Complete the Pre-Lab Background and Pre-lab Skills sections on tophat

Print the Puzzle and Notebook section (this document) and bring it with you to lab.
Make sure you read this entire document BEFORE you come to lab!

Cathy Coldridge is an aspiring NYC chef who works in a very busy kitchen in downtown
Manhattan. Last week Cathy prepared a dish that contained boiled red cabbage. When she was
draining the cabbage, she noticed that the water she had used to boil it in had changed color
from clear and colorless to purple. Cathy was fascinated by this and decided to pour the colored
water into 5 glasses that were lying around the kitchen to observe the color more closely. When
she poured the solution into the 5 glasses she was surprised to see the color of the solution
change AGAIN. Cathy observed different color changes in each glass. Her observations are
summarized in the table below:
Glass # Observation
1 Solution turned pink/red
2 Solution turned green
3 Solution stayed purple
4 Solution turned yellow
5 Solution turned blue
Cathy is confused by these color changes and has come to you seeking help.

Your task for today is two-fold:

1. Identify the household chemicals that may remain in the bottom of each glass and hence
cause the color of the solution to change.
2. Quantify the acidity of each of these substances.


• You must work on your puzzle in groups of 2 students.

• Each group will be given 1 leaf of red cabbage
• You have access to a selection of standard pH solutions and a selection of household
substances.
• You may not use more than 5 mL of any solution at a given time.

• A standard pH solution is a solution of known pH.

• A pH indicator is a solution that changes color in response to changes in pH.
• To quantify the acidity of each substance you need to determine its pH value.

We have spent significant amounts of time in this course making observations and while you are
probably beginning to feel more comfortable with this particular skill it is now time to revisit the
importance of clarity in your language. When you write observations, it is important to make sure
that the language you use is as clear and to the point as it can be. If a person reading your
observations interprets your words in a way that is different from what you meant then your
observations are not written clearly enough.
For example, let's image you look at the following two pink solutions.
Both solutions are pink and if you described each as simply being "pink", then someone reading
your observations would imagine that
the two solutions look exactly the same -
but clearly, they do not.
The solution on the left is a much darker
shade of pink than the solution on the
right. In fact, the solution on the left is so
dark that it almost looks red!
While these solutions are both pink, they
fall within different ranges or shades of
pink and we should make sure to
distinguish them as such.
The solutions also have a different level
of transparency (which can be seen in
the photographs on the far left and far


right). The solution on the left is so dark that you can hardly see through it. If we could not see
through it at all we would call it opaque. The solution on the right however is much lighter, in fact
the color is so faint that we can see right through it - we call this solution clear, or transparent.
A good set of observations for these solutions would distinguish them clearly. Possibly calling the
solution on the left "dark reddish pink and almost opaque" and the solution on the right "light
pink and transparent" or "clear and light pink". Now the person reading your observation can
clearly visualize the differences between the two!

Laboratory Safety Goggles must be worn at all times during this experiment. If you remove your
safety goggles during the course of the experiment you will be asked to leave the room.
Do not, at any time, attempt to inhale or ingest any of the solutions you will be working with
today. If any chemicals come into contact with your skin or eyes inform your instructor and flush
your skin/eyes with water immediately.
All chemicals should be properly disposed of at the end of the laboratory period. Make sure that
you consult with your instructor about how to safely dispose of all chemicals.

Add an entry to the Title Page for this lab report and its page numbers. On the next available
blank page in your laboratory notebook write down the date and title of the experiment for
today.

For this experiment, we are using a natural pH indicator found in red cabbage in order to help
Cathy Coldridge identify the household chemicals that were inside her beakers! Think carefully
about how you will use the red cabbage juice as an indicator! When you are ready write down a
set of initial observations. Record these in your notebook.
Remember that you must record observations for all the chemicals you will be using today. It is
highly likely that you will need to comeback to this section later and add observations that you
don’t make right now. And that is perfectly ok!


Now write down the step-by-step procedure that you will use to solve the puzzle. Make sure to
have your instructor approve your procedure before you continue.
To help you here is the general extraction procedure:
1. Immerse small pieces of your sample in about 150 mL of water (in a larger beaker).
2. Boil the sample for about ten minutes using a hot plate.
3. Allow the solution to come to room temperature.
4. Strain the solution using a large Buchner funnel (with no filter paper) to separate the
indicator solution from the remaining organic matter.
As part of your post-lab you will create an electronic version of your complete procedure to upload
to Tophat. This includes how you will help Cathy solve her kitchen conundrum!

Now perform your experiment and collect your data. Record all of your observations and all of the
data that you collect in your laboratory notebook. Remember to record your data for both the
household chemicals and the standards!
Organize your data into a clear and legible data table that includes ALL your raw data and your pH
predictions. To make this easier you might decide to create two date tables. One that shows the
results of using the standard solutions, and one that shown the results of testing the household
chemicals.
As part of your post-lab you will create an electronic version of this/these table/s to upload to
Tophat.

It is time to provide the answer the puzzle. Write down a conclusion for this experiment. This
should include a table listing each mystery glass discussed in the puzzle with an estimate of the
pH of each based on its color and the identity of which household substance could have been in
each glass.

As part of your post-lab you will create an electronic version of this to upload to Tophat.

Complete the Post-Lab Data Upload, Post-Lab Questions and Connections to Human Health
sections on Tophat.