Scribd
Upload
276 views

PH Lab - Student Version

This document provides instructions for a lab experiment using red cabbage juice as a pH indicator to test various household liquids and determine their acidity or alkalinity. Red cabbage juice changes color at different pH levels, allowing identification of whether a substance is acidic, basic, or neutral. Students will mix cabbage juice with substances like lemon soda, vinegar, baking soda, and shampoo, and observe the resulting color change to approximate each substance's pH on a scale from 1 to 14. Key concepts covered include the pH scale, properties of acids and bases, and using a natural indicator to measure acidity.

Uploaded by

TeachLABScI
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
276 views

PH Lab - Student Version

This document provides instructions for a lab experiment using red cabbage juice as a pH indicator to test various household liquids and determine their acidity or alkalinity. Red cabbage juice changes color at different pH levels, allowing identification of whether a substance is acidic, basic, or neutral. Students will mix cabbage juice with substances like lemon soda, vinegar, baking soda, and shampoo, and observe the resulting color change to approximate each substance's pH on a scale from 1 to 14. Key concepts covered include the pH scale, properties of acids and bases, and using a natural indicator to measure acidity.

Uploaded by

TeachLABScI
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 6

Red Cabbage Lab: Acids and Bases Student Version

Key Concepts:

pH is the measure of basicity or acidity of a solution. pH refers to potential Hydrogen or the power of Hydrogen as a solutions pH is determined by its concentration of specific ions. Ions are negatively or positively charged atoms. If a solution contains extra hydrogen ions (H+), it is acidic. If a solution contains extra hydroxyl ions (OH-), the solution is basic or alkaline. The pH scale ranges from 1 to 14 where 1 to 6.9 is classified as acidic, 7.0 is neutral (neither a base or an acid) and 7.1 to 14 is classified as basic. When a solution is neutral (pH 7.0), there is an equal concentration between H+ ions and OH- ions. As pH numbers approach 1, the stronger the acid, whereas pH numbers approach 14, the stronger the base.

Introduction:
Liquids all around us have either acidic or basic (alkaline) properties. For example, acids taste sour; while, bases taste bitter and feel slippery. However, both strong acids and strong bases can be very dangerous and burn your skin, so it is important to be very careful when using such chemicals. In order to measure how acidic or basic a liquid is one must use the pH scale as illustrated below:

http://www.pullouttheplug.co.uk/.../ ph-scale.gif

In this lab, you will use the juice from red cabbage as a pH indicator to test common household liquids and determine their pH levels. You will mix cabbage juice with different household liquids and see a color change produced by a pigment called flavin (an anthocyanin) in red cabbage. Through this color change, you will be able to successfully identify the approximate pH of common household liquids using the table below:

Color: Approx. pH Acid/Bas

Pink 1-2 Acid

Dark Red 3-4 Acid

Violet 5-7 Acid/Neutral

Blue 8 Base

BlueGreen 9-10 Base

GreenYellow 11-12 Base

e
Strength increases at extremes of this scale.

Materials:
Pre-cut cabbage Blender Strainer Large container 1liter beaker 7 plastic cups 7 plastic spoons Lemon soda White vinegar Apple juice Baking soda Shampoo (preferably clear) Conditioner (preferably clear) Hand sanitizer

Pre-Lab Questions
Look at each of the liquids being tested. Predict whether each of the substances is acidic, neutral or basic. Circle one. (Think about the properties of acids and bases.) Hand Sanitizer Lemon Soda Apple Juice White Vinegar Baking Soda Shampoo Acidic Acidic Acidic Acidic Acidic Acidic Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Basic Basic Basic Basic Basic Basic

Conditioner

Acidic

Neutral

Basic

Part 1: Preparing the Cabbage Juice


Preparing the Cabbage Juice: 1. Put the red cabbage leaves into the blender with 800mL of water. 2. Close the top and let it blend at high power for 30 seconds.

3. Once it is blended, filter out the leaves inside the mixture with the strainer and pour the mixture into a large container.

*This should provide you with 600-800 ml of cabbage juice.

Part 2: Mixing the Cabbage Juice


4. 5. 6. Label each cup with each of the liquids. (Example: vinegar, apple juice, etc.) Pour 100 ml of each individual liquid into its respective cup (except for baking soda). For baking soda, add 3 tablespoons of baking soda into 100 ml water. Example:

7. Pour 50 ml of cabbage juice into each of the cups. Do this one at a time and record the color change below:

Liquid: Hand Sanitizer Lemon Soda Apple Juice White Vinegar Baking Soda Shampoo Conditioner

Color Change/pH

Actual pH

Now look up the actual pH of each of the substances and see how accurate the cabbage juice indicator was! How did your reasoning for your predictions change after seeing the approximate pH level? 8. Categorize your results below: Strong Acids Weak Acids Neutral Weak Bases Strong Bases

Now add 10 tablespoons more of baking soda into a new cup. Does the color intensity of the liquid change? If so, how and why do you think this is?

Concept Questions:
1. Does the addition of water (baking soda +water) alter the pH of weak acids/bases? How does it change the pH of strong acids/bases? Why or why not?

2. How does a difference in 1 pH unit change in terms of H+ concentration? Example: How does a pH of 3 differ from pH of 4? Which one is stronger or weaker? Why?

3. Look at the ingredients for each liquid you tested. Which ingredients contribute to each of the liquids pH level?

Real Life Applications:

1. Neutralization: Whenever you mix an acid with a base, they neutralize each other. If this is the case, why is Alka- Seltzer used to treat stomach aches? (Note: excess stomach acids cause stomach aches)

2. What is acid rain and how does it negatively impact oceans, rivers, lakes, and other natural environments?

References: Acids and Bases: http://www.chem4kids.com/files/react_acidbase.html Red Cabbage Juice Lab: http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Coll_MickiHR/AcidsandBases-

You might also like