TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

Ayala Boulevard, corner San Marcelino St., Ermita, Manila, 1000

College of Science
Chemistry Department
CHET-CHEM: Chemistry for Engineering & Engineering Technologists

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
NAME: MA. ANGELICA V. RIVERA
COURSE/YEAR: BSFT 1B
DATE: NOVEMBER 25,2022
PROFESSOR/INSTRUCTOR: T. GONZALES

EXPERIMENT 4: Properties of Acids and Bases

Purpose
There are four goals these experiments will strive to achieve:
1. To classify substances as acids or bases using their characteristic properties.
2. To determine the pH values of the acids and bases used.
3. To examine the reactivity of acids with metals.
4. To describe neutralization reaction. Equipment/Materials

• Safety goggles
• Red and blue litmus paper
• Test tubes and test-tube racks
• Indicators (universal indicator, phenolphthalein, bromothymol blue)
• pH test paper/litmus paper
• Eye droppers
• Beaker

SET – UP

Part A: Effects of Acids and Bases on Indicators

1. Litmus Paper: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BfxiSJ5-hY)

Chemical System Effect on litmus paper
Lemon juice BLUE TURN RED / RED DIDN’T CHANGE
Water BLUE AND RED DIDN’T CHANGE
Milk BLUE TURN QUITE RED / RED DIDN’T CHANGE
Coffee BLUE TURN QUITE RED / RED DIDN’T CHANGE
Baking Soda BLUE️TURN RED / RED DIDN’T CHANGE
Sugar BLUE AND RED DIDN’T CHANGE
Salt BLUE AND RED DIDN’T CHANGE
Vinegar BLUE️TURN RED / RED DIDN’T CHANGE
Tea BLUE TURN RED / RED DIDN’T CHANGE
2. Methyl Orange and Phenolpthalein (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEvhhxg2yKA)
Chemical System Effect of Methyl Orange Effect of Phenolpthalein
0.1 M HCl TURN TO RED CLEAR
0.1 M NaOH TURN TO YELLOW TURN TO PINK

3. Reaction of Metals in Acid(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na_6j9y9ke8)

METALS Reaction with Acid
Sn NO REACTION
Fe NO REACTION
Mg W/ REACTION
Cu NO REACTION
Zn W/ REACTION
Ca W/ REACTION

Questions:

1. Can either red or blue litmus paper be used to identify acids? Explain.

- Yes. Red or blue litmus paper can be used to identify acids, if the outcome of either red or blue litmus paper is
blue, it is a base. If in the end either paper turns red, the substance is acidic.

2. How accurate are indicators for measuring pH?

- When compared to the other papers, the pH paper is the most accurate because it can reveal the precise pH of
the compounds. In addition, using paper is a simple and affordable method that only gives a rough idea of the
acidity or alkalinity. This coated paper changes color to show the presence of acid or base using an organic dye.
The litmus papers are simple to use but only for non-critical measurements.

3. What signs of change were observed when acids were placed on metals?

- When we placed the Tin, iron and copper, there was hardly a reaction to it. But when we put Zinc,
Calcium and Magnesium into the chemicals, they started to fizz, create a lot of bubbles, starts to shrink
and dissolve.

4. Did all metals react similarly? Explain how each metal reacted with each acid.
- No. The Calcium reaction to the acid was more intense compared to the reaction of magnesium and zinc. Also,
the magnesium creates more bubbles compared to the zinc. However, the tin, iron and copper had no reaction
when the acid was place.

5. List the general properties of acids and bases.

 Acids: sour, irritant (dilute acid), corrosive (concentrated acid) and it neutralizes bases producing salt
and water.
 Bases: bitter, irritant, corrosive, and it neutralizes acids producing salt and water.