ACIDITY OF FOODS

Larry Alofs                    Kenwood Academy
                               5015 S. Blackstone
                               Chicago, IL 60615
                               1-312-536-8850

Objectives:
     This set of activities will help the students realize that the concept of 
acidity applies to everyday things like foods, as well as to laboratory chemicals.  
The procedures also provide extra practice in titration techniques, use of a pH 
meter, and using titration results to calculate the acid concentration in a food 
being analyzed. 
     The instruction/data sheet on the next page shows the main activities.  At 
least 5 burets of .5 M NaOH should be provided, and, if possible, 2 or more pH 
meters. 
     The 4 fruit juices can be ranked by acidity using the results from the 
titration and from the meter.  Hopefully the two rankings will be the same. 
     The titration of the vinegar provides a chance to do something quantitative 
with the results. Inexpensive white vinegar with 5% acidity is recommended.  Since 
each molecule of NaOH supplies one hydroxl ion and each acetic acid molecule 
supplies one hydrogen, the number of moles of acid in the 10 mL sample of the 
vinegar equals the number of moles of NaOH used in the titration. 

Example Calculation:

     16.9 mL of .5 M NaOH used
     .5 moles in 1000 mL
     .5 X (16.9 / 1000) = .00845 moles NaOH used
     1 mole of acetic acid = 60 g.
     .00845 X 60 = .507 g. in the 10 mL sample of vinegar,
     or  5.07 g. in 100 mL  (about 100 g.)
     or  5.07 %  by mass

ACTIVITY 1
    Titrate each of the 4 fruit juices with the .5 M  NaOH.  Use 10 mL samples 
of the juices.  Add 3 to 5 drops of indicator.  The phenolphthalein will turn 
pink or red when you have added enough base.  You may wish to dilute the orange 
juice and add more indicator to make the change more visible.

                        pineapple    apple     lemon     orange
   --------------------|---------|----------|----------|----------|
 buret     finish:     |         |          |          |          |
readings {  -----------|---------|----------|----------|----------|
            start:     |         |          |          |          | 
   --------------------|---------|----------|----------|----------|
      mL NaOH          |         |          |          |          | 
         (subtract)    |         |          |          |          |
   --------------------|---------|----------|----------|----------|
ACTIVITY 2
    Measure the pH of the 4 fruit juices using the pH meter.  The meter should 
read about 7.0 in the standard buffer solution.  Leave the probe in your sample 
for a minute or two and hold it off the bottom of the container when taking a 
reading.  Rinse the probe after each juice, first in tap water  and then 
distilled water.  


                 pineapple    apple     lemon    orange
       ------|--------------|---------|---------|---------|
        pH:  |              |         |         |         |
       ------|--------------|---------|---------|---------|
ACTIVITY 3
    Using the meter, measure the pH of the 2 brands of coffee.

        Taster's Choice: _______     Kava: _______

    Read the information on the Kava label about how the acidity was changed.  
Write the formula for the additive:______ How do you feel about drinking this?

ACTIVITY 4
    Titrate 10 mL of the vinegar with the .5 M NaOH.  If you have time do more 
than one trial and average the results.
                ---------|---------|---------|----------------
                 Finish: |         |         |
                ---------|---------|---------|----------------
                 Start:  |         |         |
                ---------|---------|---------|----------------
               mL NaOH:  |         |         |
                ---------|---------|---------|---------------- 
    The molecular formula for the acetic acid in the vinegar is: HC2H3O2
From your titration results, calculate the percent acid of the vinegar to find 
out if it agrees with the 5% stated on the bottle.

ACTIVITY 5
    Try using pH Paper as another method of measurement for activity 2 or 3.  
Are the results similar to the meter readings?

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