Ph Scale
by Madeline
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Why I Chose This Topic
While flipping through the pages of one of Mrs. Hoggatt's books, this experiment caught my eye. The book is called, “Unforgettable Experiments That Make Science Fun, Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes”. The author of the book is Steve Spangler. I've always enjoyed dyeing, and playing with colors. In this experiment I can create a red cabbage indicator that will conclude if a liquid is acidic, or a base. I can also create PH indicator strips using the red cabbage juice. I had no idea so many interesting experiments could be done by simply getting the juice of a red cabbage. I believe that I will thoroughly enjoy this experiment because of my love for mixing colors and seeing the change. |
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Science Concept
For my chemistry project, I did the “Red Cabbage Experiment.” With this experiment, I used the natural ingredient red cabbage, to gauge whether certain ingredients were acidic based, or more of a basicity, better known as the pH levels. pH is important in everyday life and can be determined by a pH scale.
The common term for pH is known as alkalinity. With a pH scale, the pH is determined either with a number scale, or color scale. With a number scale, you have zero to fourteen, with seven being the neutral. If the substance, or ingredient is more acidic, the pH scale will indicate a number less than seven. If the pH scale indicates a number greater than seven, the ingredient will be more of a base substance.
For example, with my experiment, I took three glass cups and filled them with blended cabbage water. In one cup, I mixed baking soda in with water. Immediately after stirring, the cabbage water turned from purple to green/blue. In the other cup, I squeezed lemon juice into the cabbage water. The water turned from purple, to a vibrant red/pink, indicating that the lemon juice was acidic, and the baking soda was a base substance. The purple water turned pink/red because the original neutral cabbage water became more acidic.
The reason the red cabbage water worked as an indicator, is because the red cabbage contains a water soluble pigment known as Anthocyanin. Anthocyanin will change colors when mixed with a base or an acid. That's why the pigment will turn pink/red when its environment has a pH less than seven and the pigment will turn green/blue in its basic environment with a pH greater than seven.
The pH will clue you in on what types of molecules are in the hydrogen containing solutions, as well as how they will interact with the molecules around them. www.snexplores.org says that “One system that scientists use to define acids and bases, is called the Bronsted-Lowery theory. The Bronsted-Lowry definition says that an acid is a molecule that will give away a proton from one of its hydrogen atoms. A proton is a positively charged particle. On The pH scale, acid falls below seven.”
The outcome of the pH measurements will be determined by a consideration between the number of H+ ions, as well as the number of hydroxide ions. When the number of H+ ions equal the number of OH- ions, the water is considered neutral, or a seven on the pH scale. As the H+ and OH- vary, the acidity and basicity will change.
pH doesn't actually have a unit, but it is merely expressed as a number, or in some cases, a color. You can also use Litmus paper as a pH indicator. With litmus paper, the acidity and basicity will be determined by the color. If the paper turns red, the substance is acidic, but if it turns blue the substance is basic.
For my chemistry project, I did the “Red Cabbage Experiment.” With this experiment, I used the natural ingredient red cabbage, to gauge whether certain ingredients were acidic based, or more of a basicity, better known as the pH levels. pH is important in everyday life and can be determined by a pH scale.
The common term for pH is known as alkalinity. With a pH scale, the pH is determined either with a number scale, or color scale. With a number scale, you have zero to fourteen, with seven being the neutral. If the substance, or ingredient is more acidic, the pH scale will indicate a number less than seven. If the pH scale indicates a number greater than seven, the ingredient will be more of a base substance.
For example, with my experiment, I took three glass cups and filled them with blended cabbage water. In one cup, I mixed baking soda in with water. Immediately after stirring, the cabbage water turned from purple to green/blue. In the other cup, I squeezed lemon juice into the cabbage water. The water turned from purple, to a vibrant red/pink, indicating that the lemon juice was acidic, and the baking soda was a base substance. The purple water turned pink/red because the original neutral cabbage water became more acidic.
