Amman National School
Summative Assessment: Criterion B
Inquiring and Dccccccesigning
MYP Year Level:5
Student’s Name: sadeq qahoush Date: 16-11-2019
Grade 10 INT Teacher: maram dweik
Subject: chemistry
Unit title: pharmaceutical calculations and considerations
Statement of Inquiry:
Criterion Objective (B): Inquiring and Designing
Strands:
i. explain a problem or question to be tested by a scientific investigation
ii. formulate a testable hypothesis and explain it using scientific reasoning
iii. explain how to manipulate the variables, and explain how data will be collected
iv. design scientific investigations.
Option 1: Investigate the amount of vitamin C (C6H8O6/ ascorbic acid) presented in citrus
fruits. In this lab the aim is to determine which citrus fruit (lemon, orange or grape fruit) contains
the highest concentration of vitamin C. This will be done; by titrating the fruit juice using
[Link]-3 NaOH standard solution in the presence of phenolphthalein indicator.
Task:
This task addresses the key concept and focuses on criterion B (Inquiring and
designing.). In this task, I will explore the amount of vitamin C (C6H8O6/ ascorbic acid)
presented in citrus fruits.
Aim:
The aim of this experiment is to Investigate the amount of vitamin C (C6H8O6/ ascorbic acid)
presented in citrus fruits (lemon, orange or grape fruit) and to determine which of the following
contains the highest concentration of vitamin C .
The research question or the problem:
to investigate which of the citrus fruits (lemon, orange or grape fruit) has highest vitamin c
background info:
a vitamin is an organic molecule that is micronutrient which living organisms need small proportions of, for the
process of metabolism. Essential nutrients such as vitamins cannot be digested in sufficient amounts, by
organisms, and therefore are obtained through our diets. Vitamins have many biochemical functions that
include cell and tissue growth and differentiation, regulation of mineral metabolism for bones and other organs
(Vitamin D), precursors or cofactors for enzymes (The B complex vitamins), and antioxidants (vitamin C aAnd
E). The excess and the deficient intake of vitamins can cause significant illness. Ascorbic acid, also known as
Vitamin C (C6H8O6) or (Lactose -2, 3,-dienol-L-gluconic acid), is white solid unscented substance. It is a very
important vitamin for several animals, including humans. As an essential vitamin for humans, it enhances our
immune system by killing harmful tissue like free radicals, which can cause cancer. Vitamin C also helps in
making collagen, which is used to make skin, tendons, and blood vessels, as well as absorbing iron from non- heme
sources.1 Thus, it is increasingly important to study this vitamin and deepen our understanding of it in the
different scientific areas. Naturally, vitamin C is found in fruits and vegetables. These range from fruits like
cantaloupe, citrus furits like oranges, lemons and grapefruit, kiwi fruit, mango, and berries, to vegetables like
bell peppers, spinach, cabbage, tomatoes, and broccoli
Hypothesis:
1
According to several nutritionists, I predict that oranges will have the highest amount of vitamin
C among citrus fruits, and grapefruits will settle on the second highest fruit among the three
fruits with vitamin c, and finally lemons will be last.
Independent variable : concentration of ascorbic acid in (oranges, lemon and grapefruits) juice
How: using the formula 1/coefficient. (Ca × Va) = 1/coefficient. (Cb × Vb).
Why: it will be extracted and compared between the other fruits at the end of this investigation
Dependent variable: volume of NaOH
How: by recording the initial and final level marks of NaOH after each trial
Why: to calculate the amount of NaOH used, this is done by subtracting the final from the initial
Controlled Variables:
Controlled 1: volume of citrus juices
How: use 15ml of each juice
Why: to have accurate results, as adding more amount of juice might affect the titration process.
Controlled 2: Type of indicator
How: use phenolphthalein indicator
Why: it’s essential to decide on one type of indicator as each type has a different use.
Controlled 3: Amount of phenolphthalein
How: use 3 drops of phenolphthalein
Why: extra drops in the flask would deepen the color of the citrus juice and NaOH solutions
Controlled 4: Concentration of base (NaOH),
How: use 0.5 molarity.
Why: in order to figure out the molarity of the other solution
Controlled 5: the temperature the experiment is taking place in
How: use room temperature
Why: temperature can affect the results as its one of the factors that should be considered when
titrating
Controlled 6: molarity of the phenolphthalein indicator.
How: use 0.1molarity of phenolphthalein.
MATERIALS
Material Quantity Function
.
burette 1 delivering known volumes of a liquid,
especially in titrations.
Wash bottle 1 To clean laboratory glassware and
other equipment.
waste beaker 1 To pour all the unneeded and extra
elements
vacuum hosing 1 routes manifold vacuum to various
components and accessories
vacuum flask 1 To be connected to the vacuum hose
flask 9 making solutions or for holding,
containing, collecting, or sometimes
volumetrically measuring chemicals
funnel 1 guiding liquid or powder into a small
opening
filter paper 1 separates fine substances from liquids
or air
beaker 3 for mixing, stirring, and heating
chemicals
dropper 2 transfer small quantities of liquids.
pipette 1 transport a measured volume of liquid
phenolphthalein indicator it turns colorless in acidic solutions and
pink in basic solutions
NaOH To apply on titration
Pencil and Notepad 1 To record readings and make
calculations .
calculator 1 To make accurate calculations
(optional)
Stand 1 To hold and adjust the urette in order to
the student have a parrallel view
clamp 1 hold and secure a burette on a stand
PROCEDURE
1- To wash the burette, fill the wash bottle with distilled water and pour it into the burette then
open the stop cock and drain the water into the waste bottle
P.S Repeat step 1 at least twice
2- Add sufficient amount of Noah into the burette then open the stop cock and drain the NaOH
into the waste bottle to eliminate the amount of water left inside the burette
P.S Repeat step 2 once, make sure to place the burette vertically to the stand and to have
enough space to put the flask under the burette, remember to set the stop cock in the
“stop” positions
3- Add NaOH to the burette and fill it exactly to the 0 ml mark
sp. Gently tap on the burette to remove any air bubbles
4- Record your initial volume of NaOH (0.00)
P.S To avoid parallax error, make sure you have a parallel view to the mark on the burette
5- use vacuum filtration to remove and filter the piths and pips found in the fresh lemon juice.
This is done by taking a piece of vacuum hosing and attaching one arm carefully to the side
arm of your vacuum flask and the other side arm on the water tap
6- place your funnel in the top of the vacuum flask and then place a sheet of filter paper on the
top of the funnel.
7- Turn the tap on in order to create a vacuum inside the vacuum flask
8- Pour small amount of your lemon juice under the filter paper
P.S Make sure you wet the filter paper first, that will get the vacuum started then you can
pour the rest of the lemon juice
9- Detach the side arm before you turn off the tap and move the collected amount of filtered
lemon juice in a beaker.
10- Complete the dilution by adding distilled water, pour 30 ml portions at a time and give the
flask a swirl during additions in order to make sure that the sample is well mixed.
11- Use the wash bottle as it gets close to filling and for the last few amount use a dropper to
have the top of the meniscus sitting on top of the line
12- Mix the flask by inversion
P.S Repeat this step at least 30 times
13- Using the pipette, measure 20 ml of aliquot and transfer it into the Erlenmeyer or the
titration flask
14- Add 3 drops of phenolphthalein indicator
15- Place the flask under the tip of the burette
16- Swirl the flask while constantly opening and closing the stopcock
17- When the color of the indicator changes close the stopcock and read the amount of NaOH left
18- Repeat steps 1-17 for 3 times in order to have accurate and precise results
19- Using the titration rule, figure out the concentration of ascorbic acid in each fruit juice.
