Demo Notes Acids and Bases

1. Questions 1: What is a chemical indicator? Why do

we use them? When do you think people use them in
real life?
2. Introduce Colour Range and associated pHs of
universal indicator using a ppt.
a. Why is universal indicator good?
b. Why would I use a different indicator instead of
universal indicator?
3. Show students the 3 beakers of clear liquid (sodium
carbonate may be cloudy if not completely dissolved)
a. How can I determine what these are?
i. Smell them how do we safely smell
chemicals?
ii. Drink them is that safe? (hopefully not an
answer)
1. No! Why?
iii. Look at them they all look the same or
close to the same
iv. Check the pH how?
b. How can I find out if it is an acid, a base, or
neutral? (only if no one answers check the pH).
4. Do procedure elicited by students for using an
indicator (throughout ask students what do I do
next?)
a. Pour some of the solution into a different beaker
and add the universal indicator (repeat for all
three solutions)
i. What type of solution is it?
1. How do you know that?
2. What chemical could it be?
a. Hint: you can find it in your house

b. Tell students what the different chemicals are.

i. Does someone know the chemical name of
vinegar? How about the household name of
sodium carbonate?
5. Pour water into a graduated cylinder and add some
acid to it using an eyedropper
a. Before adding acid
i. What will happen if I add acid to water?
What will we see?
b. After adding acid
i. What happened? Why?
ii. Why did the colour start at the top and
move to the bottom?
iii. What can I do to make the colour change
more quickly?
6. Add base to the cylinder using an eyedropper
a. Before adding base
i. What do you think will happen if I add base
to the acidic solution?
1. Why?
b. After adding a little base
i. What happened? Why?
ii. Why didnt the colour change?
iii. How can we make the colour change? Why?
c. After adding more base (to make it green)
i. What kind of solution do we have now?
ii. What happened? Why?
iii. What will happen if I add more base?
d. After adding more base (to make it purple)
i. What kind of solution do we have now?
Why?
ii. What happened? Why?
7. Experiment Summary

a. What does this experiment tell us about pH

indicators?
i. Are they good for all pHs?
ii. Do they tell us a specific pH for the solution?
b. Why did I choose to use vinegar, water, and
soda ash?