08Aug
Pantry Science- Fun with pH
Using cabbage as a pH Indicator
Test items you find in your pantry to see if they are an acid or a base!What You Need:
• Clear cups
• Cabbage juice (red cabbage blended with water and strained)
• Liquid items from your pantry/fridge: laundry detergent, orange juice, vinegar,
milk, lime juice, clear soda
• Pipettes
What You Do:
1. Place a small amount of each liquid in a clear cup
2. Using a clean pipette, at 1 pipette of cabbage juice to each liquid.
3. Observe the color change.
What Is Happening:
Some substances are classified as an acid or a base. Scientists use an indicator,
a chemical that changes color if it comes in contact with an acid or a base, to test if
a solution is acidic or basic. The purple cabbage juice acts as the indicator in this
experiment, turning red when mixed with something acidic and blue or green if mixed
with something basic.
What is pH?
pH is the measure how acidic or basic a liquid is on a scale of 1-14. Solutions that have a pH of less than 7 are acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic. A solution that has a pH of 7 is neutral, such as distilled water.
Why Does It Matter?
The chemistry of acids and bases is occurring all around us! Many household cleaning items are basic in nature, while our bodies utilize strong acids in our stomach to help digest the food we eat.
Career Connection:
Environmental scientists use their knowledge of acids and bases to determine the livability of an environment because large amounts of acid are incredibly harmful to the environment.
Marine zoologists will use pH testing to determine if the water in aquariums are healthy for the marine animals.
Geologists test the pH of soil to help determine the types of mineral deposits present in different rock layers so they can recreate the geologic history of an area.
1. Place a small amount of each liquid in a clear cup
2. Using a clean pipette, at 1 pipette of cabbage juice to each liquid.
3. Observe the color change.
What Is Happening:
Some substances are classified as an acid or a base. Scientists use an indicator,
a chemical that changes color if it comes in contact with an acid or a base, to test if
a solution is acidic or basic. The purple cabbage juice acts as the indicator in this
experiment, turning red when mixed with something acidic and blue or green if mixed
with something basic.
What is pH?
pH is the measure how acidic or basic a liquid is on a scale of 1-14. Solutions that have a pH of less than 7 are acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic. A solution that has a pH of 7 is neutral, such as distilled water.
Why Does It Matter?
The chemistry of acids and bases is occurring all around us! Many household cleaning items are basic in nature, while our bodies utilize strong acids in our stomach to help digest the food we eat.
Career Connection:
Environmental scientists use their knowledge of acids and bases to determine the livability of an environment because large amounts of acid are incredibly harmful to the environment.
Marine zoologists will use pH testing to determine if the water in aquariums are healthy for the marine animals.
Geologists test the pH of soil to help determine the types of mineral deposits present in different rock layers so they can recreate the geologic history of an area.
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