2nd Practise: Study of pH using a red

cabbage

Aarón López, Ada Casamitjana and Ana Lucía Ayala

2022-23
Margarita Soriano Lasheras
Biology
1B
21/11/2022
SUMMARY Page

Story 2

Aims 2

Introduction what is pH and the experiment 2

1.1 Acidic and basic substances 3

Methods 5

Results and discussion 7

1.1 Results 7
1.2 Observation 8
1.3 Hypothesis 8
1.4 Reasonably 8

Conclusion ¡Error! Marcador no definido.

Bibliography 9

Attachment 9

1
Story
One day I asked my friend if she knew anything about perfumes that their fragrance lasts
longer. She replied that she had heard that this had to do with the pH of the perfume, she told
me that those between values 5 and 6 are perfect for a good duration. So the other day I
went to a store and asked the clerk if he knew anything about the pH of the perfume I had
chosen, to which he did not know how to answer, so I decided through an experiment to
check the pH of this perfume.

Aims
- How will we create the model to study the properties of red cabbage?
- How is the battery that we will create from pH?
- What will be the pH of our perfume?
- Will red cabbage be a good and accurate indicator?
- To what colors does red cabbage solution change for each pH?

Hypothesis
We think that maybe when adding the red cabbage solution to the products, they will change
color due to the difference in pH, so we will obtain a variety of colors (specific of the red
cabbage) that will show us the acidity or alkalinity of the element.
Related to the perfume, maybe the pH is basic, since we cannot imagine that a perfume is
acidic. And finally, maybe the red cabbage does work for us in this experiment because it has
a compound itself that can act as a pH indicator.

Introduction what is pH and the experiment

The pH is the potential of hydrogen or It can also be defined as the concentration of
hydrogen cations [H+]. It is a measure to determine the degree of alkalinity or acidity of a
solution.

The mathematical formula for calculating pH is the base 10 negative logarithm of the activity
of hydrogen ions. pH = –log [H+]. That is, it will be more acidic the more Hydrogen activity
exists in the sample. When there is less activity, the sample will be alkaline.

The pH is measured on a scale from 0 to 14 and thanks to this number we can know the
alkalinity or acidity of this pattern. If the number goes from:

[0-6,9]- The product is acid

[7]- Neutral
[7,1-14]- The product is basic/alkaline

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We are going to carry out the experiment to determine the pH variations in different solutions
to know if they are acidic, basic or neutral substances using a vegetable indicator, in this
case we will use red cabbage. The purple color of red cabbage allows it to be used as a
neutral liquid in our pH measurement. This characteristic purple color is given by a pigment
called anthocyanin, this gives cabbage the possibility of being a natural pH meter. In this
way, when adding red cabbage solution to different substances, they are changing red and
purple colors for acidic substances and green or yellow for basic substances.

Source 1: pH Color in Red Cabbage

1.1 Acidic and basic substances

Both acids and bases can exist as liquids, solids, or gases. On the other hand, they can exist
as pure or diluted substances, retaining many of their properties.

The difference in pH is the most noticeable feature of each. When the pH value of a
compound reaches one of its extremes, it means that this compound is highly dangerous for
most matter, both organic and inorganic.

Acids and bases have different physical characteristics:

Acids
- They have a sour taste (for example: acid present in various citrus fruits).
- They are highly corrosive and can cause chemical burns to the skin or respiratory
damage if their gases are inhaled.
- They are good conductors of electricity in aqueous solutions.
- They react with metals producing salts and hydrogen.
- They react with metal oxides to form salt and water.

Bases

- They have a characteristic bitter taste.

- They are good conductors of electricity in aqueous solutions.
- They are irritating to the skin: they dissolve skin fat and can destroy organic matter
due to their caustic effect. His breathing is also dangerous.
- They have a soapy touch.
- They are soluble in water.
Material

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CHEMICAL PRODUCTS FUNGIBLE SAMPLE

● Water ● Mortar and pestle ● Red cabbage

● Red cabbage ● Beaker
● Vinegar ● Funnel
● Oil ● Test tubes
● Peroxide H2O2 ● Litmus paper
● Alcohol ● Dropper
● Lemon juice ● Gripper
● Fragrance

Source 2. Own font Source 3. Beaker Source 4. Funnel Source 5. Own font

Source 6. Own font Source 7. Dropper Source 8. Litmus paper

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Methods
1. Take 2 mL of each substance and put it in a test tube.

