S.I.

By: Eli and Tally

Please note; pictures used were not from our experiment, they were clip art and Google images

Testable Question
What household liquid is the most acidic? Hypothesis

If the pH is tested, then vinegar will be the most acidic household liquid, because it is sour and can clean dirt off of things. This means it is probably acidic.

What is pH?
PH was introduced by a Danish chemist, Sren Peder Lauritz Srensen in 1909. Srensen never said what pH stood for so there is still dispute of what it means. Some guesses are power of hydrogen and potential hydrogen. In chemistry pH is the measure of activity in the hydrogen ion. On the pH scale 7.0 is neutral, distilled water has a pH of 7.0. Things with a pH less than 7.0 is acidic and things with a pH greater are base or alkaline.

This is the decimal logarithm for pH.

Some natural pH indicators are hibiscus plant, red cabbage and red wine.

Purpose of Our Experiment

The purpose of our experiment was to find out what was the most acidic household liquid.

Inspiration
Our parents had told us that Coke was very acidic. One of our fathers said that in high school he had left a nail in a cup of Coke overnight, and when he had checked the next day the nail was half the size it had been before. We decided to see if this was true because he sometimes makes stuff up (dont tell him I told you this). We were about to do the experiment when the amazing Eli suggested Why just use Coke? Why not use other household liquids? Thus, an idea was born

Variables

Variables Temperature Type of pH strip used Material liquid is stored in Size/shape of container liquid is stored in How clean the container is (If the container has some lemon juice inside in could affect the experiment) Independent Variable The independent variable is the liquid that is being tested.

To do the experiment you will need.

pH strips with a range of at least 4.5 to 9.0 two large paper towels vinegar, Coke, Orangina, milk, water, soy milk, Fat Tire, and olive oil eight identical store-bought ceramic cups pencil and notebook paper and tape timer

Directions
1. Gather materials 2. Pour [a] liquid into a cup

More Directions
3. Set timer to 45 seconds

4. Place PH strip in liquid and start timer

Even More Directions

5. When timer beeps, take out pH strip

6. Lay on paper towel for fifteen seconds

7. Compare with pH chart when dry

Even, even more directions

8. Repeat process two more times for validity.

9. Repeat steps 1-8 for all liquids.

Results
Orangina Vinegar 4.75 4.75 4.75 4.75 Olive oil Water Coconut water Pepsi 4 5.5 6.5 5.25 4 5.5 6.75 5.25 4 5.5 6.75 5.25 4 5.5 6.7 5.25 Milk 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 Beer Soy milk 5 7.25 5 7.25 5 7.25 5 7.25

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Water Olive oil Orangina Vinegar Coconut Water Pepsi

Soy milk

Milk
Beer

As you can see, vinegar had the lowest pH meaning its the most acidic, and soymilk had the highest meaning its the most base.

Observations
We noticed that the litmus paper we were using wasn't accurate, so we bought new ones. We also noticed that we had to keep the pH strips in for 45 seconds instead of the suggested 15. If we kept them in in the cup for not enough time the strips wouldnt change that much, but if we kept them in for 45 seconds the strips would actually change. The soy sauce covered the strips so we couldnt see the pH; we marked that as inconclusive. When we were testing the beer it had a chemical reaction and fizzed a lot.

 Our hypothesis was that if pH was tested for the liquids, vinegar would be the most acidic because vinegar can clean dirt and grime off of things which means its probably acidic Our hypothesis was proved because vinegar had the lowest pH of all the liquids Some problems we encountered was that the litmus paper we were originally using wasnt very good so we had to buy new ones Our experiment couldve been improved if the pH chart we were using was more specific Two follow up questions: 1. Why did the pH strips and the beer have a reaction? 2. Would the results differ if we used different strip brands?

Experiment in Nutshell
We proved our hypothesis We fixed some problems We found the acidity of household liquids We found that Coke was indeed acidic We discovered that some pH strips will react with Fat Tire beer Our findings correlate with the fact many people believe that vinegar is very acidic.

THE END

This publication was created by Eli and Tally. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission under federal law. Reproducing this article without permission can result in a fine of up to 25.