CHAPTER – 2
EXPLORING SUBSTANCES: ACIDIC, BASIC AND
NEUTRAL
SUMMARY:
1. Substances around us may be classified as acidic, basic and neutral in
nature.
2. Extracts of lichens, red rose, red hibiscus, purple cabbage, turmeric, etc.
can be used to indicate the nature of substances.
3. Substances that show different colours in acidic and basic solutions are
called acid-base indicators.
4. Acids turn the colour of blue litmus to red. Bases turn the colour of red
litmus to red. (ABR, BRB)
5. Extract of red rose gives red colour in acidic solution and green colour in
basic solution. (Red rose + Acid →Red, Red rose + Base → Green)
6. The yellow colour of turmeric turns red in basic solution but remains
unchanged in acidic solution and neutral solutions. (Yellow turmeric +
Base → Red, Yellow turmeric + Acid/Neutral → No change)
7. An acid and a base neutralise each other, forming salt and water with
evolution of heat.
8. Many day-to-day problems like a red ant bite, acidic or basic nature of soil
and industrial waste can be attempted to be managed by the process of
neutralisation.
TABLE:
Colour of blue
Colour of red
litmus paper
Sr. Name of the litmus paper
after putting a Acid/Base
No. sample after putting a
drop of
drop of sample
sample
1. Lemon juice R No Change Acidic
2. Soap Solution No change B Basic
3. Amla Juice R No Change Acidic
4. Tamarind Water R No Change Acidic
5. Vinegar R No Change Acidic
Baking soda
6. No Change B Basic
solution
7. Lime water No Change B Basic
8. Tap water No Change No Change Neutral
Washing powder
9. No Change B Basic
solution
10. Sugar solution No Change No Change Neutral
11. Salt solution No Change No Change Neutral
Any other (Orange
12. R No Change Acidic
juice)
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
Q. 1 A solution turns the red litmus paper to blue. Excess addition of which of
the following solutions would reverse the change.
(i) Lime water (ii) Baking Soda (iii) Vinegar (iv) Common salt solution
Ans: (iii) Vinegar
✓ The solution turns red litmus paper to blue, it means it is basic in
nature.
✓ To reverse this, an acid is needed.
✓ Lime water and baking soda are basic, and common salt solution is
neutral. So, they will not reverse the change.
✓ Vinegar is acidic, so it will change the colour back to red.
Q. 2 You are provided with three unknown solutions labelled A, B and C, but
you do not know which of these are acidic, basic or neutral. Upon adding
a few drops of red litmus solution to solution A, it turns blue. When a few
drops of turmeric solutions are added to solutions B, it turns red. Finally,
after adding a few drops of red rose extract to solution C, it turns green.
Based on the observations, which of the following is the correct sequence
for the nature of solutions A, B and C?
(i) Acidic, acidic and acidic
(ii) Neutral, basic and basic
(iii) Basic, basic and acidic
(iv) Basic, basic and basic
Ans: (iv) Basic, basic, basic
✓ Solution A turns red litmus to blue – Basic in nature.
✓ Solution B turns turmeric solution to red – Basic in nature.
✓ Solution C turns rose extract to green – Basic in nature.
Thus, the correct sequence for the nature of solutions A, B and C is Basic,
basic and basic.
Q. 3 Observe and analyse figs. 2.13, 2.14 and 2.15, in which red rose extract
paper strips are used. Label the nature of solutions present in each of the
containers.
Ans: ✓ The red rose extract turns red in acidic solution and green in base.
✓ In figure 2.13, the red rose extract paper strip turns green, indicating
that the solution in this container is basic in nature.
✓ In figure, 2.14, there is no change in the colour of the strip which shows
that solution is neutral.
✓ In figure 2.15, the strip turns red, indicating that solution in acidic in
nature.
Q. 4 A liquid sample from the laboratory was tested using various indicators:
Indicator Red litmus Blue litmus Turmeric
Change No change Turned red No change
Based on the tests, identify the acidic or basic nature of the liquid and
justify your answer.
Ans: ✓ The given liquid sample is acidic in nature.
✓ It does not affect red litmus paper, but it turns the blue litmus paper red,
which is indication of acidic in nature.
✓ Also, there is no change in turmeric indicator confirming its acidic
nature.
Q. 5 Manya is blindfolded. She is given two unknown solutions to test and
determine whether they are acidic or basic. Which indicator should
Manya use to test the solutions and why?
Ans: ✓ Manya should use an olfactory indicator to test the solution.
✓ Olfactory indicators change their smell in acidic or basic solutions.
✓ For example: substances like onion produce a strong / no smell in a
basic solution and mild smell in an acidic solution.
Q. 6 Could you suggest various materials which can be used for writing the
message on the white sheet of paper (given at the beginning of the
chapter) and what could be in the spray bottle? Make a table of various
possible combinations and the colour of the writing obtained.
