DIRECTIONS: Make the indicator, then test each thing and write the color it goes. Leave column three for page 2.
Safety first.
A grown-up is in the room.
Never mix cleaning products. Bleach and vinegar make a gas that hurts people.
Nothing goes in your mouth, not even food.
Only use what is on the list. Ask before trying anything else.
Indicator: cover chopped red cabbage leaves with hot water (a grown-up pours) and
wait until it is deep purple. Pour it off.
Test: a splash of indicator in a clear glass, then a little of the thing.
What I tested
What color it went
Acid, middle or base?
lemon juice
vinegar
orange juice
tea
milk
water
baking soda in water
toothpaste in water
soap in water
washing soda in water
Last row: your choice from the allowed list.
One Scale, Not Two Boxes
Kitchen Chemistry · Page 2 of 4
DIRECTIONS: Write each thing you tested on the line, in order of color. Then fill in column three on page 1.
Acid and base are the two ends of one scale. The middle is plain water.
ACID pink and redthe middle purpleBASE blue and green
Which was the strongest acid you tested? The strongest base?
Water sits in the middle and so does milk, nearly. Say what "the middle" means — none of either, or both?
Two of the things you tested are safe to drink and two would burn your mouth. Looking at your line, is that about which END they are at, or about how FAR along they are?
A cabbage knows no chemistry. Say what it is actually doing, and why that is enough to be useful.
Cancelling Out
Kitchen Chemistry · Page 3 of 4
DIRECTIONS: Write your guess, then add baking soda to pink vinegar-and-indicator a pinch at a time, stirring. Where does the color stop?
Safety first.
A grown-up is in the room.
Never mix cleaning products. Bleach and vinegar make a gas that hurts people.
Nothing goes in your mouth, not even food.
Only use what is on the list. Ask before trying anything else.
I think it will…
What it actually did
Color it ended up
The fizz is a gas being made. Something new appears, so you cannot get
your vinegar back.
Where That Turns Up
Kitchen Chemistry · Page 4 of 4
DIRECTIONS: Use your scale from page 2.
Somebody spills vinegar and sprinkles baking soda on it. Using your line from page 2, say what they are doing — and why plain water would not do the same job.
A medicine for a sore stomach is called an antacid. Split that word up and say what it must be doing, and which end of the scale it must be at.
You keep adding baking soda after the color has gone purple. What do you think happens next? Try it and say whether you were right.
Write down one thing in your house you would like to test but have not, and why you think it might be interesting. Ask before you do it.