PROJECTS

Project 1

Title
Study the variation in the amount of oxalate ions in guava fruit at different stages
of ripening.

Objective
The objective of this project is to investigate the variation in the amount of oxalate
ions present in guava at different stages of its ripening (i.e. unripe, parialy ripe
and fully ripe).

Brief Procedure
Collect different samples of guava fruit (green, pale-green, yellowish-white and
yellowish, i.e. from unripe to fully ripe variety). Take100 grams of one of the
sample of guava fruit, crush it into a mortar and transfer the paste in 100 mL of
water. Boil the contents for 10-15 minutes and filter. Take the filtrate, add about
5mL of dilute sulphuric acid and titrate it against 0.001M KMnO4 solution. Repeat
the procedure with other samples of guava and draw conclusion.

Project 2

Title
A study to compare the quantity of caesin present in different samples of milk.

Objective
To compare the quality of different samples of milk by finding out quantity of
casein present in them.

Brief Procedure
Take 200 mL of each sample of milk in separate 500 mL beakers. Heat the milk
samples upto 50 – 60°C. Add a few drops of dilute hydrochloric acid slowly with
constant stirring for 5-10 minutes. Casein coagulates as an amorphous
substance. Filter the substance and wash the precipitate several times with tap
water. Remove the fat by using a suitable organic solvent. Weigh casein so obtained
after drying.
 LABORATORY MANUAL CHEMISTRY

Project 3

Title
Preparation of soyabean milk and its comparison with natural
milk.

Objective
To prepare soyabean milk and compare it with natural milk with
respect to curd formation, effect of temperature, taste etc.

Brief Procedure
Prepare soyabean milk by first soaking soyabean seeds in warm
water and keeping them overnight in water. Make a paste of seeds
by crushing and finely grinding them. Mix the pasty mass with
warm water to get soya milk. Filter the mixture and discard the
undissolved portion. Compare soya milk with natural milk and
conclude whether soya milk can be a substitute for natural milk.
The comparison may be made with respect to the nutrients present,
colour, smell, taste, effect of temperature, curd formation, etc.

Project 4

Title
Study the effect of potassium metabisulphite as a food preservative
under various conditions.

Objective
To study the effect of concentration of potassium metabisulphite
(preservative), temperature and time on preservation of food.

Brief Procedure
Collect amla fruits and wash these with water. Cut these into small
pieces and dry in the sunlight for a few hours. Mix the salt and
the spices to the pieces. Pour 25g of amla pieces into each of the
six boiling tubes numbered as 1, 2, 3…etc. Weigh 500 mg of
potassium metabisulphite and dissolve it in 20 mL of distilled
water. Keep the boiling tube No. 1 without mixing preservative
and oil. In boiling tube No. 2 and 3 add 1 mL of the preservative
solution and 2 mL of oil and mix the mixture with the glass rod.
Keep the boiling tube No. 2 at the room temperature (25-350C)
and the boiling tube No. 3 at a temperature of 400C. In boiling

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tube No. 4,5and 6, add 2 mL, 4 mL and 8 mL of the preservative

solution respectively and 2 mL of mustard oil. Keep these boiling
tubes at the room temperature. Prepare again the fresh mixtures
in boiling tubes No. 4, 5 and 6 and keep them at 40°C temperature.
Keep all these boiling tubes for 3 to 5 days. Note the growth of
fungi, if any, in these tubes. Record your observations and draw
conclusion.

Project 5

Title
A Study of enzymatic hydrolysis of starch

Objective
Study the hydrolysis of starch by salivary amylase and the effect
of pH and temperature on it.

Brief Procedure
Take about 20-30 mL of warm distilled water (30°C– 40°C) in the
mouth and mix it with the saliva by gargling in the mouth. Collect
the saliva mixed water in a beaker.

Digestion of Starch by Saliva Solution

Take 10 mL of the starch solution in a boiling tube and add 2
mL of 1% sodium chloride solution in it. Keep the boiling tube
in a water bath, maintained at 30° – 40°C, for at least 15
minutes. Pour 2 mL of the saliva solution in the boiling tube
and start the stopwatch immediately. Take out 2-3 drops of
the mixture after one minute and pour it in the test tube
containing iodine solution. Shake the contents of the test tube
and note the colour of the solution, if any. Similarly, take out
2-3 drops of the mixture from the boiling tube after every one-
minute and add to iodine solution contained in the test tubes.
Record the colour of the solution in each case. Stop taking
readings when there is no change in colour. Record the
readings in a tabular form.
In order to study the effect of temperature on the digestion of
starch by saliva, perform the above experiment at 50°C.
The effect of pH of reaction medium can also be studied
by using small quantities of dilute HCl and dilute NaOH in
the separate experiments carried out in the same manner as
above.

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 LABORATORY MANUAL CHEMISTRY

Project 6

Title
A comparative study of the rate of fermentation of the following
substances: (a) Wheat flour, (b) Gram flour, (c) Potato juice, (d) Carrot
juice, (e) Orange juice, (f) Apple juice, and (g) Sugar-cane juice.

Objective
To determine the rate of fermentation of different substances and
study the effect of concentration, time and temperature on the rate
of fermentation of these substances.

Brief Procedure
Take a conical flask (100 mL) fitted with a delivery tube as shown
in Fig. 12.1. Remove the delivery tube and add 10 g of wheat flour
and about 80 mL of the distilled water into the flask. Stir the
contents of the flask with a glass rod and add 2 g of yeast. Stir the
contents again. Fit the delivery tube into the mouth of the flask.
Tie a balloon with the help of a thread to the upper end of the
delivery tube as shown in Fig.12.1. As the fermentation proceeds,
carbon dioxide gas is evolved and the balloon inflates. The extent
to which the baloon inflates in the given time is the measure of the
rate of reaction. Repeat the experiment with other materials such
as potato juice, orange juice, apple juice and sugar-cane juice.

