For my project, I had to create my own acid-base indicator and find out what happens when it is placed in an acidic solution (vinegar) and a basic solution (dissolved baking soda). I chose my indicator to be a fruit because fruits can be very effective at determining how acidic or basic a substance is. My fruit was a blueberry, but I couldn’t use raw blueberries because it’s not going to give me the best results. I had to make blueberry juice. I did this by placing several blueberries in a blender with some distilled water. I used distilled water because it doesn’t have any vitamins or minerals that could possibly interfere with my results. Then, I turned the blender on, and I got blueberry juice. I had to strain the juice to remove all the…
My indicator is an acid-base indicator. Acid-base indicators are substances that have some kind of change in their properties (usually color) in the presence of various different acids or bases due to some chemical change. The purpose of an acid-base indicator is determine whether a substance is an acid, a base, or just neutral. One popular acid-base is litmus paper. Red litmus turns blue in a basic solution and stays red in an acidic solution. Blue litmus paper turns red in an acidic solution and stay blue in a basic solution. As you can see, litmus paper changes color in the presence of acids and bases, and this allows us to infer whether or not a substance is acidic or basic. Another indicator is red cabbage juice. Cabbage juice will turn pink when an acid is present, and it will turn blue when a base is present. Anthocyanins are the chemicals responsible for the color change in cabbage juice in different solutions due to a gain or loss in hydroxide ions (OH-). My blueberry indicator works in an extremely similar way as the cabbage juice. In conclusion, acid-base indicators will have some kind of change to their properties (mostly color) when in the presence of an acid or base due to some chemical…