Apple Dehydration

Camina Alexander

Heather Hills Elementary School

Sixth (6th) Grade

Teacher: Mr. Harris

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 Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my mom, dad, and step mom for helping me with
this project. Without their help I would not have a great experiment.

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 Question

Does salt water or lemon juice have an effect on the rate of apples?

Research

My research paper told me how apples get dehydrated when

exposed to air for a while. I used to think it got old and I threw it away.
Now I know why apples dehydrate. This is why I titled my project Apple
Dehydration. My research paper will tell you about the process in which
apples dehydrate when exposed to air, adding lemon juice, and salt
and how apples dehydrate

I chose to do this project because I eat apples on a regular basis

and I wondered why they turned a yellowish or a reddish color. Apples
turn a yellowish or reddish color because of iron oxide in the apples
that turns them yellow or red. Iron oxide is a reddish mixture of iron
and oxygen also known as rust and is a type of dehydration.

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What is dehydration?

Dehydration is the dryness from the lack of moisture and/or a

chemical reaction to take away water molecules from a compound.

How do apples dehydrate?

Apples dehydrate by the inorganic substances in very small

quantities. The water is removed from the apple causing it to
dehydrate. There is also iron oxide in the apple causing to change its
color to a reddish or yellowish color. When you cut an apple open it
releases an enzyme called polyphone oxidize and it reacts with the air.
All plant use this enzyme it is believed to be a defense mechanism.

How does lemon juice affect the apple?

Lemon juice is about 5% to 6% vitamin c (absobric Acid)

approximately 0.3M and has a pH of 2 to 3 making it very good against
browning. Now I’m going to tell you what happened when I used the
lemon juice to show the end results of what I did with the apple and
lemon juice. The material that was used was two (2) cups, lemon juice,
and a red apple sliced in fourths, and plastic wrap, and a knife. First I
cut the apple in fourths and left the skin on. Then I poured in lemon
juice in a cup and soaked the apple half in the cup until it was drenched
with lemon juice that took a few seconds. Then I poured the lemon
juice out and covered one with plastic wrap and one without plastic
wrap. I left them rest overnight to see if the apple half would turn

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brown. Finally I looked at the apple slices and the one that was covered
looked fresh and the one that was not did not look as fresh.

How does salt water affect the apple?

Salt water is made up of salt and water, salt is a dietary mineral

made of sodium chloride, that is an important mineral for saving food
life but can be toxic to many land plants. I used the same materials and
steps as the lemon juice experiment but instead of using lemon juice I
used salt water. My end result was the apple half with the plastic wrap
looked very brown and the apple half without the plastic wrap looks
very reddish brown.

What is the conclusion to my project?

In doing this experiment I have found the reason that apples become
brown, and I also learned that they can become reddish or yellowish
color as well. I also have learned that the best technique in preserving
the life of the apples is using lemon juice. However, I do not
recommend anyone eating the lemony apple unless you like sour
apples.

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 Bibliography

The Diagram Group Facts on file Physics handbook New York: Infobase
Publishing,2006

Barron’s Essential atlas of physics and chemistry Barcelona,

Spain:Canada publishing,2003

Wikipedia.com2001. Online. 30 Nov. 2010. Available:

http://www.wikipedia.org/

Answers.com 2002. Online. 30 Nov. 2010. Available:

http://www.answers.com/