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Invisible Ink Handout

STEM night handout

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arabier
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29 views

Invisible Ink Handout

STEM night handout

Uploaded by

arabier
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How can I write secret messages?

Learn how you can write and reveal secret messages in this hands-on chemistry activity.

What You Need


● Red cabbage
● Knife or food processor
● Stove
● Sieve
● Container (for cabbage juice)
● Paint brushes
● Measuring cup (in mL)
● Spoon
● Baking soda - 60 mL
● Lemon juice - 100 mL
● Milk - 100 mL
● Warm water - 60 mL
● Containers or cups - 3
● Paper (for best results use newsprint, coffee filters, or paper towel)

Safety First!
Be careful working with knives and/or food processor blades. Provide adult assistance or
supervision for younger children.

What to Do
Make cabbage juice:
1. Cut the cabbage into small pieces or chop in a food processor.
2. Boil the cabbage until it is almost colourless and then strain the cabbage juice through a
sieve. Discard the cabbage.
3. Let cabbage juice cool, and then pour into a container. Set aside for use during the
activity or store in a fridge (Note: To save for later use, cabbage juice can be frozen in
ice cube trays, creating small batches for separate activities).

https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/hands-on-activities/how-can-i-write-secret-messages
Write secret messages:
1. Dissolve the baking soda in the warm water and let it cool. This is a saturated solution so
there should be some solid material at the bottom of the container.
2. Using a paint brush, write a message using the baking soda solution on a piece of paper.
Let the picture dry thoroughly. You will not be able to see it clearly.
3. On a new piece of paper, use a clean paintbrush to write another message using just
lemon juice.
4. Repeat the process with milk.
5. After the papers are dry, dip another paintbrush into the cabbage juice and brush over
the secret messages. What happens?

Discovery
What’s happening?

Red cabbage juice looks dark red, or purple, until it comes into contact with an acid or a
base. When mixed with an acid, the juice turns pink-red but when mixed with a base,
the juice turns blue-green (see image above). The more acidic the sample, the brighter
the pink colour it is. The more basic, the brighter the green it turns.

So, even though you wrote messages in liquids that are white or colourless, these
changes in the red cabbage indicator enable you to see the messages.

Cabbage juice, grape juice, and many other plant juices are acid/base indicators. There
are many different types of indicators we can use and the colour produced depends on
the type of indicator used. An indicator changes colour when it comes into contact with
an acid or a base. This means that those fruits and vegetables will also change colour
according to the acidity of their environment (i.e. the soil or atmosphere), and can be
used to determine the amount of acid or base present.

https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/hands-on-activities/how-can-i-write-secret-messages
The strengths of acids and bases are measured by using a pH scale, a measure of how
acidic or basic a substance is. Using a scale of 0 – 14, acids and bases are on opposite
ends (see picture above). Substances with a pH of 0 are said to be very acidic, while
substances with a pH of 14 are said to be very basic. Substances with a pH of 7 are
said to be neutral – which means they are neither acidic nor basic. Each number
represents a 10-fold change in alkalinity or acidity; for instance, when comparing the
acidity of lemon juice (pH = 2) to vinegar (pH = 3), lemon juice is ten times more acidic
than vinegar, even though their pH values are only 1 pH apart.

Most of the food that we consume is generally acidic, with some exceptions, like egg
whites. Acidic food such as apple juice, orange juice, and lemon juice generally taste
sour. Water is considered to be neutral, with a pH of 7. Household cleaning solutions,
such as baking soda, detergents, and soaps, are examples of bases.

Why does it matter?

Identifying the pH of a substance is used in a variety of instances:

● Drinking water is tested to be sure it is within a safe pH range to drink.


● Ocean waters are tested to see how weather or pollution has changed the pH to
determine if it will become dangerous for the animal and plant life living there.
● If you have a pool, your may have seen your parents testing the water – they
may have been using a pH indicator. Pools with a high pH can cause cloudy
water. Pools with low pH readings might irritate your skin and eyes.
● Farmers must test the pH of their fields to ensure the acidity/alkalinity of the soil
won’t kill their crops.

Investigate further

● Instead of using cabbage juice to reveal the secret messages, try grape juice (not
grape drink). Does it work?
● Reverse the process-- paint a piece of paper with cabbage juice and let the paper
dry. Then, write messages on the piece of paper. What happens? And what
happens if the baking soda and lemon juice mix?
● Try to write secret messages with other liquids, such as apple juice, orange juice,
dish detergent, club soda, bubble bath, and egg whites. What happens when you
paint the cabbage juice on them?

https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/hands-on-activities/how-can-i-write-secret-messages
For more information on this topic check out these Let's Talk Science resources:

● What happens when acids and bases mix? (Hands-on Activities) - Learn about
acid-base reactions. Make you own pH indicator and test it with different solutions.
● What is Acid rain? (STEM in Context) - Acid rain is any precipitation that has an
unusually low pH. It can be rain, snow, fog, etc. But what is a low pH and why is
this a problem?

https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/hands-on-activities/how-can-i-write-secret-messages

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