Project in Science

Project in Science-7
GLAZE KANE O. ROLDAN’s group
ACTIVITY 1
HOW CAN YOU TELL IF A MIXTURE IS ACIDIC OR BASIC?
Part A. Preparation of Indicator*
In this part of ACTIVITY 1, you will prepare a plant indicator that you will use to determine if a given sample is
acidic or a basic.
MATERIALS NEEDED
-1 pc mature, dark violet eggplant or camote peel/leaves or mayana or Baston ni San Jose
-alum powder (tawas)

-sharp knife or peeler
-brown bottle with cover
-alcohol lamp
-tripod
PROCEDURES
1. Peel an eggplant as thin as possible. (You may also use the leaves of purple camote or the leaves of red
mayana or Baston ni San Jose.)
Cut the materials into small pieces and place in a small casserole or milk can. You may keep the flesh of the
eggplant or camote for other purposes.
2. Add about 1/3 to ½ cup tap water to the peel depending on the size of the eggplant or camote used. Boil for
5 minute. Stir from time to time.
3. Transfer the mixture into a bottle while it is still hot. There is no need to filter, just remove the solid portion.
The mixture may change if left in open air for more than 5 minutes.
4. Immediately add a pinch (2-3 matchstick head size) of alum (tawas) powder into the solution or until the
solution becomes dark blue in color. Stir well while still hot. This is now the indicator solution
Note: Alum will stabilize the extract. The extract will be more stable with alum but it is recommended that the
solution be used within a few days. Keep the extract in the refrigerator or cool dark place when not in use.
Part B. Determining the acidity or basicity of some common household items.
In this part of the activity, you will find out if a given household material is acidic or basic using the plant
indicator you have prepared in Part A.
Materials needed
- Plant indicator prepared in Part A.

- Vinegar
- Distilled water
- Tap water
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Calamansi
- Other food/home items with no color: (toothpaste, shampoo, soap, detergent, fruit juice like buko juice,
sugar in water, soft drink)
- 2 plastic egg trays or 12 small plastic cups or glass bottles
- 6 droppers
- 6 plastic spoons
- Stirrer (may be teaspoon, coffee stirrer, chopstick or drinking straw)
Procedures
1. Place one (1) teaspoon of each sample in each well of the egg tray.
2. Add 8-10 drops (or 1/2 teaspoon) of the plant indicator to the first sample.
Note: if the sample is solid, wet a pinch (size of 2-3 match- heads) of the solid with about ½ teaspoon of distilled
water.
3. Note the color produced. Record your observations in column 2 of table 1.
Table 1. acidic or basic nature of household materials
Sample Color of Indicator Nature of Sample

Calamansi Pale red Strongly acidic
Tap water (water from the faucet) Blue Weakly acidic
Distilled water Blue Weakly acidic
Vinegar Red Strongly acidic
Sugar in water Blue Weakly acidic
Baking soda Green Weakly basic
Baking powder Green Weakly basic
Soft drink (colorless) Red Acidic
Coconut water Blue Weakly acidic
Toothpaste Blue Weakly acidic
Shampoo Pale red Strongly acidic
Soap Green Weakly basic
4. Repeat step number 1 of Part B for the other samples.
5. Determine the acidic or basic nature of your sample using the color scheme below for eggplant or camote
indicator and record the nature of each sample in table 1 as:
Strongly acidic: red to pale red weakly acidic: blue
Weakly basic: green strongly basic: yellow
Part C. determining the acidity or basicity of water from different sources.
In this part of activity 1, you will find out how acidic or basic the samples of water from different sources are.
Materials Needed
 At least one cup water from each of the following sources of water:
- Rainwater
- River, lake or stream
- Pond
- Canal
- Faucet
- Deep well or hand pump
- Bottled water (mineral water) or distilled water
 Plant indicator prepared in Part A
 2 plastic egg trays or 8 small plastic containers
 6 droppers
 6 plastic teaspoons
Procedure
1. Place one (1) teaspoon of each sample in each well of the egg tray.
2. Add 8-10 drops (or 1/2 teaspoon) of the plant indicator to the first sample.
3. Note the color produced. Record your observations in column 2 of table 2.
Table 2. Acidic or basic nature of water from different sources
Water Sample from Source Color of Indicator Nature of Sample

Rainwater Blue Weakly acidic
River, lake or stream Blue Weakly acidic
Pond Blue Weakly acidic
Canal Blue Weakly acidic
Water from faucet Blue Weakly acidic
4. Determine the acidic or basic nature of your sample using the color scheme below for eggplant or camote
indicator and record the nature of each sample in table 2 as:
Strongly acidic: red to pale red weakly acidic: blue

Weakly basic: green strongly basic: yellow
REFLECTIONS/CONCLUSIONS
PART A.
We started the activity by getting the materials needed. After gathering, we read the procedures and
started making the plant indicator. We used mayana leaves. To make the mayana leaves indicator, we cut
the leaves, put it in the casserole with water and let it boil. After it boiled, we let it stay for several minutes
and put it in brown bottle with cover. We waited for 5 minutes and then we put an alum in the indicator.
PART B.
Like what we did in Part A, we gather the materials we needed first before we do the activity. We
also read the procedures that we have to follow. We put in the examples in the well of the egg tray and put
8-10 drops of the indicator. As we do it alternately in the given samples, we have noticed that the samples
reactions are different. Some of them are pale red- strongly acidic, red- acidic, blue- weakly acidic and green-
weakly basic. We put our observations in the table 1 Part B.
PARTC.
In this part of the activity, we took at least 1 cup of water from the indicated sources of sample. We
read the procedure and followed it step by step. We started to test the samples by putting 1 teaspoon of
indicator in each of the sample. We waited for the result and put our answer observations in table 2 in Part
C.
CONCLUSIONS
PART A.
We have concluded that, in case we do not have the required indicator for acidity and basicity of
materials given to be tested, we can improvise and make our own plant indicator.
PART B.
We conclude that different household items have different level of acidity and basicity. With the
help of this, we can identify which household item we do not have to use or regulate the use so that we can
be safe and avoid bad things to happen.
PART C.
Based from the results using the plant indicator, we conclude that water from different sources have
the same level of acidity.
RESULTS
PART B.
PART C.

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Project in Science-7

GLAZE KANE O. ROLDAN’s group

Part A. Preparation of Indicator*

-alum powder (tawas)

- Plant indicator prepared in Part A.

3. Note the color produced. Record your observations in column 2 of table 1.

Table 1. acidic or basic nature of household materials

Sample Color of Indicator Nature of Sample

4. Repeat step number 1 of Part B for the other samples.

Table 2. Acidic or basic nature of water from different sources

Water Sample from Source Color of Indicator Nature of Sample

Strongly acidic: red to pale red weakly acidic: blue

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