UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE NUEVO LEÓN

CENTRO DE INVESTIGACIÓN Y DESARROLLO DE

EDUCACIÓN BILINGÜE

Chemistry
Lab Report 3

“IDENTIFICATION OF ACIDS AND BASES USING INDICATORS”

Group: 313

Team: 1

Semester: 3°

Teacher: Ari Martinez

Yamilé Rangel 2114919

Natalia Melchor 2114867

Alexa Gutiérrez 2114666

Paula Carrillo 2114688

Dana Castillo 2115126

Jaasiel Vázquez 2115171

October 21th, 2022

Objective & Research Question
Objective: The objective of this lab practice is to detect through a natural indicator of
purple cabbage and a paper ph if is a acidic or basic substances

Research question: Can we detect a substance if it is acidic or basic through a

natural indicator?

Hypothesis
If we use a natural indicator of purple cabbage or a paper pH, then we can detect the
acidic and basic substances by the color change, because the reaction of the purple
cabbage makes it have a different color in each of the respective substances.

Introduction
The pH is a measure of hydrogen ion concentration. It expresses the acidity or
basicity of a solution. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14. From 0 to 6 are classified as
acidic, 7 are neutral and from 8 to 14 they are called basic. There are different
methods to determine the pH of a substance. Glass-electrode methods,
semiconductor sensor methods, colorimetric methods using indicator solutions or
papers, and the more accurate electrochemical methods using electrodes and a
millivoltmeter (pH meter). Indicators are substances that change color depending on
the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution.

Indicator Acidic Conditions Alkaline Conditions

Litmus Blue —> Red Red —> Blue

pH < 7 pH > 7

Phenolphthalein Colorless > Fuchsia Pink

pH 8.2

● Endpoint; Strong acid - Strong base

● Endpoint; Weak acid - Weak base

Methyl Red
pH < 3.1

Yellow
pH >4.4

● Endpoint; Strong acid - Strong base

● Endpoint; Strong acid - Weak base
pH meters are the most accurate type of measurement and are widely used.
Pocket-sized meters called testers are small, easy to use for fieldwork and relatively
low cost. In all cases, though, a good indicator must have the following properties:
The color change must be easily detected, the color change must be rapid and the
indicator molecule must not react with the substance being titrated.

Variables
- Independent variable: The different substances
- Dependent variable: The amount of pH and the color
- Controlled variable: The pH meter, the hydrion Paper, the anthocyanin

Materials
- H2O Potable
- Vinegar
- Sprite
- Muriatic Acid
- Milk
- Lemon
- Bleach
- Yogurt
- Antacid
- Soap
- Pinol
- Hydrion Paper
- pH-meter
- Red Cabbage Indicator
- 13 beakers

Method
1. First we put all the substances that we are going to measure in the beakers.
2. Second, we add one strip of the hydrion paper on each beaker with
substance, this to measure its pH levels. It’s important to make sure that all
the squares of the strip touch the substance in the beaker.
3. Third, we need to wait a couple of minutes, so that the squares in the strips
change their colors.
4. After that, we remove the strips from the substance and we compare its colors
to the ones in the paper indicator.
5. Now that we compare the colors, we find the strip with the most similar tones
6. At the end of that, we start measuring the pH level of the substances but in a
more exact way. We use the pH-meter.
7. To conclude, we compare the pH level results that we got, with the pH-meter
and with the strips of hydrion paper.
8. At the end, we add the red cabbage indicator to the substances, we see how
the substances react and change its colors, and lastly we take notes of our
results.
Results
SUBSTANCES Hydrion Paper Red Cabbage Type of Theoretical
Indicator solutio pH of the
n substance
Evidence pH Evidence pH

H2O 7 Blue Neutral 7.43

Vinegar 3 Red Acid 2.64

Sprite 3 Fuchsia Acid 3.04

Muriatic Acid 1 Red Acid -1.23

Milk 6 Light Acid 6.55

purple

Lemon 3 Red Acid 2.14

Bleach 13 Yellow Base 13.02

Yogurt 4 Pink Acid 4.13

Antacid 10 Turquoi Base 8.81

se

Soap 8 Blue Base 9.76

 Pinol 6 Purple Base 8.53

Discussion & Analysis

A solution that has a pH lower than 7 is considered an acid, with a pH greater than 7
is alkaline or basic. There are also neutral solutions that have the same amount of
hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions. There exists acid-base indicators to know if the
solution is either a weak acid or weak base that exhibits a color change as the
concentration of hydrogen (H+) or hydroxide (OH-) ions changes in an aqueous
solution. One type of this indicator is the hydrion paper works. It measures how
many hydrogen ions are in a solution with the values on the scale ranging from 0 to
14. As we were able to see on the results, depending if the solutions are acid the
paper turns one color for example the vinegar has a pH of 3 therefore it’s a weak
acid so the color of the paper is yellow and green another example seen on the
experiment was the soap it has a pH of 8 therefore it’s a base and the color of the
paper is green, blue and yellow.

There exists a natural instigator which is the red cabbage can also be used as an
acid-base indicator since it contains a substance called “anthocyanin” that changes
color depending on whether it is mixed with an acid or a base so it’s blue in neutral
substances, like plain water. When an acid like lemon juice gets in the water, a
reaction makes the indicator molecule change shape and it looks pink. When instead
a base gets in the water, a different reaction happens that changes the indicator
molecule and it looks green. An example of this in the previous results are the yogurt
which has a pH of 4 so it’s an acid therefore the color of the water looks pink.

Conclusion
To conclude with this practice, we can say that knowing the pH of a substance
reflects the chemical conditions of a solution. It is the measure of hydrogen ion
concentration in it, and can help us identify acids and bases. During this practice, we
were able to identify if the substances were acids, bases, or neutral by using purple
cabbage as a natural indicator or, also a paper pH. This helped us observe the color
change and the pH of the substances. A solution with a pH lower than 7 is
considered an acid, and a pH greater than 7 is a base. About the colors, acidic
solutions will make the litmus paper turn into a red color, while basic solution will
make it turn blue.
References
- Water Science School. (2019, June 20). pH Scale. USGS. Retrieved October
13, 2022, from https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/ph-scale-0
- Lumen Learning. (n.d.). Buffers, pH, Acids, and Bases | Biology for
Non-Majors I. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-nmbiology1/chapter/buffers-ph-acids-a
nd-bases/
- Helmenstine. (2019, September 12). What Is a pH Indicator? ThoughtCo.
Retrieved October 13, 2022, from
https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-ph-indicator-605499