Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Chemistry
Acids and bases are extremely important in chemical reactions. In this experiment we will
use cabbage juice to help us identify many common household chemicals as acids or bases
by changes in its color. It looks cool too!
Several small clear glass or plastic cups (paper Dixie cups are okay if you can't get
clear cups)
Scissors
Boiling water
Household ammonia
Dish soap
Lemon juice
Orange juice
Vinegar
Also be sure to ask your mom, dad or another adult to help- you can impress them with the
magical color changes!
6. Try repeating the experiment backwards, i.e. start with the "acid" to make a pink or
red solution, then slowly add "base" to change the color back to purple, then green
or blue. Try different combinations of acids and bases.
7. For one last experiment, use your cup with baking or washing soda added to the
cabbage juice (it should be bluish colored). Slowly add a few drops of one of your
"acid" test solutions (like vinegar or lemon juice). What happens this time?
What's Happening:
Red cabbage contains a compound called anthocyanin, which is a type of molecules called
flavonoids. These compounds are often used as pigments or stains because they are very
colorful, but what makes anthocyanin even more interesting is that the color it produces
varies dramatically depending on the pH of the solution. pH is a way that chemists
characterize acids and bases. This has to do with the concentration of hydrogen ions in the
solution (acids have higher concentrations of hydrogen ions, bases lower), but for our
purposes we can just consider acids and bases as opposites, and think of pH as a scale or
ruler, with acids at the low end (numbers between 0-6) and bases at the high end (number
typically between 8-14). A pH of 7 means the solution is neutral (neither acid nor base, or
both, depending on your point of view. Pure water is neutral, with a pH=7. The lower the
pH, the stronger the acid and the higher the pH the stronger the base. pH numbers close to
7 are weak acids or bases respectively. Pigments like anthocyanin that change color with pH
are called indicators. Identifying the strength of acids and bases is one of the most
important tests used in chemistry, as pH is one of many factors that determines how
different molecules or chemicals will react when combined. [You can learn much more about
pH chemistry, acids, bases and indicators in the references at the end of this experiment.]
Acidic solutions (acids) like vinegar, lemon and other citrus juices (which contain citric acid)
and sodas (carbonic acid, or carbon dioxide dissolved in water) make the anthocyanin in
cabbage juice turn reddish colors, while basic solutions (bases) like ammonia, baking soda
and soaps turn cabbage juice bluish or greenish colors (even yellowish if the base is really
strong). You can actually measure the pH by making a color chart like the one below, with
red at the low end, followed by pink, purple or violet, blue, blue-green or aqua, green and
finally yellowish green at the high end. Strong acids like lemon juice turn cabbage juice red,
strong bases like ammonia turn it green, and other solutions generally fall somewhere in
between.
Acids add more hydrogen ions to a solution, while bases remove hydrogen ions from a
solution, so we can adjust the pH to any value we want by carefully combining acids and
bases together. For example, if we have a vinegar solution that is strongly acidic, we can
raise the pH by slowing adding a base like ammonia which will remove some of the extra
hydrogen ions from the solution. If we add just a little we might change the pH from 2 to 5,
making a weaker acid, but by adding a little more base we remove enough hydrogen ions to
raise the pH to 7 or neutralize the solution. Finally, by adding even more base we can
remove more and more hydrogen ions, raising the pH until the solution becomes a strong
base. This process is completely reversible, so we could add more acid (i.e. more hydrogen
ions) and lower the pH just as easily.
Of course when we mix chemicals like this other reactions may take place as well, so it's
always very important to follow the instructions in an experiment like this unless you are
very familiar with the chemicals you are using. That's what happens when you mixed
vinegar with baking soda. These two chemicals reacted to produce carbon dioxide gas (all
the bubbles you saw). Fortunately the chemicals used in this experiment are relatively safe.
http://chemistry.about.com/od/acidsbase1/a/red-cabbage-ph-indicator.htm
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Chem_p013.shtml
http://www.stanford.edu/~ajspakow/downloads/outreach/ph-student-9-30-09.pdf