Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Chemistry Experiment-Acids&Bases-Tumeric PH Indicators

So, for chemistry today we did experiments. We made PH Indicators.
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Oh, so your wondering 'What in the world in PH?'. Right? Oh yeah, I'm right. Well, Wikipedia defines it as:
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution
Well, if you can understand that, good for you. Its basically that measure of acidity or basicity in something that is able to dissolve in water. Cool right?
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If you said no!, I have a feeling you will change your mind after this experiment.
And if you said yes!, good for you.


Parental supervision may be required = turmeric stains :\

List of Ingredients:
A nice old pair of clothes
One handy adult - Optional ^^
Vinegar - Our Acid
Ammonia - Our Base
Lemon Juice - Another Acid - Optional
Turmeric, Red Cabbage Juice, or Beet Juice - warning: stains
Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) - Our neutral
Windex (not much) - Another Base - Optional
Lots of strips of paper towel - Around 6 - 7 - About an inch wide
Two small bowls - You use a very little of the ingredients 


Pour some rubbing alcohol and tumeric/reb cabbage juice/beet juice and stir for a few seconds. The alcohol will dissolve the tumeric. You will get a orangey-yellow liquid.
In the other bowl, pour vinegar.

Now, pick up those paper strips. Pinch the paper towel and dip it into the 1st bowl. If it done correctly (its pretty hard not to) the paper will change color. That means that the PH level has changed.

Tumeric: Bright Yellow
Red Cabbage: Purpleish Blue
Beet Juice: Redish color  

So that's it.





Not.


Now, open the container of ammonia, do not pour it into anything. Now pick up your orangish yellow/purpleish blue/redish color paper and hold it above the opening. You don't have to dunk it in, since ammonia is such a powerful base, the fumes will do the trick. I don't know what color beet juice or red cabbage will turn because I used tumeric. It turns a wonderful deep blood red. The change in color means that the PH level has changed. Anyway, now your going to be using the second bowl which should  be filled with vinegar. Vinegar is our acid, which will neutralize the base. Dunk the colored paper into the vinegar, and watch. The paper will turn into the color it turned when you dunk it in the first bowl!

You can experient in different ways. For example, you can use the Windex™, sprits it one a paper which has been dunked in the first bowl, and if you dunked your last paper into the acid, its okay. Once the paper dries, you can do it again. It will do the same thing as the ammonia. Lemon is another acid that you can use.

But whatever you do, never ever ever put bleach and ammonia together. The combination produces corrosive substances in your airways that cause your lungs to fill with fluid, it is called cholrine gas (read BAD).

And most importantly: Have fun ^^


This experiement is from the Happy Scientist
http://thehappyscientist.com/science-video/making-turmeric-paper *

He explains it much better than I do.

*needs flash



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