Oxidation In General
This experiment is designed for those people who have been set homework on an oxidation experiment, or for those who just want to improve their scientific knowledge. Oxidation is the chemical reaction between oxygen and other substances.
Today we are going to test out what conditions suit oxidation most using an apple! This is how oxidation works with apple flesh (BORING BIT):
Breaking the skin damages some of the apple's millions of cell walls, exposing their insides to the air. Oxygen then mixes with "phenols," a type of chemical compound. An enzyme called polyphenol oxidase (PPO) accelerates the process, creating what is called enzymatic browning.
Today we are going to test out what conditions suit oxidation most using an apple! This is how oxidation works with apple flesh (BORING BIT):
Breaking the skin damages some of the apple's millions of cell walls, exposing their insides to the air. Oxygen then mixes with "phenols," a type of chemical compound. An enzyme called polyphenol oxidase (PPO) accelerates the process, creating what is called enzymatic browning.
Ingredients
1 apple
a chopping board
a knife (Small knife- sharp blade, adults may need to help)
a jar with a lid
a mug
a plate
a bowl
clingfilm
boiling water
cold water
a chopping board
a knife (Small knife- sharp blade, adults may need to help)
a jar with a lid
a mug
a plate
a bowl
clingfilm
boiling water
cold water
Step 1.
Chop the apple into four pieces using the chopping board and knife
Step 2
Put one piece of apple on the plate, and place it on a normal table in your kitchen.
Step 3
Tightly clingfilm the second piece, put it into a bowl, then into the fridge(remember to shut the door)
Step 4.
Before you start this, boil the kettle. Then put the third piece into the jar, fill it with the cold water until it overflows, then tightly screw on the lid.
Step 6
Put the apple into the mug, and pour the now boiled water into it until it is 3/4 full. These last four instructions should be done as quickly as possible to make this a fair test.
Step 7
Set a timer, or take note of the time, and leave it for one hour. Before you leave it, guess which one will be least brown or most brown. After one hour, put all the pieces on the chopping board, making sure you know which one is which, and compare your answers to your hypothesis(posh word for what you guessed).
You will find the answers in the blog, so I haven't put them here so you have a chance to find out yourself. If you have a different set of results, comment on the article, telling me which order you had them in.