Introduction The idea of the experiment was devised due to having recent interest of Vitamin C in food contents. My family tends to have fruits and vegetables stored in the freezer. This is due to the hot climate of the country we live in. Therefore, it preserved it for a long period of time and then re-heated in order to be consumed. I began to wonder if change was happening to the Vitamin C in the fruits and vegetables once they were frozen. If so, then what? In class many lab experiments were performed such as ‘The Effect of Temperature on the Vitamin C Clock’, and observing many variables such as temperature, time and the amount of Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) poured into the solution. The experiment was shown to be a great interest to me …show more content…
Vitamin C is sensitive to temperature (presence of heat), exposure to light and exposure to air (oxygen). It is considered ‘the most easily destroyed vitamin’. [4] Hypothesis: If the Vitamin C is to be frozen and thawed then the molecules will be destroyed, thus decreasing the concentration of the substance. According to the experiment, the main factor that will have to be taken into account of when freezing, will be the blanching process. This process destroys about 25% of the Vitamin C prior to the substance becoming frozen. [2] Methodology Chemical Reaction There is a method to indicate the amount of Vitamin C in a solution by a redox titration reaction using iodine. The iodine would be added during the titration, the ascorbic acid would become oxidised to dehydroascorbic acid (a colourless chemical), and the iodine would be reduced to iodide ions. [6] This is because ascorbic acid loses the hydrogen atoms (2) to the iodine and dehydroascorbic acid is formed. [4] The acid itself is a powerful anti-oxidant and a reducing agent that is capable of donating one to two electrons in redox reactions. [3] The equation for the reaction