The Acid Test

E's science experiment involved testing the acidity of several common food items this week. It was pretty involved but sounded like fun for everyone, so I decided to make it a family experiment night. Earlier this afternoon, I prepared the "acidity testing liquid." It's also known as the water left over when you boil a red cabbage. Who knew it had such magical, er I mean, scientific properties. Plus it made the whole house smell so fresh and clean, not at all like a boiled cabbage. Earlier I had boiled eggs for another experiment, so our house was super rank tonight!

We collected all the food items that we were going to test. They included: milk, water, vinegar, pickles, oranges, lemons, sugar, salt, yogurt and cola. One by one, we each tasted each item and noted if it was sour. We had learned earlier in the day that sour foods tended to be the ones high in acidity. Then on our chart, we made an educated guess on if we thought it was going to be an acid or not. the fun part was next, we added the item to a glass of cabbage water. If it changed from purple to pink, we knew it was an acidic food. It was really interesting to see the rainbow of colors the foods produced. we were most surprised by the cola, which didn't taste bitter but was definitely an acid. We learn they add lots of sugar to hide the sourness of the acid in it. Who says science isn't fun, not us!!!

Before:


Ooh, pickles are SOUR! Must be an acid!


After: