Introduction:
It has been always questioned by wine connoisseurs what is the best temperature for
wine consumption in order to enhance its taste. Is it better to drink wine straight from the fridge,
or rather let it warm up to room temperature, or even heat it up and use it for cooking? Well, it all
comes down to the preferences of individuals, but the temperature at which wine is being
consumed plays an important role in shaping its taste profile. The temperature has an effect on
the pH of acids, and since wine is composed of acids, temperature is going to affect its taste.
In this investigation, tartaric acid, which is one of the most abundant acids in wines, is
going to be tested against temperature, by measuring the change in its pH. The average
concentration of tartaric acid in wines is 1 g/L up to 4 g/L. Therefore we are going to be using
the solution of tartaric acid of the concentration 4 g/L, so the change in pH is going to be more
noticeable, while still falling into the range. Once the solution is going to be prepared, the pH of
the solution will be measured at different temperatures, ranging between 2 to 60 degrees
Celsius, in order to represent the most common situation in which wine is being consumed, like
refrigerated wine, wine at room temperature, or wine that was cooked.
When an acid is in an aqueous solution, it dissociates into its ions. The strength of an
acid will determine how much will dissociate into its ions and is represented by the equilibrium
constant Ka. Ka can be calculated through the equation: Ka = ([H+] [A-])/[HA], where the
equation goes like HAs + H2Oaq = H+aq + A-aq, where HA represents an acid. This explains why
the stronger the acid is, the bigger the Ka value is going to be. This is an equilibrium equation,
where the equilibrium constant is affected by the temperature. Since this is an endothermic
reaction, the increase in temperature is going to favour the left side of the equation, and more
product is going to be produced. The pH is measured by the concentration of H+ ions, therefore
when the temperature is increased, the concentration of H+ ions is going to increase as well,
resulting in a decrease in pH, and vice versa.
The expected results for this exploration are going to be that the higher the temperature,
the lower the pH, and the more acid the solution is going to be. This means that the higher the
temperature of the wine is when consuming the more acid it is going to be.
Materials:
● 1 g of Tartaric acid
● 1 volumetric flask
● 250 ml of distilled water
● 15 (25 ml) beakers
● Pasco pH meter (± 0.1 or better if there is)
● Pasco thermometer
● Metal scoop
● Weighting dish, small
● Scientific scale (± 0.001)
● Hot plate
● Fridge
MSDS:
Causes serious eye damage
Causes harm to the aquatic life with long lasting effets
Procedure:
1) Prepare your solution of 4 g/L of tartaric acid in the volumetric flask, by measuring out 1
g of the tartaric acid, and fill the flask to the line with ditiled waster.
2) Devide the solution into 15 (25 ml) beakers,where earch solution has enough so that the
pH meter can be fully submerged
3) Place 6 of the beakers into the fridge, where three are going to be cooled down to
temperature of 13, and the other free are going to be cooled down to 2 degrees, leave
three at room temperature, and heat the other six on the hot plate, where three are going
to be heated up to 45 drees, and three up to 70 degrees.
4) Once all the tempreratures have been achived measure the pH of all the beakers and
record thier pH.
