Distinguish Between Acids and Bases

Have you ever wanted to distinguish between acids or bases(alkalies)? Are you afraid of touching them due to their corrosiveness? Here is how to do this safely.

Steps

By Blue Litmus

1. Add a liquid to the litmus or litmus paper.
2. Observe the effects:
   
   • Acids-Litmus turns red
   • Bases-Litmus remains blue
   • Neutral Liquids-Litmus stays blue

By Red Litmus

1. Add a liquid to the litmus or litmus paper.
2. Observe the effects:
   
   • Acids-Litmus stays red
   • Bases-Litmus turns blue
   • Neutral Liquids-Litmus stays red

By Phenolphthalein

1. Add a liquid to the phenolphthalein.
2. Observe the effects:
   
   • Acids-Phenolphthalein remains colorless
   • Bases-Phenolphthalein remains Magenta
   • Neutral Liquids-Phenolphthalein stays colorless

By Turmeric

1. Add a liquid to the turmeric.
2. Observe the effects:
   
   • Acids-Turmeric remains yellow
   • Bases-Turmeric turnsbrick red
   • Neutral Liquids-Turmeric stays yellow

By Beetroot Juice

1. Add a liquid to the beetroot juice.
2. Observe the effects:
   
   • Acids-Beetroot Juice turns pink
   • Bases-Beetroot Juice turns pale yellow
   • Neutral Liquids-Beetroot Juice stays red

By Red Cabbage Juice

1. Add a liquid to the red cabbage juice.
2. Observe the effects:
   
   • Acids-Red Cabbage Juice stays pink/red
   • Bases-Red Cabbage Juice turns green
   • Neutral Liquids-Red Cabbage Juice stays red/pink

By pH Paper

1. Add the liquid to the pH paper.
2. Observe-The pH paper uses a scale of numbers to tell the acidity/basic of a liquid.
   • A 14-8 scale(red) paper means base.
   • A 7 scale(greenish) paper means neutral.
   • A 1-6 scale(blue) paper means strong base.

Tips

pH
Type	Color
Acid	1
Acid	2
Acid	3
Acid	4
Acid	5
Acid	6
Neutral	7
Base	8
Base	9
Base	10
Base	11
Base	12
Base	13
Base	14

Warnings

• Be careful with corrosive acids & bases.
  
• Do not drink acids/bases.

Things You'll Need

• pH paper
• Litmus
• Beet and red cabbage juice
• Turmeric
• Phenolphthalein

Related Articles

• Dilute an Acid
• Make Iodine from Sulfuric Acid and an Alkali Metal Iodide
• Do an Acid Base Titration Without Losing Your Mind

See also

• Do a Litmus Test
• Prepare Citric Acid Solution
• Dilute an Acid
• Calculate a pH

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