What You Need
- red cabbage
- a saucepan (to boil the cabbage in)
- a sieve
- an old drinks bottle to store your indicator
- some glass jars
What To Do
MAKING THE INDICATOR:
USING THE INDICATOR:
- Boil the cabbage for around 15 minutes
- Use a sieve to drain the cabbage, keeping the liquid - this is your indicator, which you can keep in a plastic bottle (don't forget to label
USING THE INDICATOR:
- pour some of your indicator into some glass jars
- label one jar as CONTROL and do not add anything else, this will allow you to compare your results
- Now just add a little bit of what you want to test (eg: lemon juice, milk, shampoo, vinegar, toothpaste... ) into one of the jars
- The indicator will change colour, and by comparing it to the chart below, your can find out if what you tested is an acid or an alkali
The Science Bit
Find out more about acids and alkali here: Acid and Alkali