Essay

IB Biology HL IA, score 6

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Module
BIOLOGY HL in ENGLISH

Institution
The University Of Buckingham

This was my Internal Assessment pice for my IB Biology HL course in May 2019. I received an overall score of 6 for this course and had a predicted 7.

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Uploaded on October 8, 2022
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To what extent do Musa sapientum, Cocos nucifera and milk increase
the pH of a hydrochloric acid solution in a span of five minutes, as
evidence of a neutralisation reaction, in comparison to the antacid
“Gastrigel?”

Introduction
From a young age, I have suffered from acid reflux. According to many professionals it is quite an
uncommon thing within my age range and something I should always keep under control, which is
very difficult given my obsession with strong spices. Since then, I have always been advised by my
grandmother and family in general to drink milk whenever I have heartburn. This, coupled with the
opportunity of doing extensive research on acid reflux for my Internal Assessment, peeked my
interest and propelled me to wonder which homemade/natural remedies are better to soothe acid
reflux and how these compare to antacid tablets. Because of this, I conducted the following research
and investigation on acid reflux, some of its various remedies and their effectiveness.

Background

Acid reflux is a condition characterised by a burning chest pain commonly known
as heartburn. This occurs when part of the acid in the stomach goes back up into
the oesophagus.
Whereas the lining of the stomach is adapted to protect itself from its containing
acids, the oesophagus is not. There is a muscle in the gastroesophageal sphincter
that normally acts as a valve and lets food into the stomach while preventing it
from traveling back up into the oesophagus. When the muscle fails, the stomach
Figure 1. Heartburn
contents backflow and are regurgitated causing acid reflux.

This condition affects many and there are several treatments for
it, ranging from appeasing homemade remedies and natural
treatments to modern medication. Some of which are:
Figure 2. normal stomach to the left vs
stomach with acid reflux to the right

• Musa sapientum, commonly known as banana—natural antacid (reduces acid levels) due to the
content of the alkalising mineral potassium. Furthermore, its various compounds, minerals and
vitamins strengthen not only the oesophagus, but also the sphincter.
• Coconut (Cocos nucifera)—a seed originating from a tropical palm. Interestingly enough, it has a
water-like collection inside the endosperm with a varying pH of 5.5-7.8, is rich in fibre and has
many naturally occurring bioactive enzymes—great for fastening digestion.
• Milk—absorbs acid formation in the stomach due to its ever-present natural bacteria. With a
varying pH of 6.4-6.8, milk cools the stomach when cold (it soothes irritated lining) and
increases the pH value of the stomach, reducing its acidity.
• Antacids—a group of man-made medicines that help neutralise the acid content of the stomach
due to the presences of base chemicals such as aluminium hydroxide, magnesium carbonate
and magnesium trisilicate. Alkalis are not used given their highly corrosive and highly
exothermic nature.
Gastrigel tablet— the brand of antacid tablets used in this experiment was “Gastrigel.”
This precise tablet contains Aluminium hydroxide and Magnesium hydroxide which are
two typical bases used in antacid medication that have the following reactions:
Al(OH)3(s) + 3HCl ➝ AlCl3(aq) + 3H2O(l)
Mg(OH)2(s) + 2HCl➝ MgCl2(aq) + 2H2O(l)
1

, Aim

The aim of this biology laboratory experiment is to compare the effectiveness of natural remedies at
neutralising hydrochloric acid in comparison to antacid tablets. The created neutralisation reactions
are perfect to simulate what occurs in the stomach when presented with one of the treatments in
terms of pH. Results could hence indicate which treatment works best for acid reflux in terms of
reaction time of the treatment and competency when reducing heartburn.

Research question
To what extent do Musa sapientum, Cocos nucifera and milk increase the pH of a hydrochloric
acid solution in a span of five minutes, as evidence of a neutralisation reaction, in
comparison to the antacid “Gastrigel?”
Prediction

Alternative hypothesis: Natural treatments are more effective than Gastrigel antacid tablets at
increasing pH.

Null hypothesis: Gastrigel antacid tablets are more efficient at increasing the pH than Musa
sapientum, Cocos nucifera and milk.

Methodology

Equipment
• 3 bananas • Beakers (±0.5ml)
• 100ml of coconut water • pH probe connected to a Vernier data
• 100ml of milk logger interface
• “Gastrigel Masticable” Antacid tablets from • Stand
Rigar Labs, S.A (Content: Aluminium • Mortar
hydroxide gel and Magnesium hydroxide) • Pestle
• 500ml of Hydrochloric acid (pH 1,5) • 2 Pipette (±0.5ml)
• 100ml of Water (drinking water) • Graduated Cylinder (25ml) (±0.5ml)
• Kitchen knife • Magnetic stirrer with small bar magnet
• Cutting board

Variables
Independent variable: the type of acid reflux treatment reacted with hydrochloric acid solution.
Dependent variable: the change in pH of the reaction over a span of five minutes.
Controlled variables:
o Time span to measure pH—this is important given the fact that the reactions might behave
differently during different time frames so in order to properly asses and analyse the reactions
behaviour, they all need to be done under the same timed conditions. Hence, the five minutes
of reaction were fixated for all samples and the recordings where stopped immediately after the
computer showed 300 seconds had passed.
o Volume of hydrochloric acid used per test—different concentrations of HCl can affect the
reactions given as the particle collision can increase or decrease respectively and thus alter the
rate of reaction. Because of this, all samples had a solution containing 20ml of HCl at the same
concentration.
o Quantity of treatment used—similarly to HCl content, a variation in treatment volume per
sample can lead to altered reaction rates, causing some treatments to react faster than others

2

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