The reason the red cabbage water worked as an indicator, is because the red cabbage contains a water soluble pigment known as Anthocyanin. Anthocyanin will change colors when mixed with a base or an acid. That's why the pigment will turn pink/red when its environment has a pH less than seven and the pigment will turn green/blue in its basic environment with a pH greater than seven.
The pH will clue you in on what types of molecules are in the hydrogen containing solutions, as well as how they will interact with the molecules around them. www.snexplores.org says that “One system that scientists use to define acids and bases, is called the Bronsted-Lowery theory. The Bronsted-Lowry definition says that an acid is a molecule that will give away a proton from one of its hydrogen atoms. A proton is a positively charged particle. On The pH scale, acid falls below seven.”
The outcome of the pH measurements will be determined by a consideration between the number of H+ ions, as well as the number of hydroxide ions. When the number of H+ ions equal the number of OH- ions, the water is considered neutral, or a seven on the pH scale. As the H+ and OH- vary, the acidity and basicity will change.
pH doesn't actually have a unit, but it is merely expressed as a number, or in some cases, a color. You can also use Litmus paper as a pH indicator. With litmus paper, the acidity and basicity will be determined by the color. If the paper turns red, the substance is acidic, but if it turns blue the substance is basic.
Application
My science experiment is the “Red Cabbage Experiment.” With that experiment, you use the natural ingredient, red cabbage, as a pH indicator. If the substance in cabbage water has turned a shade of red, or pink, the substance is acidic based. If the water turns more blue or green, the ingredient is more of a basic substance.
pH is the quantitative measure of acidity, or basicity, of aqueous or other liquid solutions. pH stands for Potential Hydrogen. Chemists have created a pH scale. Which measures the acidity and/or basicity of a substance, using a number scale. pH is measured on a number scale of zero to fourteen. Seven is known as the neutral. If the pH of a substance is greater than seven, the substance is indicated to be more of a base. If the pH of a substance is less than seven, the substance is indicated to be more acidic. “pH is really a measure of the relative amount of free hydrogen and hydroxyl ions in the water,” according to USGS.gov.
Since pH is affected by the chemicals in water, it is an important indicator of water that is chemically changing. The pH in your water can even affect your skin. If the pH in your water is greater than eight and five tenths, your skin could easily become irritated, itchy, and dry. Other than that, it causes no great health risks.
pH is also very important for the existence of living beings. Our organisms need a specific pH for ideal growth and development. Even in the human body, all of our physiological reactions take place in the pH of seven, to seven and eight tenths. When acid rains mix with natural bodies of water, the existence of animals, aquatic plants, and microbes are at risk.
Another reason for the importance of pH is for the basic digestion of all our food. For the proper digestion of food, pH levels are important at different levels in the digestive system of our human body. As hydrochloric acid is secreted, food enters our stomach. These acids change the pH level somewhere between one and three, on the pH scale. The pH levels in our stomach is important because it activates the enzyme Pepsin. Pepsin helps our body in the digestion of the protein in our food.
pH is also important in soil. In fact pH is a critical factor in the growth of the crops, and other plants growth. The pH level needs to be somewhere between six and five tenths and seven three tenths. If the pH level is lower than six and five tenths, farmers can add lime juice to raise the acidity. Likewise if the pH of the soil is more than seven and three tenths, the farmer or planter will add gypsum as a neutralizer.
As you can see, pH is an important part of our daily life that you may not have even realized. These are a few reasons why pH is important.
My science experiment is the “Red Cabbage Experiment.” With that experiment, you use the natural ingredient, red cabbage, as a pH indicator. If the substance in cabbage water has turned a shade of red, or pink, the substance is acidic based. If the water turns more blue or green, the ingredient is more of a basic substance.
pH is the quantitative measure of acidity, or basicity, of aqueous or other liquid solutions. pH stands for Potential Hydrogen. Chemists have created a pH scale. Which measures the acidity and/or basicity of a substance, using a number scale. pH is measured on a number scale of zero to fourteen. Seven is known as the neutral. If the pH of a substance is greater than seven, the substance is indicated to be more of a base. If the pH of a substance is less than seven, the substance is indicated to be more acidic. “pH is really a measure of the relative amount of free hydrogen and hydroxyl ions in the water,” according to USGS.gov.