P.S the titration rule is: 1/coefficient of a base X concentration of a base X volume of a base
= 1/coefficient of an acid X concentration of an acid X volume of an acid.
20- Repeat steps 1-19 for the orange and grape fruits
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
Several precautions were taken in order to ensure safety and protection, firstly, a lab coat,
gloves, and goggles were used when handling chemicals, for protection, moreover, if any
chemical came into contact with the skin, the skin was immediately washed with plenty of
water. All abrasions were covered, and any spills were cleaned immediately.
PART 2 : analyzing and evaluating
1) Data processing:
Observations:
No change in color occurred when phenolphthalein indicator was added to the three different
flasks (orange juice flask. Grapefruits flask and lemon flask). However when we opened the
stopcock to pour NaOH the color of the indicator started to change, but not permanently because
it kept on disappearing. After reaching the end point, the color of the 3 different juices turned to
pink. The order that I’ve got from the least time to longest time to change into permanent pink is
oranges, grapefruits then lemons. This means that rhe orange juice contains the most amount of
vitamin c
2) Quantitative data:
Volume of fruit juice: 15ml
Concentration of base (NaOH): 0.5molarity
Concentration of indicator: 0.1 molarity
Concentration of acid (ascorbic acid): unknown
Type of indicator: phenolphthalein
Amount of indicator: 3drops
3) Tables
The following tables show the burette readings of the initial and final volume of NaOH and
volume of NaOH used while titrating fruit juice acid for 3 trials
Oranges fruit
Burette readings (ml) Volume of NaOH used,
Trials (Vf-Vi), ml
NaOH, , ml
---------------------------------- Initial (Vi) Final (Vf) ----------------------------------
T1 0.0 4.5 4.5 - 0.0 = 4.5
T2 6.0 10.5 10.5 – 6.0 = 4.5
T3 11 15.5 15.5 – 11 = 4.5
Grapefruit fruit
Burette readings (ml) Volume of NaOH used,
Trials (Vf-Vi), ml
NaOH, , ml
---------------------------------- Initial (Vi) Final (Vf) ----------------------------------
T1 0.0 8.5 8.5 - 0.0 = 8.5
T2 9.0 17.0 17.0 – 9.0 = 8.0
T3 17.0 26.0 26.0 – 17.0 = 9.0
lemon
Burette readings (ml) Volume of NaOH used,
Trials (Vf-Vi), ml
NaOH, , ml
---------------------------------- Initial (Vi) Final (Vf) ----------------------------------
T1 0.0 32.5 32.5 - 0.0 = 32.5
T2 0.0 32.0 32.0 – 0.0 = 32.0
T3 0.0 31.0 31.0 – 0.0 = 31.0
4) Data processing: Average volume + concentration of ascorbic acid in each juice
Orange average volume of NaOH consumed :
4.5 + 4.5 + 4.5
3
= 4.5
Grapefruit average volume of NaOH consumed:
8.5 + 8.0 + 9.0
3
= 8.5
Lemon juice titration with NaOH average
32.5 + 32.0 + 31.0
3
= 33.8
Titration rule:
1/coefficient. (Ca × Va) = 1/coefficient. (Cb × Vb).
Use the formula of the ascorbic acid for all the fruit juices (orange, lemon and grapefruit
juice).
