Chemistry Project

Contents
• Aim of the project

• Introduction
• Theory
• Requirements
• Chemical Equations
• Procedure
• Precautions
• Observations
• Calculations
• Conclusions
1. Aim of the project
To study the presence of oxalate ions in guava fruit

at different stages of ripening.
2. Introduction
Guava is a common sweet fruit found in India and

many other places around the world. Guavas are plants
in the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae) genus Psidium (meaning
“pomegranate” in Latin), which contains about 100
species of tropical shrub. On ripening it turns yellow in
color. Rich in vitamin C, this fruit is a rich source of
oxalate ions whose content varies during the different
stages of ripening.
Guavas have a pronounced and typical fragrance, similar
to lemon rind but less in strength.
What is oxalate
It is a carboxylic acid, primarily found in plants and

animals. It is not an essential molecule and is excreted
from our body, unchanged. Our body either produces
oxalate on its own or converts other molecules like
Vitamin C to oxalate. External sources like food also
contribute to the accumulation of oxalate in our body.
The oxalate present in the body is excreted in the form of
urine as waste. Too much of oxalate in our urine results
in a medical condition called hyperoxaluria, commonly
referred to as kidney stones. Diet is looked upon as a
preventive measure in addition to medication to treat
kidney stones.
3. Theory
Oxalate ions are extracted from the fruit by

boiling pulp with dilute H2SO4. The oxalate ions are
estimated volumetrically, by titrating the solution
with KMnO4 solution. A reagent, called the
Titrant, of a known concentration (a standard
solution) and volume is used to react with a solution
of the analyte or titrand, whose concentration is not
known. Using a calibrated burette or chemistry
pipetting syringe to add the titrant, it is possible to
determine the exact amount that has been
consumed when the endpoint is reached. The
endpoint is the point at which the titration is
complete, as determined by an indicator. This is
ideally the same volume as the equivalence point.
The volume of added titrant at which the number of

moles of titrant is equal to the number of moles of
analyte, or some multiple thereof (as in polyprotic
acids). In the classic strong acid-strong base titration,
the endpoint of a titration is the point at which the
pH of the reactant is just about equal to 7, and often
when the solution takes on a persisting solid colour
as in the pink of phenolphthalein indicator.
4. Requirements
5. Chemical equations
Molecular Equations
2KMnO4+ 3H2SO4 ( K2SO4+
2MnSO4+2H2O + 4[O]
HOOC-COOH.2H2O + [O] 600C – 700C
2CO2+ 2H2O x 5
3KMnO4+ 3H2SO4+5 HOOC-COOH.2H2O (
K2SO4+ 2MnSO4+
18H2O + 10CO2
Ionic Equations
MnO4-+16H++ 5e- ( Mn2++ 4H2O x 2
C2O4 ( 2CO2+ 2e-x 5
2MnO4-+ 16H++ 5C2O42- ( 2Mn2++8H2O + 10CO2
6. Procedure
• Weighed 50 g of fresh guava and crushed it to a fine

pulp using pestle and mortar.
• Transferred the crushed pulp to a beaker and added
about 50 ml dilute H2SO4 to it.
• Boiled the content for about 10 minutes. Cooled and
filtered the contents in a 100 ml measuring flask.
• Made up the volume 100 ml by adding ample
amount of distilled water.
• Took 20 ml of the solution from the flask and added
20 ml of dilute sulphuric acid to it.
• Heated the mixture to about 600 C and titrated it
against (n/10) KMnO4 solution taken in a burette till
the end point had an appearance of pink colour.
• Repeated the above experiment with 50 g of 1day, 2
day and 3 day old guava fruits.
7. Precaution
• There should be no parallax while taking

measurements.
• Spillage of chemicals should be checked.
• Avoid the use of burette having a rubber tap as
KMnO4attacks rubber.
• In order to get some idea about the temperature of
the solution touch the flask with the back side of
your hand. When it becomes unbearable to touch,
the required temperature is reached.
• Add about an equal volume of dil. H2SO4 to the
guava extract to be titrated (say a full test tube)
before adding KMnO4.
• Read the upper meniscus while taking burette
reading with KMnO4 solution.
• In case, on addition of KMnO4 a brown ppt. appears,
this shows that either H2SO4 has not been added or
has been added in insufficient amount. In such a
case, throw away the solution and titrate again.
8. Observations
• Weight of the guava fruit for each time was 50

g.
• Volume of guava extract taken for each titration
was 20 ml.
• Normality of KMnO4 solution was (1/10).
• END POINT: Colour Changes to pink
9. Calculation
• For raw guava

N1V1 = N2V2
(N1 x 10 = (1/10) x132
(1/10 x Normality of oxalate = (x/100) = strength of
oxalate in fresh guava extract = normality x Eq. mass
of oxalate ion
= 1.32/100 x 44g/litre of diluted
extract
= 0.581 g L-1
• For semi ripened guava (1 day old).
Strength of oxalate in one day old guava extract
= (1.37 /100) x 44g/litre of diluted
extract
0.603 g L-1
• For ripened guava
Strength of oxalate in fresh guava
extract
= ( 1.39/100) x 44g/litre of diluted
extract
= 0.612 g L-1
10. Result
• The normality of oxalate ions of;

(i) Fresh guava solution is = 1.32 ml
(ii) Semi-ripen guava solution is = 1.37 ml
(iii) Ripened guava solution is = 1.39 ml
• The strength of oxalate ions of;
Fresh guava solution is = 0.58 ml
Semi-ripened guava is = 0.60 ml
Ripened guava is = 0.61 ml
11. Conclusions
The content of oxalate ions in guava was found

to be 59.67 per cent, which is close to the literature
value of 60 percent.
It was also noticed that the content of oxalic ions
grows with ripening of guava.
Bibliography
• Search engines used:

www.google.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.reader.google.com
www.labs.google.com
www.quora.com
• Practical Chemistry by Laxmi Publications.
• The Family Encyclopedia by Dorling Kindersley.

Chemistry Project

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chemistry Project

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chemistry Project

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Contents

• Aim of the project

To study the presence of oxalate ions in guava fruit

Guava is a common sweet fruit found in India and

It is a carboxylic acid, primarily found in plants and

Oxalate ions are extracted from the fruit by

The volume of added titrant at which the number of

• Weighed 50 g of fresh guava and crushed it to a fine

• There should be no parallax while taking

• Weight of the guava fruit for each time was 50

• For raw guava

• The normality of oxalate ions of;

The content of oxalate ions in guava was found

• Search engines used:

You might also like