Fig. 12.1 : Determination of rate of firmentation

Effect of concentration of yeast

Study the effect of concentration of yeast on the rate of fermentation
of any one of the above materials. For this, carry out the reaction
using 2, 3 and 4 grams of yeast and note the extent of inflation of
baloon in each case in a fixed time interval.

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Effect of time
Carry out the reaction using the same ingredients for different
intervals of time and observing the extent of inflation of balloon.

Effect of temperature
Carry out the reaction using the same ingredients for a fixed
interval of time but at three different temperatures (25oC, 30oC,
and 35°C). Note the extent of reaction by observing the inflation
of baloon in the these reactions.

Project 7

Title
Extraction of essential oils present in saunf (aniseeds), Ajwain
(carum) and illaichi (cardamom)

Objective
To extract essential oils from aniseeds, carum, and cardamom by
using petroleum ether as a solvent.

Brief Procedure
Take 100 g of crushed aniseed in a conical flask and add 100 mL
of petroleum ether (of boiling range 60°-80°) in it. Close the mouth
of the flask with a rubber cork and shake it for sometime. Keep
the flask for a day. Filter the solution and collect in a distillation
flask. Distill off the petroleum ether at 60°C - 80°C. Petroleum
ether is a highly inflammable liquid. Do not bring any flame near
it. Use heating mental for heating the flask. Do not heat it directly
on flame. Transfer the liquid (oil) which is left in the flask to a
boiling tube and close the mouth of the boiling tube with a rubber
cork. Note the colour, odour and volume of the essential oil so
collected.
Similarly, extract essential oils of carum and cardamom.

Project 8

Title
Study of common food adulterants.

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Objective
To identify the food adulterants in fat, oil, butter, sugar, turmeric
powder, chilli powder and pepper.

Background information
Adulteration of food means substitution of the genuin food material
wholly or in part with any cheaper or inferior substance or removal
of any of its constituents, wholly or in part, which affects adversely
the nature, substance or quality of the food. According to the Indian
Preservation of Food Adultration Act (PFA) 1954, any ingredient
which when present in food, is injurious to health is an adultrant.
Some of the foods commonly adultrated in India and the
adultrants found in them are as follows ; corresponding form of
Khesari dal (grain/bean/flour) is mixed with pulses like masoor,
bengal gram dal, red gram dal, black gram, and channa.
Consumption of khersari dhal for a long time results in paralysis of
the lower limbs.
Sometimes seeds, barks, leaves and other matter are dressed up
to look like genuine foodstuffs and are used to adultrate pure ones.
For example exhausted tea leaves or coloured sawdust are mixed
into fresh tea. Powdered bran and sawdust may be present in ground
spices. Easily obtainable seeds are substituted for cumin, cardamom,
black pepper, mustered seeds etc.
Edible oils and fats are adultrated with cheap edible and non
edible oils. Seeds of Argemone maxicana resemble mustered and
are used to mix with mustard seeds and oil extracted from seeds is
used to adultrate oils such as coconut, mustard, sesame and
groundnut. Argemone oil is poisonous and its use results in dropsy
in human beings. Oils and fats are also adultrated with petroleum
products which cause gastrointestinal disorders.
Talc and chalk powder are used to adultrate wheat flour,
Arrowroot powder and confectionary, starch is used as a filler in
milk and milk products.
Coaltar dyes and mineral pigments like lead chromate and red
or yellow earth are common food adultrants used for colouring milk
products, confectionary, soft drinks, beverages, tea, spices, bakery
products, fruits and vegetables to give better look.
Brief procedures for testing food adultrants in some of the food
materials are given below :
Brief Procedure

Vanaspati ghee in butter

Take 0.5g of butter sample in a test tube and melt it by heating
gently. To this liquid add a small amount of sugar and a few drops

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of HC1 and shake the mixture for 5 minutes. Appearance of pink

colour indicates the presence of vanaspati ghee in the butter.

Dyes in fats and oils

Take 1 mL of fat/oil in a test tube and add 1mL of the mixture of
sulphuric acid and glacial acetic acid in the ratio 1:4. Heat the
mixture. Appearance of pink colour indicates the presence of dyes
in fats and oils.

Chalk in sugar
Take 1 g of sugar in a test tube and add 2 mL of dilute H2SO4 in it.
Evolution of effervescence indicates the presence of chalk in sugar.

Artificial colour in red chillies

Take a glass tumbler filled with distilled water and pour a few
grams of red chilli powder in it. Stir the mixture with the glass rod
and allow it to stand for a few minutes. Appearance of brick red
colour in water shows the presence of artificial colour in red chilli.

Coloured chalk powder in turmeric powder

Take about 0.5g of turmeric powder in a test tube and add 1mL of
dilute H2SO4. Evolution of effervescence shows the presence of
coloured chalk powder in turmeric.

Sawdust coloured with coaltar dye in turmeric powder

Take about 1.0 g turmeric powder in a test tube add a few drops
of conc. HCl. Instant appearance of violet colour which persists on
dilution with distilled water indicates the presence of sawdust
coloured with metanil yellow, a coaltar dye.

Pappaya seeds in black pepper

Take a beaker filled with distilled water and add one spoon full of
pepper. Papaya seeds float over water while pepper settles down.

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