The Strength of an Acid, Base, and pH of a Solution

Determine the strength of an acid, base, and pH of a solution.

Purchase a head of red cabbage from the grocery store. Chop the cabbage into small pieces until you have about 2 cups of chopped cabbage. Place the cabbage in a large glass container and add boiling water to cover the cabbage. Allow at least ten minutes for the color to leach out of the cabbage. You might want to complete this step outside as it can be kind of smelly. Filter out the plant material to obtain a red-purple-bluish-colored liquid. This liquid is at about pH 7. Add various household solutions to your indicator until a color change is obtained. Create a chart that shows what household chemicals you tested, the color they each turned when you added the red cabbage juice, and your estimated pH.