Testing for Vitamin C

Can we test for the presence of vitamin C?

Materials

• Cornstarch
• Water
• Iodine
• Vitamin C Tablet
• Pot
• Stirrer
• Medicine dropper
• Stove
• Teaspoon
• Tablespoon
• 3 Cups

Procedure

1. Pour half a teaspoon of cornstarch into the pot.
2. Pour a cup of water into the pot.
3. Heat and stir the pot of water and cornstarch solution until all the cornstarch is dissolved in the water. After heating, let everything cool.
4. Pour two teaspoons of the solution and one cup of water into one of the cups. Using the medicine dropper, add four drops of iodine into the solution. Your test solution is now done.
5. As an example, fill the second cup with water and drop the vitamin C tablet into the cup so that the tablet dissolves in water.
6. Pour two tablespoons of the test solution from step 4 into the third cup.
7. Using the medicine dropper, add one drop of the vitamin C solution into the test solution and stir. Continue adding more drops until a change is noticed.

DO NOT EAT OR USE ANY OF THE MATERIAL AFTER IT HAS BEEN USED IN THIS EXPERIMENT. IODINE IS POISONOUS!!!

What to observe

• Observe the color of the test solution once the vitamin C solution is added.

Discussion

With this simple test, you can determine if any of the food you eat has vitamin C. The test solution you have made reacts quickly to the presence of vitamin C. Only, at most, a few drops react visibly with the test solution.