To prevent damage and facilitate easy shipping many fruits such as bananas, mangoes, pineapples, etc. and some vegetables such as tomatoes are often plucked before they are ripe. Before the fruit or the vegetable is brought to the market, it is exposed to some chemical which accelerates the ripening process. If, however, the fruit or the vegetable is allowed to stay on the plant, natural ripening process starts. Now answer the following questions: (i) What happens during natural ripening process? (ii) Name two chemicals which are used to ripen the fruits/vegetable artificially. (iii) Do the artificially ripen fruits/vegetables safe to use? Do they taste the same as naturally ripen fruits?
Answers
(i) During the ripening process of fruit plant emits ethylene gas.
(ii) Ethylene and calcium carbide is used for ripening of fruits. Alternatively, ripening of fruits and vegetable are exposed to ethylene gas. In this process, fruits or vegetables are spread on the floor and the pieces of calcium carbide are placed in between them. After that covered with water and tarpaulin.
Calcium carbide reacts with water to form acetylene. The reaction is as follows.
(iii) Impurities are present in the commercial calcium carbide. The impurities are calcium arsenide and calcium phosphide. These reacts with water to form arsine and phosphine.
The chemical reactions is as follows,
These two are poisonous gases. Artificial ripening process are not safe .The taste of fruits which is ripened by artificially not like natural ripening.
Answer:
10 g O
2
=
32
10
mole =
32
10
×6.02×10
23
molecules
=1.88×10
23
molecules =2×1.88×10
23
atoms =3.76×10
23
atoms
10 g O
3
=
48
10
mole =
48
10
×6.02×10
23
molecules
=1.254×10
23
molecules =3×1.254×10
23
atoms =3.76×10
23
atoms
This both contain the same number of atoms but bulb B
1
contains more number of molecules