Discussion:
For our experiment, we went ahead and tested the cabbage’s pH level, we put some water in it and boiled it until it made the water turn purple. Once that had happened we added the red and blue indicators, the red indicator made the cabbage water turn red, while the base indicator made the cabbage water turn green and then yellow. But sometimes in other substances, it changes to a different color, for example, turmeric for the red indicator turned yellow and the blue indicator turned a deep red/black.
The indicators change colors because when they are put in a liquid, depending on if the liquid is an acid or a base, it will have a different way of doing things. If it is an acid, the chemical H3O+ ions will donate protons to the indicator, causing the indicator to change color towards red. The base follows a similar way, the indicator gets the protons from the water molecules creating OH- ions. The H3O+ ions then donate protons to the OH- ions making the indicator turn the color towards purple. So if the liquid changes color towards red it is an acid while if it changes towards purple it is a base.
The ions present in the acid solutions are H+ which are hydrogen ions. The higher levels of hydrogen ions the more acidic it is. But the ions present in the base solutions are OH- which are hydroxide ions, the higher levels of hydroxide ions the more bases it has.
But what happens if you mix both the acidic solutions and the base solutions together? If you did mix those two together they would react and create a neutralization reaction that also forms a salt. According to Brønsted–Lowry terms, an acid can donate a proton H+ and a base is a substance that can accept a proton. Using two of the universal indicators is fine as they both do the same thing, so none of them is better.
Conclusion:
Our experiment worked as we were able to tell which one of them was an acid and a base. If I were to do this again, I would change how long we boiled it for as we were behind as someone broke the beaker by accident which set us back a bit.
Aim:
We are trying to find out if the color of the cabbage water would change.
Equipment:
- Beaker
- Water
- Universal indicator
- Test Tubes
Method:
- Get your cabbage and put it in the beaker.
- Add some water into the beaker and put it on the heat until it boils for about a while.
- Once it turns into the color purple, pour the liquid into two test tubes.
- Once you’ve done that you need to add the universal indicator with hydrochloric acid into one tub and to the other one you need to add sodium hydroxide.
- Watch and observe.
Results:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WS88rTda3NPKpwBQENWCbNCkfQaCVBMprS7HyOX1ZQ8/edit?usp=sharing