. 3rd party contributor