Since pH is affected by the chemicals in water, it is an important indicator of water that is chemically changing. The pH in your water can even affect your skin. If the pH in your water is greater than eight and five tenths, your skin could easily become irritated, itchy, and dry. Other than that, it causes no great health risks.
pH is also very important for the existence of living beings. Our organisms need a specific pH for ideal growth and development. Even in the human body, all of our physiological reactions take place in the pH of seven, to seven and eight tenths. When acid rains mix with natural bodies of water, the existence of animals, aquatic plants, and microbes are at risk.
Another reason for the importance of pH is for the basic digestion of all our food. For the proper digestion of food, pH levels are important at different levels in the digestive system of our human body. As hydrochloric acid is secreted, food enters our stomach. These acids change the pH level somewhere between one and three, on the pH scale. The pH levels in our stomach is important because it activates the enzyme Pepsin. Pepsin helps our body in the digestion of the protein in our food.
pH is also important in soil. In fact pH is a critical factor in the growth of the crops, and other plants growth. The pH level needs to be somewhere between six and five tenths and seven three tenths. If the pH level is lower than six and five tenths, farmers can add lime juice to raise the acidity. Likewise if the pH of the soil is more than seven and three tenths, the farmer or planter will add gypsum as a neutralizer.
As you can see, pH is an important part of our daily life that you may not have even realized. These are a few reasons why pH is important.
Famous Scientist
The famous scientist that I have chosen is Søren Sørensen. Sørensen invented the PH scale. PROTO the website said, “The term pH refers simply to “the power of hydrogen,” and it gave utility to nineteenth-century findings that acids release hydrogen ions when combined with water, whereas alkaline compounds combine with the hydrogen ions in water.” During the 1890s the Latvian chemist Wilhelm Ostwald and others had invented electrical conductivity equipment that could measure the quantity of hydrogen ions in a solution, but Sørensen succeeded in expressing those measurements in an elegant formula and placing the results on a simple scale. Sørensen realized that enzymes hasten biochemical reactions that work well in certain PH environments and not so well in others.
The famous scientist that I have chosen is Søren Sørensen. Sørensen invented the PH scale. PROTO the website said, “The term pH refers simply to “the power of hydrogen,” and it gave utility to nineteenth-century findings that acids release hydrogen ions when combined with water, whereas alkaline compounds combine with the hydrogen ions in water.” During the 1890s the Latvian chemist Wilhelm Ostwald and others had invented electrical conductivity equipment that could measure the quantity of hydrogen ions in a solution, but Sørensen succeeded in expressing those measurements in an elegant formula and placing the results on a simple scale. Sørensen realized that enzymes hasten biochemical reactions that work well in certain PH environments and not so well in others.
Career Path
The Career that goes best with my project is a Chemist. A chemist that studies PH levels. PH level stands for Potential of Hydrogen. The PH level is a scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. The website US Geological survey says that the range goes from 0 - 14, with 7 being neutral. pHs of less than 7 indicate acidity, whereas a pH of greater than 7 indicates a base. pH is really a measure of the relative amount of free hydrogen and hydroxyl ions in the water. Chemists and materials scientists study substances at the atomic and molecular levels and analyze the ways in which the substances interact with one another.
The Career that goes best with my project is a Chemist. A chemist that studies PH levels. PH level stands for Potential of Hydrogen. The PH level is a scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. The website US Geological survey says that the range goes from 0 - 14, with 7 being neutral. pHs of less than 7 indicate acidity, whereas a pH of greater than 7 indicates a base. pH is really a measure of the relative amount of free hydrogen and hydroxyl ions in the water. Chemists and materials scientists study substances at the atomic and molecular levels and analyze the ways in which the substances interact with one another.
Extra Credit
