Name: Christen Samuel

Form: Lower 6B
Date: 16/03/2023
Title: Plan and Design

OBSERVATION:
“Having been diagnosed with scurvy, Sam started drinking bottled fruit juices that
contained 100% RDA of Vitamin C but his condition never improved. His grandfather
suggested that he should consume fresh oranges or cherries. Sam took his advice and
after two weeks his gums were completely healed and he had no other signs of scurvy.”
Plan and design a suitable practical associated with this observation.

HYPOTHESIS: Freshly squeezed orange juice contains a higher Vitamin C content than
bottled orange juice.

AIM: To investigate and compare the Vitamin C content of freshly squeezed orange juice
and bottled orange juice by measuring the number of drops of juice required to
decolourise a known volume of 2,6-Dichlorophenolindophenol (DCPIP) solution.

APPARATUS AND MATERIALS: bottled orange juice, three oranges, 2,6-

Dichlorophenolindophenol (DCPIP) solution, distilled water, one filter funnel, one piece of
filter paper, one 1000cm3 beaker, one tripod stand, one thermometer, one white tile, one
scalpel, nine test tubes, two 1cm3 syringes, two 10cm3 measuring cylinders, one test tube
marker, one ruler.

METHOD:
1) Rinse all apparatus in their experimental solutions before use.
2) Set up a water bath by filling a 1000cm 3 beaker with room temperature water and
placing on a tripod stand.
3) Cut three oranges using a scalpel and squeeze the juice of the oranges through a filter
funnel outfitted with a piece of filter paper into a test tube, up to 5cm depth . Fill another
test tube up to 5cm depth with bottled orange juice and place these test tubes in the
water bath.
5) Using a measuring cylinder, measure 1cm 3 of DCPIP solution into a test tube and place
it in the water bath, ensuring that the temperature of the water bath is kept constant at
25˚C.
6) Fill a 1cm3 syringe with distilled water and add the water dropwise to the test tube
containing 1cm3 of DCPIP solution, stirring gently with the syringe needle. Note any
changes in colour.
7) Repeat steps five and six (6), three times each for freshly squeezed orange juice firstly
and then bottled orange juice instead of distilled water, adding dropwise until the blue
colour of the DCPIP disappears, turning the solution colourless.
8) Record all results in Table One (1) .

VARIABLES:
Controlled
- Volume of DCPIP solution added to each test tube
- Concentration of DCPIP solution used
- Temperature of the water bath in which the experiment was carried out
Manipulated
- Type of orange juice used in titration ( either freshly squeezed orange juice or
bottled orange juice)
Responding
- The volume of orange juice required to decolourise the DCPIP solution in the test
tubes
 EXPECTED RESULTS:

TABLE 1:TABLE SHOWING THE VOLUMES OF FRESHLY SQUEEZED ORANGE JUICE AND
BOTTLED ORANGE JUICED REQUIRED TO DECOLOURISE THE DCPIP SOLUTION

TYPE OF JUICE VOLUME OF JUICE ADDED/cm3 AVERAGE VOLUME OF JUICE ADDED/cm3

1 2 3
Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

Bottled Orange Juice

It is expected that freshly squeezed orange juice contains a greater amount of Vitamin C
(ascorbic acid) than bottled orange juice and would hence require a smaller volume of juice
to permanently decolourise the DCPIP solution. During processing of juices, exposure to
heat and oxygen are the main factors accounting for a reduction in Vitamin C content. For
this reason, it is expected that bottled orange juice contains a smaller amount of Vitamin C
than that of freshly squeezed orange juice.
PRECAUTIONS:
1) All apparatus are to be rinsed in their experimental solutions before use to remove any
impurities.
2) The temperature of the water bath should be kept constant at 25˚C to minimise the
effect of temperature on the denaturation of Vitamin C.
3) Test tubes are to be swirled on the dropwise addition of juice to the DCPIP solution to
ensure complete mixing.

SOURCES OF ERROR:
1) Since colour is inherently subjective, it may be difficult to determine the exact point at
which the solution in the flask turns permanently colourless which can result in
inaccuracies in the volume recorded.
2) Loss of liquid may occur in transferring solutions from the measuring cylinder to the
test tube.

CONCLUSION:
If the results show that the volume of freshly squeezed orange juice required to
decolourise the DCPIP solution is less than that of bottled orange juice, it is said that
freshly squeezed orange juice contains a higher Vitamin C content than bottled orange
juice and hence, the hypothesis is accepted.
If the results show that the volume of bottled orange juice required to decolourise the
DCPIP solution is less than that of freshly squeezed orange juice, it is said that bottled
orange juice contains a higher Vitamin C content than freshly squeezed orange juice and
the hypothesis is henceforth rejected.