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PH Virtual Lab

This document provides information about acids and bases including their definitions and how pH is used to determine if a substance is an acid or base. It then lists important questions and provides instructions for a virtual pH simulation to test common substances and observe their pH levels. Key findings from testing substances in the simulation include that drain cleaner has the highest pH and is most basic, while vomit has the lowest pH and is most acidic. When the substances are diluted by adding water, the pH levels of acids increase while the pH levels of bases decrease.

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Remi Okunlola
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295 views4 pages

PH Virtual Lab

This document provides information about acids and bases including their definitions and how pH is used to determine if a substance is an acid or base. It then lists important questions and provides instructions for a virtual pH simulation to test common substances and observe their pH levels. Key findings from testing substances in the simulation include that drain cleaner has the highest pH and is most basic, while vomit has the lowest pH and is most acidic. When the substances are diluted by adding water, the pH levels of acids increase while the pH levels of bases decrease.

Uploaded by

Remi Okunlola
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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pH Virtual Lab

WHAT ARE ACIDS AND BASES?


Acids and bases are two kinds of special chemicals. Almost all liquids are either acids or bases, which is determined by
the type of ions in them. An acid has many hydrogen ions, and splits apart in water to release these hydrogen ions. On
the contrary, bases have hydroxide ions that combine with hydrogen ions. Scientists us a pH scale to determine whether a
liquid is an acid or a base. PH refers to hydrogen ion concentration, which is measured by a scale. The scale goes from 0-
14, where liquids having a pH level of 0-7 are acids, and 7-14 are bases. Any substance with a pH level of 7 is considered
neutral.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:
What substances are acids/bases?
How are all acids/bases similar?
What happens to the pH level of substances when it is diluted?

INSTRUCTIONS:
Using the basic pH scale simulation on the PhET website, we will explore and answer the important questions of this
investigation. We will gain experience using a virtual pH scale, and test the pH levels of different substances in order to
determine them as an acid or base. Based on our results, we will analyze how the discovered acids are similar, and
discovered bases are similar. We will use our discoveries to explore and understand how pH levels of substances are
affected when diluted.

Explore

1. Click on the following link to access the simulation: https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/ph-scale-basics

Your page should look like this:

2. Click on the start symbol to open the simulation.

3. Press the drop down at the top of the screen to view the substances you will be testing.

How many different liquids can you test with this simulation? [ 12 ]

4. Choose a liquid and use the dropper to fill the beaker to 0.50 L.

5. Fill the beaker to 1.00 L by clicking the water faucet continuously until the liquid level reaches the 1L mark.

6. Empty your beaker by clicking the bottom faucet continuously until the measurement arrow reads 0.00 L.
Prediction

Predict which substances in the chart will be determined as acids and bases on the pH scale.

Substance Acid or Base


Drain Cleaner [ base ]
Hand Soap [ base ]
Blood [ base ]
Milk [ acid ]
Chicken Soup [ acid ]
Coffee [ acid ]
Orange Juice [ acid ]
Vomit [ acid ]
Water [ base ]

Explain how/why you categorized the substances the way you did. What characteristics of the substances helped you
predict whether the substance was an acid or base? [ Acid substances are bitter and are not as smooth. The acids are
vomit because its fluid from our stomach. Orange juice has fizz which makes it a acid. Coffee is bitter making it an acid,
chicken soup has some salt making it acidic. Milk is a acid. And soap, water, blood, and drain cleaner are all bases ]

Investigation

1. Set the substance to drain cleaner.


2. Press the dropper and fill the beaker to ½ L.
3. Place the pH scale sensor in the beaker so that the center of the sensor is touching the liquid in the beaker.
4. Observe the pH reading on the scale.
5. Record the substance’s pH level and whether it is an acid or a base in the table below.
6. Repeat these steps with each substance listed in the table.

