Essays on Litmus Paper

An acid is a solution that loses hydrogen ions. Common household acids include vinegar and citrus fruit juice. In contrast, a base is a solution that gains hydrogen ions. Acidic substances often taste sour whereas bases taste bitter and feel slippery. Since the tasting or touching of acids and bases can be harmful to human health, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA, 2013) recommends the use of indicators to test for the acidity or alkalinity of substances. Typically, indicators such as litmus paper change color when exposed to acids or bases (Stanley et al., 2015). As such, the present ...

An acid is defined as a chemical substance that is capable of forming an aqueous solution with the ability to turn a blue litmus paper red, have a sour taste and form salts when it reacts with certain metals and bases. A substance will qualify to be an acid if it is capable of increasing the number of hydrogen ions when dissolved in water, or the capability of that substance to be deprotonated, act as a proton donor during reactions. A base is a substance that in aqueous solution feels slippery, has a bitter taste, and is capable of ...

Part I

The various foodstuffs, liquids and other substances that were tested for their basicity or acidity include; lemon juice, sprite, milk, green tea and shampoo. The shampoo liquid changed the blue litmus paper pink while the red litmus paper remained red. This indicated that shampoo is a weak acid. The lemon juice turned the blue litmus paper red while the red litmus remained red. Therefore, lemon juice is a strong acid and that is why it tests sour. In addition, sprite made the blue litmus paper turn pink while the red litmus paper remained red. On the other hand, the green tea was ...