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Red Cabbage 7.JPG

Red Cabbage pH Meter

Safety Warning

Be careful in handling corrosive substances and irritants. Wear goggles and gloves at all times. Ask help in boiling red cabbage

Red Cabbage 1.JPG

Materials

•    Red cabbage
•    Water
•    Boiling setup
•    Acids (muriatic acid, vinegar, citrus fruits like calamansi or lemon)
•    Bases (Liquid sosa, sodium carbonate, baking soda)
•    Containers 

Instructions

  1. Mix 1 cup water to 2 cups chopped up red cabbage.

  2. Boil the mixture for 10-15 minutes, until the leaves have lost some of their color and the liquid is a deep purple.

  3. Strain out the liquid.

  4. Pour the different acids and bases into separate containers.

  5. Add and pour about the same amount of the Red Cabbage indicator into the container with the acid or base.

  6. Watch what happens to the color of each solution.
     

What's the Science?

In red cabbage is a compound that changes color depending on the charge of its solvent. Acids introduce positive charges to a solution and bases introduce negative charges to a solution. The strength of an acid or a base depends on the amount of charge introduced. This allows differentiation between acids and bases of different strengths based on the color of the solution.

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