Hands-on Activity
BY ALL INDICATIONS
Summary
In this activity, students create an acid-base indicator using red cabbage extract. Students then
use this indicator to create a scale using liquids of known acidity. Finally, students use this scale
to identify the acidity of unknown liquids.
Overview
Topic: Acid/Base Indicators
Real World Science Topics:
- An exploration of what acids and bases are.
- An exploration of how to create an indicator that can be used to differentiate between acids and bases.
- An exploration of the acidity of various household substances.
Objective
Students will gain an understanding of techniques for measuring acidity, as well as using known standards to
measure the properties of unknown solutions.
Activity Difficulty Rating: 5
Each hands-on science activity has been ranked based on
difficulty of set up and how difficult they are to perform. The rating
scale is from 1 to 5, with 1 being the easiest and 5 being the most
complicated.