THE CHEMICAL TRAFFIC

LIGHT EXPERIMENT
By:
Jana Shaheen
Farida Ragheb
Jana Eslam
Sohaila
Alia Sherif
Judy Abdelwahab
Introduction
◦ Today We are Going to be showing you our science fair project
which is The chemical traffic light. It is a neat color change
which earned its name because it showed the three main colors
of a traffic light.
◦ This experiment or chemical reaction is actually really unique
because its repeatable!And that is pretty rare in chemistry
How It is made?
This Experiment is made out of two separate solutions mixed
together
Solution A:
5 grams of sodium hydroxide (chemical symbol: NaOH) is
dissolved in 150mL of distilled water.er
Solution B:
3g of dextrose is dissolved in 100mL of distilled water. Dextrose
is a special type of sugar, and is also known as D± Glucose
What is actually going on
while it has been mixed?
◦ After the two solutions are prepared, we mix them together and
observe… nothing! There actually is a reaction going on, but we
just can’t see it. We need to add an indicator to see what’s
happening. In this case we use a tiny amount (about 0.1g) of a
dye called indigo carmine. The dye is so strong we only need a
pinch of it. The mixture is then swirled for several minutes to
dissolve everything. This can take a while, but it will eventually
all dissolve.
Observation
◦ The first thing to notice is that indigo carmine, as the name
might suggest, is blue. But, when it is added to our solution, it
dissolves and makes the liquid turn green! After several
minutes, the color starts to change yet again from green to red
and eventually yellow. We can reverse these color changes by
simply shaking the flask.
The Science behind This
Wonder!
◦ the so­lu­tion col­ored by the in­di­go carmine (blue) is ox­i­dized by
the oxy­gen in the air to a green col­or – this is the col­or of its ox­i­
dized form. When the green so­lu­tion is left to stand, the glu­cose
be­gins to re­duce the in­di­go carmine, first to red, and then to yel­
low. If you shake the so­lu­tion or de­cant it, it mix­es with air, and
the oxy­gen once more ox­i­dizes it to green
Conclusion/how to
dispose of it
◦ In the end we have observed A repeatable and extraordinary
chemical reaction and a great set of shades from the traffic
lights color.
◦ For disposal, we simply need to neutralize the sodium
hydroxide by adding an appropriate amount of acid. In this case,
the 5 grams of hydroxide is neutralized by about 17mL of 20%
sulfuric acid after demonstration time.
◦ The indigo carmine acts as an effective indicator for this – when
the solution turns blue, it is very close to neutral. This blue
liquid can then be safely poured down the drain.
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