coefficient for the base and the acid = 1:1
i. Concentration of ascorbic acid in orange juice
Ca × 15 = 0.5 × 4.5
Ca= 0.15 molarity
ii. Concentration of ascorbic acid in grapefruit juice
Ca × 15 = 0.5 × 8.5
Ca= 0.28 molarity
iii. Concentration of ascorbic acid in lemon juice:
Ca × Va = Cb × Vb
Ca × 15 = 0.5 × 33.8
Ca= 1.13 molarity
conclusion
The aim of this experiment was to Investigate the amount of vitamin C (C6H8O6/ ascorbic
acid) presented in citrus fruits (lemon, orange or grape fruit) and to determine which of the
following contains the highest concentration of vitamin C. this is done by through titrating
the juices ( each one at a time) and using standard NaOH solution with a concentration of
([Link]-3) in the presence of phenolphthalein indicator that has a concentration of
(.[Link]-3). The completion of this experiment was conducted when reaching the end
point, which is the permenant change in color of the solution to become pink, for example for
the orange juice it will turn from orange to pink, for the lemon it will turn from yellow to
pink and finally the grapefruits it will turn from reddish color to pink. I predicted that
oranges will have the highest amount of vitamin C among citrus fruits, and grapefruits will
settle on the second highest fruit among the three fruits with vitamin c, and finally lemons
will be last and after going to the lab and conducting the experiment, calculating the
concentration of ascorbic acid for each, and measuring the average volume of NaOH
consumed in each fruit juice trial, it is crystal clear that my hypothesis is invalid as my results
didn’t support it as lemons turned out to have the highest concentration of ascorbic acid with
1.13 molarity, the grape fruits with a 0.28 molarity and finally the oranges with 0.15
molarity.
Evaluation:
A student must always evaluate his/her work in order to learn, grow and improve. Although the aim
was achieved, there were sources of errors that could have been improved and therefore results and
conclusions can, even if unlikely, be incorrect.
To begin with, having air bubbles in the burette while filling it with ( NaOH) would lead to inaccurate
volume readings, this will give larger burette readings, which indicates having larger concentrations
of ascorbic acid. To reduce this error and ensure that no air bubbles were found inside the burette tap
on the buret to eliminate and of the air bubbles
another limitation of titration is exceeding the endpoint of the process, as does not have a sharp cut-
off point. . The endpoint is difficult to measure, since the endpoint is not easily measured because the
color change is slow and subtle, and people have different eye sensitivity to color. Try to open and
stop the stopcock as soon as you spot the pink color so you don’t add more NaOH and you end up in
having a dark pink color
Also, a student must wait for a couple of seconds before adding amounts of the titrant, as well as use
continuous stirring in order to ensure a better judgement of the end point. A magnetic stirrer would
also make it easier and more efficient since it ensures uniform stirring of the flask
One systematic error that might could have been disastrous have is occured is having traces of the
reactants or waters lost while transferring the liquids using the pipette and adding more than three
drops of phenolphthalein indicator (this impacted the color produced, it deepened the color of the
indicator),. This could have led to the decreased concentration of ascorbic acid calculated due to the
decrease in the amount of titrant used during titration
some titrant might have not reached the water solution due to sticking on the tip of the burette or the
wall of the flask, also causing a systematic error, since it would lead to an error in the calculations of
the concentration, meaning the concentration of vitamin C would be larger than the actual
concentration Swirling the flask in all directions and tapping the tip of the burette on the flask’s wall
to ensure that all the titrant reaches the water solution is one way to reduce this error.
Moreover, burette volume readings were also read using a parallel view (as stated in the method),
by the bottom of the meniscus of the titrant to avoid the parallax error..
Further more, The three fruit juices were not filtered out, meaning they could have held many seeds,
piths and pips in them, this affects the real volume value for each fruit juice and the accuracy of the
experiment As the 15ml was not only pure juice but had impurities that made it reach a 15ml volume.
In order to avoid this error, filter out the juices before applying on the experiment by the usage of
filtration technique, to have accurate results and findings. (follow the method above)
finally, some random errors due to absolute uncertainties of the instruments used like the pipette
(±0.15cm3), burette (±0.05cm3)), might have affected the data collected. Using more precise and
professional devices with lower absolute uncertainties such as the pipette with more divisions on its
scale can help minimize the effect of this error, as well as having multiple trials for the samples.
Furthermore, multiple trials were conducted for each temperature, eliminating random errors and
making the results more precise.
Thank you!
