science fair title

[SSK6]

I am doing a science fair project on determining the amount of acid which is inside various foods such as apples,bananas,oranges etc. You could give a serious title, but I would prefer a non- serious title.

[norman40]

Hi SSK6,

How about

“Sour grapes? How much acid is in fruits?”

or

“Acid in food: Which fruit has the most?”

I hope this helps. Please ask again if you have more questions.

A. Norman

[MattConstant]

How about Acid around Apples?

I tried to go for alliteration but that sounds a bit lame when I think it over

[cumulonimbus]

How about "Fruit Tart" or "Fruit (is) Tart?"

Elena

[SSK6]

Hi, I am doing a science fair project about how acid levels in drinks affect a chicken wish bone. My idea is to buy a bunch of chicken wish bones, crack each half, and leave it in a drink for 1-2 days. I will have one fresh, not touched chicken wish bone to compare the feel and see if it has dissolved. Do you think there is a better way to approach this my purpose of my project is to see if beverages affect the bones inside your body.

P.S feel free to help me make a fun, humor title for my project! It would be very much appreciated!

moderator note: I merged your latest question with your previous question so the experts who have been helping you will see your new question. Thanks and good luck!

[cumulonimbus]

Hi,

That sounds like an interesting project! You have a control (the untouched chicken wishbone) and dependent and independent variables. If you're not planning on this already, I would suggest having multiple chicken wishbones per acidity level so you can minimize error. I would also suggest measuring the pH of each drink so you have a specific idea of how acidic each drink is. Also, do you have a way to "measure" how much each chicken bone has dissolved? In other words, are you going to determine that based on percentage of mass lost, change in volume, etc.?

Also, for your title, how about Counting Your Chicken Bones Before They Dissolve: Effect of Acid Levels on Chicken Wish Bone Dissolution.

I hope this helps!

Elena

[SSK6]

hi Elena, thanks for your help. To figure out what has changed, with mass, I have kept one fresh wish bone so it after 2 days, I can compare the weight or see how it changed by comparing one that has been in coke, and the untouched, fresh wishbone.
Also, I have a question, I am not sure how the acid levels cause bone loss. I have been searching websites for information but could not find one. Can anybody link me a website to the cause of bone less due to acid levels in drinks or can reply to this post?

-SSK6

[cumulonimbus]

Hi! Sorry for the late response. Regarding your wishbone measuring, I would still recommend massing the wishbones you put in coke before you start dissolving them. This is because the untouched wishbone is going to have a slightly different mass than the initial mass of the wishbone you put in the coke. Therefore, it is more accurate to compare the mass lost of the different wishbones than it is to compare the masses of the two different wishbones.

As for your second question, the acid in coke is mostly carbonic acid because of the dissolved carbon dioxide. The carbonic acid reacts with the calcium phosphate in bone and dissolves it. This website gives an explanation of a similar experiment involving teeth, which should be applicable to bones as well since both contain calcium phosphate: http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=1413

I hope this helps!

Elena

[SSK6]

(sorry that I forgot to tell you this earlier, I tested 5 wishbones with 5 different drinks. Coke (pH level 3) , Gatorade pH level 5, Nestea, Canada Dry
(pH level 5), and Orange Juice pH level 6)


Thank you so much Elena for the help, and for my observations, I've decided to measure bone softness, since when I tried measuring the bones for weight, it was too light and registered as 0. Also, when I finished the testing of the wishbones, coke, (pH level 3) and the second worst impact but surprisingly orange juice (pH level 6) had the biggest impact of them all. I am not sure how or why this happened.

[cumulonimbus]

Hmm. I'm not sure exactly why you obtained that result, but it could be because the "softness" scale is slightly subjective, or the wishbone you started out with was slightly softer before immersion than the rest. Also, there might be error in how you measured the pH...I'm not sure if you used a pH meter or not, but the average pH value of orange juice is about 3-4, not 6. Here's a website with the pHs of a lot of common beverages: https://www.ada.org/en/~/media/ADA/Publ ... d%20States

Also, if the beverages you were using were previously opened, some CO2 could have escaped, leading to less H+ ions being formed and thus a higher pH than expected.

I hope this helps!

Elena

[SSK6]

Thank you so much Elena for the help, none of the beverages used where previously opened, but, I think I measured Orange Juice wrong, and I tested the pH level of it, in a separate cup, and yes, it had a pH level of 4.
Also, are you allowed to post your lab report, (procedure, conclusion, etc.) on this website so someone can proof read it, or give suggestions back? Because, I am not sure if in my conclusion it does not make sense.

[cumulonimbus]

You are welcome to post sections of your lab report and ask for advice. You can also do some self-revision by checking the Science Buddies project guide: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ience-fair
Good luck finishing up the project!

Elena