Substance pH Level Acid or Base


Drain Cleaner [ 13.00 ] [ base ]
Hand Soap [ 10.00 ] [ base ]
Blood [ 7.40 ] [ base ]
Milk [ 6.50 ] [ acid ]
Chicken Soup [ 5.80 ] [ acid ]
Coffee [ 5.00 ] [ acid ]
Orange Juice [ 3.50 ] [ acid ]
Vomit [ 2.00 ] [ acid ]
Water [ 7.00 ] [ base ]

Analyzing Data

Analyze your data, and place each substance


in the proper place on the pH scale.

Which substance is most acidic? [ vomit ]

Which substance is most basic? [ drain cleaner ]

Which substance is considered neutral? [ water ]

Which substance surprised you the most and why? [ i’m surprised drain cleaner is because with all the
chemicals i’m surprised it isn’t a acid ]
What do you notice about most of the substances that are considered acids? [ they all have a ph of 7 and lower ] What
do they have in common? [ most of them range from 5 to 3 ]

What do you notice about most of the substances that are considered bases? [ all bases have a ph level of 7 and higher ]
What do they have in common? [ they all have light colors ]

Which substances were closest to neutrality? [ milk ] What do they have in common? [ they are both liquids ]

Other substances in the simulation that were not tested are spit, battery acid and soda pop. Based on your data and
observations of acids and bases, which category would you place these substances in and why? [ I would put spit base
because it is mostly made of water, battery acid in acid area because it has acid in its name, and soda pop in acid because
of the fizz ] Check your answer using the simulation.

Why do you think water is considered a neutral substance? [ because the concentration of hydrogen and hydroxide ions
is the same ]

Extension

Using what you know about acids and bases, predict what will happen to the pH level when water is mixed with each
substance? I think the pH level will increase/decrease/stay the same/vary (circle) when diluted because [ you're adding
more into the substance, and I think that would increase it ].

Steps:
1. Based on your previous investigation, write whether each substance is an acid or base in the chart below.
2. Set the substance to drain cleaner.
3. Press the dropper and fill the beaker to ½ L.
4. Measure and record the pH level of the substance.
5. Keeping the pH sensor in your beaker add water until the beaker is filled to 1.20 L.
6. Record the substance’s pH level after it has been diluted.
7. Empty your beaker by clicking on the bottom faucet, or the orange refresh symbol.
8. Repeat these steps with each substance listed in the table.

Substance Acid or Base pH at 0.50 L pH at 1.20 L


Drain Cleaner [ base ] [ 13.00 ] [ 12.62 ]
Hand Soap [ base ] [ 10.00 ] [ 9.70 ]
Blood [ base ] [ 7.40 ] [ 7.25 ]
Spit [ base ] [ 7.40 ] [ 7.23 ]
Milk [ acid ] [ 6.50 ] [ 6.68 ]
Chicken Soup [ acid ] [ 5.80 ] [ 6.08 ]
Coffee [ acid ] [ 5.00 ] [ 5.29 ]
Orange Juice [ acid ] [ 3.50 ] [ 3.81 ]
Soda Pop [ acid ] [ 2.50 ] [ 2.80 ]
Vomit [ acid ] [ 2.00 ] [ 2.31 ]
Battery Acid [ acid ] [ 1.00 ] [ 1.30 ]

Making Observations and Analyzing Data:

1. What patterns do you notice in your data? [ For bases when I added water the ph level went down but when I added
water to the acids the ph level went up ] Based on your data, explain what happens to the pH level of acids and bases
when they are diluted. [ When acidic solution is diluted the ph of the solution increase towards 7 and base will chage
the pH. ]

2. Besides pH level, what other changes did you notice when each substance was diluted with water? [ Each substance
either went up or down on the ph level scale depending if it was a base or a acid ]
3. By adding water to each substance, the amount of solute is decreased. By adding water to the solution, the amount of
H+ ions also decreases. In relation to your data, how do you think this affects pH levels? [ The ph level will go to an
acid because of a low H+ ions in it when it is diluted ]

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