By- Hirishik Sarkar

ARMY PUBLIC SCHOOL

BARRACKPORE

NAME: - Hirishik Sarkar CLASS: XII

SECTION: - F
SUBJECT: CHEMISTRY INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT TOPIC: ACIDIC CHARACTER
OFFRUITS AND VEGETABLES.
ROLL NUMBER: 18 SESSIONS: 2023-24
 Certificate
This is to certify that Hirishik Sarkar, student
of class XII F, has successfully completed the
research on the project titled ‘under the
guidance of) during the year 2023- 24 in
fulfillment of CHEMISTRY practical
examination conducted by AISSCE, New Delhi.

Signature of Internal Examiner

Signature of External
Examiner
 Self certificate
This is to certify that I, Hirishik Sarkar of class XII F of
ARMY PUBLIC SCHOOLBARRACKPORE, have solely and
exclusively done this investigatory project pursuing
essential and vital assistance from my teacher and
others having the knowledge concerning the subject
matter. I have also taken reference from the web in
due course to formulate a successful project. The basis
of the project has been put together on bona fide
grounds and the allied information is truly genuine.

Student’s Signature
 Acknowledgement
A Project usually falls short of its expectation unless guided
by the right person at the right time. Success of a project is
an outcome of sincere efforts, channeled in the right
direction, efficient supervision and the most valuable
professional guidance. I Hirishik Sarkar would like to express
my special thanks of gratitude to my biology teacher - Mrs.
Anindita Roy and our lab attendant Mr.Dasrath Nayak, whose
critical evaluation and suggestion at every stage of this
project has helped it reach its present form. I would also like
to thank our principal- Mrs. Moitreyee Mukherjee who gave
me the opportunity to do this wonderful project, which also
helped me in doing a lot of research and made me aware
about so many new things. They also provided me with the
necessary recourses and atmosphere conductive for healthy
learning. Secondly I would also like to thank my parents and
friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this project within
the limited time frame.
Index
TOPIC……………………….…………………………………………1
School Details………………………………………………………..2
Certificate……………………………………………………….……3
Self Certificate…………………………………………..………….4
Acknowledgement………………………………..………..….……5
Index…………………………………………………….…….………6
Introduction………………………………………….….….……….7
Factors determining the acidic character of fruits and
vegetables………………………………………………….….…….8
TEST FOR THE DETECTION OF ACIDIC AND BASIC
CHARACTER FOR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES…..….9to 10
TEST FOR ACID AND BASE CHARACTER……..….10 TO 11
Conclusion………………………………………….….………….11
Bibliography……………………………………………..…….….12
INTODUCTION
The following project that I have made is on the topic
“Study of Acidic Character of Fruits and Vegetables.” This
activity aims to give students basic knowledge about the
pH value of various fruits and vegetables determining their
acidity which we intake and what amount we should intake
fruits and vegetables to stay healthy. . Now first of all we
need to know how a fruit or vegetable becomes acidic,
fruit’s and vegetable’s acidic character is determined by it’s
pH level. Now what is pHs PH ('potential of hydrogen' or
'power of hydrogen') is a scale used to specify the acidity
or basicity of an aqueous solution. Now as we know now
what is pH, substances consisting of pH level less than 7 in
pH scale are considered as acidic and more than 7 are
considered as basic. Now intake of fruits and vegetables
with different pH level means which have different acidic
character determines our health factor too. As we live in
today's society where time is very limited we still need to
take care what we intake and in what amount.
 Factors determining the acidic
character of fruits and vegetables
 Acidic factor in fruits and vegetables is due presence of
or accumulation of citric acid and malic acid in it.

 Now the presence of these two acids depends upon the

development of the fruit and vegetable which depends on
the soil type in which the vegetables and fruits are grown
etc.

 The presence of this two acids also determines the taste

of the fruit or and vegetable

Acidity in fruits and vegetables

Following table consists acidic pH of few fruits and
vegetable we usually intake

SAMPLE ACID PRESENT Ph VALUE

Bananas Malic acid, citric 4.50 – 5.20
acid, tartaric acid
and traces of
acetic and formic
 acid
apple Malic acid 3.30 – 4.00
Orange citric acid 3.30 – 4.20
Tomato Oxalic acid 4.00 - 4.40
broccoli Malic and citric 5.20 – 6.00
(3:2) and oxalic
and succinic acids.
TEST FOR THE DETECTION OF ACIDIC AND BASIC
CHARACTER FOR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.
We can make homemade ph indicators to test for the acidic and
basic character by using purple grapes.

 Aim: To find acidic and basic character of fruits and veggies by

using beetroot extract or purple grape extract.

 Theory: Beetroots are being choose because it contains beta lain

pigment which replaces Anthocyanin in some plants or we can
use purple grapes which contains Anthocyanin. This makes the
extract as an indicator.

 Materials required: Beaker/small cups, red/purple grapes or

beetroot, water, pipettes or dropper, known acid and base for
testing, stove or Bunsen burner. 

Procedure: The test can be done on the basis of following steps:

1. Take beetroot and boil it in the cup containing water and

extract the purple colour into the water, and make the indicator
solution. 2. If we use purple grapes, then we can use the purple
juice from the grape.

3. Add this indicator to testing element by using pipettes or

dropper to the sample parts.

4. Observe the following results by using this chart.

5. Also use known acid or basic medium to check the color of the
extract

Observation:
Sample observation Inference
APPLE Deep Red Acidic
CUCUMBER Bluish red Alkaline
LEMON Dark red Acidic
BRINJAL Bluish red Alkaline
BANANA Bluish red Alkaline

TEST FOR ACID AND BASE CHARACTER

 Aim: To test for the acidity of fruits and veggies by using
red and blue litmus paper.
 Materials required: Samples (eggplant, banana, apple,
lemon), Blue and Red litmus paper, distilled water.
 Theory: We know acid turns blue litmus into red color and
basic turns red litmus into blue.
 Procedure:
1. We can use the samples solution with the help of distilled
water or the cut part and raw part of the samples to detect the
character.
2. Take both type of the litmus paper and check the character.
3. If the color changes oppositely then we can figure out which
one is acidic and basic.
4. Examine the results

Observation:
Sample observation Inference
APPLE Blue to Red Acidic
CUCUMBER Red to Blue Alkaline
LEMON Blue to Red Acidic
BRINJAL Red to Blue Alkaline
BANANA Red to Blue Alkaline

Conclusion:
Thus we can easily find acidic or basic character of
different fruits and vegetables by simple methods.
General Info (health tips):
 A diet consisting of highly acidic food, drinks etc causes
harm to the body leading to many diseases like kidney
stones, heart diseases, cancer, it may lead to bones and
muscles deterioration due to increased level of pH
blood gets decreased, etc.
 To have a healthy diet, we should avoid too much acidic
foods and introduce alkaline food substances in our diet
which improves our health as it helps to maintain our
blood pH and it also helps in fighting many diseases like
cancer

Bibliography
 https://www.healthline.com
 https://www.webmd.com
 http://www.pickyourown.org
 Comprehensive lab book
T