Meg Tam

IB Bio HL2
Chamberlain 06
14 January 2019

Evaluation : Vitamin C

How does vitamin c concentration (mg/mL) affect iodines reaction with cornstarch as
measured by amount of iodine in drops?

When evaluating the results from our vitamin C lab, the emerging trend proved that the
amount of vitamin C and the number of iodine drops have a direct correlation. As vitamin C
concentration increases, more iodine is required to react with the cornstarch. Thus, our data
showed that since it took 55 drops of iodine to cause formula B to react and turn purple, it had
the most vitamin C concentration compared to the 14 and 12 drops needed to cause a reaction in
formulas A and C. As vitamin C and cornstarch are antioxidants, iodine is known to be an
oxidate. Compared to starch, vitamin C can be broken down much easier. Therefore, when drops
of iodine are introduced to the mixture, the iodine will begin to break down the vitamin C before
the starch. When the iodine starts to break down the starch molecules, a reaction occurs visually
to the solution where the formula will appear as a purple tint. Once the tint appears, it becomes
an indication of the amount of vitamin C concentration. In summary, the more drops of iodine
needed to cause this tint, the more vitamin C concentration the formula will have.

When performing the experimentation, there were a few weaknesses that might have
affected our results. The most significant issue with the experimentation would be how the
cornstarch was not completely mixed in with the vitamin C. Because the mixture was not
completely combined, it was necessary for the experimenter to stir the solution to make sure that
the iodine breaks down all of the molecules. This made it hard to determine the exact amount of
drops of iodine needed to turn the solution purple. Another weakness in the lab was the
consistency of the color after the reaction occurred. As more iodine was added to the solution the
shade of purple became darker. It was difficult to determine if the solutions had reached the same
shade—which made it hard to count the amount of drops accurately. However, the weaknesses
were overlooked, as the overall trend determined that more iodine is needed to break down more
vitamin C in a starch solution. In a more specific and strict lab, these weaknesses would need to
be solved to produce the most accurate data since the variations in amounts of vitamin C can be
very similar. These weaknesses can be described as minor errors in this particular lab due to the
fact that solution B needed a significantly higher amount of drops of iodine to react.

To correct and strengthen the weaknesses of the lab, the solution of cornstarch and
vitamin C should be thoroughly mixed before proceeding to add drops of iodine. This can be
checked by seeing if there is any excess starch on the bottom of the solution and can be done by
the use of a clean stirring stick. This change is necessary because in order to have the most
accurate data, the solutions must be in the same conditions. As for checking for the shade of the
solution, this issue can be resolved by reference to a specific shade of purple to indicate when to
stop adding drops of iodine. This is important because if drops are counted for different shades,
then the data will be inaccurate.