Acids and Bases Lab Report

Jon Silva

Lab Report

Introduction:

In my class we did an experiment to study Acids and Bases. The purpose of this lab was to learn how to test the acidity levels in different solutions. We were given nine different solutions and tasked with testing each one to find whether each one was acidic, neutral or basic. Three different tests were performed on each solution: the Litmus test, pH paper test and the red cabbage paper test. I predicted that the following would be acidic: Vinegar, Lemon Juice, Diet Coke, Drain Cleaner. I predicted that the following would be neutral: Milk, Tap Water, and Bottled Water. I predicted that the following would be basic: Windex and Baking Soda.

Materials:

-Wide Range pH Indicator Paper

-Test Substances

-Red and Blue Litmus Paper

-Goggles

-Small beakers or cups

Procedure:

Safety Precaution- The first thing we do before any chemistry experiment is gear up. We put on gloves and goggles to make sure we weren’t harmed bay any acids. None of the materials were particularly lethal, but I couldn’t hurt to be prepared because nobody needs a squirt of citric acid(lemon juice) in their eye.

Litmus Test-The first thing we had to do was to arrange the solutions in order. My partner and I put on gloves and goggles and prepared our lab station. We started with the litmus paper test. The test is conducted by getting one blue strip and one red strip into each solution. The litmus acts as an indicator by turning red in an acidic solution or turning blue in a basic solution or remaining the same colors if it is neutral.

pH Paper Test- The second test that was conducted was the pH paper test. The pH test is used to determine the acidity of a solution. The test is conducted by dipping a special pH strip into each solution for a few seconds until the color of the strip changes. You then take the strip out and match the color to a chart with colors that correspond to the color of your strip. My partner and I tested all of the solutions.

Red Cabbage Paper- For the red cabbage paper test, we were handed out strips of blue paper that were cut from a larger sheet. I used a paper towel and drew a grid on it so there were nine boxes. I then labeled each bow with one of the solutions. I dipped a strip in each solution and placed each strip on the corresponding box. Once the papers were fully developed after five minutes I arranged the cabbage paper on the pH scale in order according to my results on the pH paper test and taped them in place.

DATA CHART: Litmus Test-

Substance	Red Paper	Blue Paper	Acid, Base or Neutral
Vinegar	Red	Red	Acid
Windex	Blue	Blue	Base
Milk	Red	Purple	Acid
Lemon Juice	Red	Red	Acid
Diet Coke	Red	Red	Acid
Tap Water	Red	Blue	Neutral
Bottled Water	Red	Blue	Neutral
Baking Soda	Blue	Blue	Base
Drain Cleaner	Blue	Blue	Base

DATA CHART: pH Paper Test

Substance	Paper Color	pH Value	Acid, Base or Neutral
Vinegar	Red	2	Acid
Windex	Pale Green	9	Base
Milk	Yellow	7	Neutral
Lemon Juice	Red	1	Acid
Diet Coke	Pink	4	Acid
Tap Water	Yellow	7	Neutral
Bottled Water	Yellow	6	Acid
Baking Soda	Green	8	Base
Drain Cleaner	Brown	13	Base

DATA CHART: Red Cabbage Paper

Substance	pH Value	Paper Color
Vinegar	2	Light Purple
Windex	9	Green
Milk	7	Blue
Lemon Juice	1	Red
Diet Coke	4	Blue
Tap Water	7	Blue
Bottled Water	6	Blue
Baking Soda	8	Turquoise
Drain Cleaner	13	White

Conclusion:

I think that the Acids and Bases Lab was a very fun and also very helpful experiment when it comes to understanding the concepts of pH and using the pH scale to measure acidity. Testing the different household solutions make this lab relevant to everyday life because in the future when you use this items such as Windex you will always remember how it works. It acts as a base that helps neutralize acids and other substances such as dog urine off of a rug. As I scrub out the stain from the dog I will think about how the chemicals are interacting. In conclusion, I enjoyed every minute of this lab and I feel like I learned the basic concepts of acids and bases.