Question

-Red cabbage color changes with Ph-Use the pH scale to help answer the questions.————————————————3) How do you think red cabbage (specifically the chemical anthocyanin) can be used to indicate whether a solution is acidic or basic? (Think about the chemical process that describes how an indicator works.)

Answer 1

The Anthocyanin pigment that can be found in the red cabbage is very sensitive to changes in pH.

To use this pigment as a pH indicator the student must:

1st) Boil the cabbage in order to separate the pigment from cabbage.

2nd) Filter the liquid to separate it from the rest of the cabbage, since the anthocyanin pigment will be in the liquid.

3rd) Add the filtered liquid to the solution that the student wants to analyze its pH.

Finally, if the solution acquires a red color (or dark pink) it means that it is an acid medium, and if it changes to a blue color (or purple) it means that it is an basic medium.

- Looking at the color code, Solution A most likely had a pH of 4 (acidic solution).

- Solution B could be classified as basic.