ACIDS & BASES: A pH Indicator Lab

PART 1: Acid & base indicators

1. Cabbage juice turns _____________ in acids, ______________ in bases, and is
_____________ in
neutral solutions.
2. Litmus paper turns ___________ in acids and _____________ in bases.
3. Bromothymol blue turns _______________ in acids, ____________ in bases, and
_____________ in
neutral solutions.

PART 2: Use pH indicators to determine whether substances are

acidic, basic, or neutral
Table 1.
Substa
nce

Shampo
o
Grapefru
it juice
Tap
water
River
water
Vinegar
Dish
soap
Fertilizer
Pesticide

Predicti
on (acid,
base, or
neutral?
)

Cabbage
Juice

Red
Litmus

(red=acid;
green=base)

(red=acid
;
blue=bas
e)

Blue
Litmu
s
(red=aci
d;
blue=ba
se)

Bromothy
mol Blue
(yellow=acid
;
green=neutr
al;
blue=base)

Acid, base,
or neutral?

PART 3: pH and the environment

The substances you tested can easily end up in lakes, ponds, soil, and groundwater (the
water present beneath Earth's surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock
formations). How might the plant and animal populations be affected by changes in
environmental pH?
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PART 4: With GOGGLES ON use a straw to blow into a beaker

with a little bit of water, baking soda and bromothymol blue until
something happens
Discuss your observations with your group and provide an explanation for your observations.
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PART 5: Mixing substances

What would you expect to happen if you mixed the dish soap solution with the vinegar solution?
What color would the bromothymol blue turn? Write the basic chemical formula for the reaction.

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