Ans:
Q. 7 Grape juice was mixed with red rose extract; the mixture got a tint of red
colour. What will happen if baking soda is added to this mixture? Justify
your answer.
Ans: ✓ When baking soda is added to the mixture of grape juice and red rose
extract, the basicity increases in basic condition, and red rose extract
turns green.
✓ So, after adding baking soda, the mixture will turn green.
Q.8 Keerthi wrote a secret message to her grandmother on her birthday using
orange juice. Can you assist her grandmother in revealing the message?
Which indicator would you use to make it visible?
Ans: ✓ Keerthi’s grandmother can reveal the secret message by using acid-base
indicators.
✓ As orange juice is acidic in nature, she can use rose extract or beetroot
juice or Indian blackberry extract to make message visible.
Q.9 How can natural indicators be prepared? Explain by giving an example.
Ans: Natural indicators can be made using plant materials with pigments that
change colour with acid or base. For example, to make red rose extract:
1. Wash and crush rose petals.
2. Place them in a glass tumbler and add hot water.
3. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, then filter the mixture.
The resulting liquid is a natural indicator that turns red in acids and green in
bases.
Q.10 Three liquids are given to you. One is vinegar, another is a baking soda
solution, and the third is a sugar solution. Can you identify them only
using turmeric paper? Explain.
Ans: ✓ Using turmeric paper, we can identify a basic solution but not an acidic
or neutral solution.
✓ When baking soda solution (basic) is tested, the turmeric paper will turn
red.
✓ However, both vinegar (acidic) and sugar solution (neutral) will leave
the paper yellow, as turmeric paper does not change colour in acidic or
neutral solutions.
✓ Therefore, turmeric paper can only identify a basic solution.
Q.11 The extract of red rose turns the liquid X to green. What will the nature
of liquid X be? What will happen when excess of amla juice is added to
liquid X?
Ans: ✓ If the extract of red rose turns the liquid X to green, it indicates that
liquid X is basic.
✓ Red rose extract acts as an indicator, turning red in acidic solutions and
green in basic solutions.
✓ When excess amla juice (which is acidic) is added to liquid X, it will
neutralise the base.
✓ The green colour of the liquid will turn to red as the solution becomes
more acidic due to the addition of the acidic amla juice.
EXTRA: ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
Q. 1 What are acids?
Ans: The substances which are sour in taste are called acids.
Ex: Lemon juice
Q. 2 What are bases?
Ans: The substances that feel soapy to touch and bitter in taste are called bases.
Ex: Soap solution
Q. 3 Which indicators change order with different substances?
Ans: Olfactory indicators
Q. 4 What are neutral solutions?
Ans: The substances which do not show any effect on litmus are called neutral
substance.
Q.5 Define Acids, Base, Neutral, Acid-base Indicator:
Ans: Acid: Substances that taste sour, tends to contain acid and they are acidic in
nature.
Example: Lemon juice (Citric acid), Curd (Lactic acid), Tamarind
(Tartaric acid), Vinegar (Citric acid), Orange juice, Amla juice.
Base: Basic substances feel soapy and are slippery to touch. Some bases are
bitter in taste.
Example: Baking soda, Lime water, Soap solution
Neutral: Substance are neither acidic nor basic in nature are called neutral
substance.
Example: Tap water, sugar solution, salt solution
Acid-base indicator: Substances that turn blue litmus paper to red are acidic
in nature (ABR). While substances that turn red litmus paper to blue
are basic in nature (BRB). Litmus shows different colour in acidic
and basic solution. It is called acid base indicator.
EXPERIMENT:
Aim: To study the effect of a natural indicators (red rose extract) on acidic,
basic and neutral solutions.
Apparatus: 3 clean test tubes, a dropper and a marker for labelling.
Materials:
(a) Indicator source: 10-15 fresh red petals, warm distilled water, a beaker and a
strainer.
(b) Test sample: lemon juice (acid), baking soda solution (base), common salt
solution (neutral)
Procedure:
✓ Place red rose petals in a beaker.
✓ Add 20 ml of warm water. Let it sit for 10 minutes until the water turns
deep pink.
✓ Strain the liquid into clean cup. This is red rose indicator.
✓ Pour 5 ml of backing soda solution into test tube B.
✓ Pour 5 ml of salt water into test tube C.
✓ Use a dropper to ass 5 drops of the rose indicator into each tube. Shake
gently. Note down the final colour change in each test tube.
Observation:
Test tube Test Sample The colour of Name of the
the red rose substance
extract after
adding the
sample
A Lemon juice Red colour Acidic
B Baking soda Red colour Basic
C Salt water No change Neutral
Conclusion: The experiment proves that the red rose extract is an effective
natural indicator. It turns dark rod in acidic medium, turns green in basic
medium and remains unchanged in neutral medium.