Source 9. Own font

Substance Substance Substance Substance Substance Substance Substance

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

lemon juice fragrance alcohol H2O2 oil vinegar bleach

2.Take a red cabbage leaf and chop it.

3. With the mortar and 100 mL of water, knead the sheet until the liquid turns lilac, and
therefore the anthocyanin pigment has come out. Take 2 mL and put it on a test tube, this
test tube will be our control.

4. With litmus paper, measure the pH of each substance, except fragrance, clean the gripper
each time, and write it down.

5. Order the substances according to the pH that has come out, from less to more.

5
Source 10. Own font
The substance 7 is bleach and the litmus paper is white because bleach eliminate the color, despite that the original color o f
the paper is navy blue.

6. Take 2 mL of red cabbage solution and add it to each test tube.

7. Look at the color change of each substance and record it and try to pair it with its
equivalent from the litmus paper.

8. Finally add the red cabbage solution in the fragrance test tube and compare it with the
other substances.

independent Dependent Controlled variables Control

variable variable

- The - Color of red - Volume of substances - Solution of red cabbage

substances. cabbage solution and solution of red and water without any
and substance. cabbage. substance.

- The substance - Gripper pH (it have

pH been cleaned after
coming into contact with
each substance).

- The same litmus paper

in all substances when
measuring.

Replicas

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 - Another group has done the same
experiment with the same fragrance,
and the pH of they substances is the
same as ours.

Results and discussion

Substance Substance Substance Substance Substance Substance Substance

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Lemon Fragrance Alcohol H2O2 Oil Vinegar Bleach

juice

1.1 Results

PH number with litmus paper:

Substance 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Red
cabbage

Litmus 1-2 Not 5 4,5 6 2 10 7

paper pH measured

Solution color when we add red cabbage solution:

Substance 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Red
cabbage

Solution
color

The substance 5 solution is a heterogeneous mixture due the density difference, anyways we know that the color should be
a mixture between violet and blue.

The first data table shows the pH that the litmus paper measured, and the second, shows the
color of the solution of red cabbage and the substances.

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1.2 Observation
Once completing the step and adding the red cabbage solution we can observe the following
in the different test tubes:

Substance 1 6 4 2 3 5 Red 7
cabbage
Litmus 1-2 2 4,5 Not 5 6 7 10
paper pH measured

Red
cabbage
solution
color

Now in this table we have matched every color with the pH, thanks to this we can do a scale
of colors and pH. As we can see, how much more acidic is a substance more reeder is the
solution of red cabbage and the substance, and the closer we get to neutrali ty, it turns more
purple until it reaches the deep purple of the red cabbage, color wich means that the
substance is neutral. From the neutral color to more basic is the substance, with our
experiment, we only can see that it becomes blue and then it turns greenish blue/yellow.

The substance 7 (bleach) solution is transparent because the bleach eliminates the color, in
any case, we saw that in the first seconds of mixture the color was greenish blue/yellow.

1.3 Hypothesis
As we have been able to see, the perfume has given us a purple color that could be between
substances 4 and 3, which means that probably its pH level is between this substances,
therefore we believe that it must have a pH of 4,5-5.

1.4 Reasonably
The fragrance is between a pH of between 4.5 and 5 since we have confirmed this
affirmation by measuring it with the limus paper. In addition, this has happened because the
more protons a substance has, the more acid it is. The element that has made this reaction

8
possible has been anthocyanin, the red cabbage pigment. This means that the perfume has
enough protons to convert it into an acid substance.

Conclusion
In conclusion, we have observed that red cabbage is used to calculate the pH of different
substances and that these change color depending on their acidity. In addition, now we can
know the pH of the perfume, which is 4.5-5 and with these values we know that our fragrance
will last longer.

Bibliography
https://museodeciencias.unav.edu/documents/11140003/32632495/indicador-
ph.pdf/c9941779-a99e-b25e-41e7-0e0da09a0bfc?t=1591191493000
Ácidos y Bases - Concepto, características, indicadores y ejemplos
https://web2020.sebbm.es/web/images/La_lombarda_como_indicador_de_pH.pdf
https://www.fundacionaquae.org/como -hacer-un-detector-de-ph-casero/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94RlLZdh2Rk

Attachment