INSTRUCTIONS: (also in the attached file)
There are two parts to this week’s activity.
Part 1. Acids and bases – a lab experiment
You will need:
A head of red cabbage, shredded (you can shred/chop it yourself)
Baking soda mixed with water (2 tablespoons baking soda in ¼ cup water) or ammonia cleaner if you have it
Vinegar or lemon or lime juice
Other substances around the house, like shampoo, toothpaste, orange juice, drain cleaner – it can be anything you want to test
3 bowls
Red cabbage contains pigments called anthocyanins which can indicate whether it is in contact with an acid (like vinegar) or a base (like baking soda) based on color changes. It can also show how strong an acid or a base a substance is.
How does it do this?
Chemists use the pH scale to express how acidic (like an acid) or basic (like a base) a substance is. A pH value below 7 means that a substance is acidic, and the smaller the number, the more acidic it is. A pH value above 7 means that a substance is basic, and the larger the number, the more basic it is. Red cabbage extract can tell us the approximate pH because it has different colors at different pH values (which were observed by someone with a pH meter).