effect of natural acidity found in fruits on teeth

effect of natural acidity found in fruits on teeth

Aim:
To investigate the natural acidity of various fruits (apple, pineapple, orange and lemon) and to find out its effects

Hypothesis:
Out of the four fruits (apple, pineapple, orange and lemon), lemon fruit is the most acidic followed by orange, pineapple and apple. All these fruits consist of citric acid along with other organic acids. However, the concentration and the ionisation of the various acids in the fruits differ thus leading to various pH of the fruits.
Lemon > Orange > Pineapple > Apple (in order of decreasing acidity)

Background:
Basically, pH can be determined by the amount of H+ ions in a particular solution. The greater the concentration of hydrogen ions, the more acidic (the lower the pH) of the solution. In addition, in the various fruits, different types of organic acids can be found. For example, in lemons, the main organic acid found is citric acid along with Vitamin C (ascorbic acid). In apples, the main acid that can be found is malic acid along with Vitamin C and folic acid. In pineapples and oranges, the main acids that can be found are citric acid and Vitamin C. Basically, in lemons, the ionisation of citric acid is relatively higher than the other fruits so it has a much lower pH and is more acidic. While in the other fruits, the ionisation of the acid is relatively lower (especially in apples), thus are less acidic than lemons.
The reason why this investigation is carried out is due to the fact that it is important for people to be aware of what they are consuming as excessive exposure to acidic juices can lead to dental complications such as sensitive teeth.
In order to carry out the investigation, four experiments will be conducted to determine the acidity of the various fruits in the most accurate way possible as well as to determine the ranking of acids in decreasing acidity.

Variables:

1. Independent Variable:
The independent variable is the variable that is manipulated by us, as the experimenters, to...