Orange Juice in Action: The Effects of Oxygen on Vitamin C

Overview

Objectives/Goals The object is to find out if vitamin C in orange juice is affected more by the oxygen in the air if the juice is covered or uncovered. Methods/Materials Tested amount of vitamin C in 6 cups of orange juice by putting drops, one at a time, into a blue starch/water/iodine mixture until the color changed. Recorded the number of drops for each cup. The more drops, the less vitamin C. Averaged results for 3 covered and 3 uncovered cups. Repeated every day for 10 days. Materials: orange juice, colored iodine, 6 cups for the orange juice, 6 testing cups, measuring cup, eyedropper, water, metal pot, use of a stovetop, cornstarch, stirring spoon, permanent marker, measuring spoons, 3 cup covers, refrigerator, and container for starch solution. Results The covered cups had less vitamin C than the uncovered cups at the end of the experiment. Conclusions/Discussion My hypothesis was that the covered juice would keep its vitamin C longer than the uncovered juice because oxygen will cause the vitamin C to evaporate. The results from my experiment prove that my hypothesis was not correct. First, I learned from my research that the vitamin C does not evaporate, it actually oxidizes. Second, the covered juice didn't keep its vitamin C longer than the uncovered juice. The opposite happened. I also learned a lot about vitamin C: what destroys it, how to preserve it for longer, how your body needs it, and what it can do to keep you healthy.

Competition history

• CSEF 2006 Chemistry · Entry J0537

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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