FAQs
Purple cabbage juice contains a compound called anthocyanin. Anthocyanin will turn pink when mixed with acid, blue-green when mixed with a base, and purple when mixed with a neutral substance, such as water.
What chemical acts as an indicator in cabbage juice? ›
Red cabbage contains a chemical called anthocyanin. This pigment is a natural acid-base indicator. It is blue in neutral substances, like plain water. When an acid like lemon juice gets in the water, a reaction makes the indicator molecule change shape and it looks pink.
What is the science behind red cabbage for kids? ›
Red cabbage contains a water-soluble pigment called anthocyanin that changes color when it is mixed with an acid or a base. The pigment turns red in acidic environments with a pH less than 7 and the pigment turns bluish-green in alkaline (basic), environments with a pH greater than 7.
How to make cabbage juice for experiments? ›
Peel off three or four big cabbage leaves and put them in a blender filled one-half full with water. Blend the mixture on high until you have purple cabbage juice. Pour the purplish cabbage liquid through a strainer to filter out all of the big chunks of cabbage. Save the liquid for the experiments to follow.
What is the colorful cabbage juice science experiment? ›
Purple cabbage juice is a pH indicator, or a substance that changes color when it's mixed with an acid or base. If you add an acid to the cabbage juice, it turns pinkish red. The more red the solution is, the more acidic that substance is. But if you add a base to the cabbage juice, the solution becomes greenish.
What is the science world indicator of cabbage juice? ›
When anthocyanin comes in contact with the hydronium ions in an acid it turns pink, and when it comes in contact with the hydroxide ions in a base it turns blue or green. We refer to cabbage juice as a pH indicator because it can tell us if a substance is acidic or basic by changing colour.
What turns cabbage juice pink? ›
Cabbage juice is made up of a pigment called anthocyanin. This pigment is a pH indicator—when it's mixed with a substance, it changes color based on that substance's pH. When something is acidic, the cabbage juice turns bright pink.
What turns red cabbage juice yellow? ›
Acids will change the color of the cabbage juice to a deep red. Bases will change it to a greenish-yellow Something that has a pH of seven is said to be pH neutral because it is not an acid or a base.
Why does red cabbage change color with pH? ›
Red cabbage and some other plants contain a pigment called anthocyanin that gives our cabbage it's colour. This pigment has the ability to change colour and is an example of a pH indicator- something that can detect acids and bases.
What is the red cabbage stem activity? ›
In this activity you will use red cabbage to make what is called an indicator solution. Indicator solutions can change colors depending on what you add to them. In this case adding something acidic (like lemon juice) will change it to one color while adding something basic (like bleach) will change it to another.
The healthy cabbage juice can be produced in two different ways: Either you prepare it directly from chopped fresh white cabbage and let the cabbage ferment together with spring water for 4-5 days, or you simply squeeze the juice out of raw sauerkraut. We like the second variant, because it simply tastes better to us.
What happens when you add lemon juice to cabbage juice? ›
Substances such as lemon juice and vinegar turn the cabbage juice red because they are acidic. Ammonia turns the cabbage juice into a blue/green color because it is a base, a material that tastes bitter and makes an acid neutral. Water does nothing, as it is a neutral.
What is the red cabbage indicator experiment for kids? ›
Break off the red cabbage leaves and add them to the boiling water. Keep adding leaves until the water is a deep purple, then strain the leaves out and place the cabbage indicator juice in a pitcher. Red cabbage juice changes color to indicate the pH of various everyday items.
Why does cabbage juice give different colors when mixed with different household chemicals? ›
Red cabbage contains a chemical called anthocyanin that changes color when it is mixed with an acid or a base. When the liquid is a red or purple color it means that it is more acidic. When the liquid is a blue, green, or yellow color it means that the liquid is more basic.
What does the color change in the cabbage juice tell you about the gas in your breath? ›
Since our breath and carbonated beverages contain carbon dioxide, the color change from dark purple to pinkish/red indicates the formation of carbonic acid.
What chemical is in cabbage? ›
Cabbage contains the antioxidants choline, beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin as well as the flavonoids kaempferol, quercetin, and apigenin. Red cabbage tends to contain more of these compounds than green cabbage.
How to make pH indicator cabbage? ›
Pour the water with the boiled leaves through the coffee filter to remove the pieces of cabbage, collect the filtered juice in a clean glass, and let it cool; it should appear purple. You can then pour the juice into the eyedropper bottles for use and storage. This filtered juice is your pH indicator.
What is the phenolphthalein indicator in cabbage? ›
Its solution is a mixture of organic compounds such as thymol blue, methyl red, bromothymol blue, and phenolphthalein. Extracting the anthocyanin dye from cabbage leaves with boiling water gives a solution that is red when acidic, purple when neutral, and green to yellow when basic is an example of a natural indicator.
What is a substitute for litmus paper? ›
Alternatives of Litmus Test
For instance, one can use the red cabbage juice which changes its colour in reaction to pH from red through blue to greenish-yellow. Moreover, there are dyes orcein and azolitmin that produces results similar to the litmus paper only.