Discover the World of Science With Evonik
"The Enchanted Cabbage"
A rainbow is made up of many colors. However, did you know that red cabbage can also create many different colors? Find out why and what each individual colour means.
What you need:
7 glasses
7 teaspoons
Soda
Vinegar
Baking Soda
Water
Sparkling water
Laundry detergent (powder)
Lemon juice
Red cabbage
How the experiment works:
1. Together with your parents, cut the red cabbage into small, chunky pieces.
2. Pour some water into a pot and boil the red cabbage for about 20 minutes.
3. Strain the contents of the pot through a sieve and pour the red cabbage juice into a container (bowl/glass/jar).
4. Allow the red cabbage to cool - now, the experiment can begin!
5. Add water to each glass, so that each glass is half full, then add a different "ingredient" into every glass (approx. one teaspoon - attention: use a clean teaspoon for each glass or rinse it in between).
6. Stir the contents (Attention: use again a clean teaspoon for each glass or rinse the teaspoon in between).
7. Now, pour into each glass a little of the red cabbage juice.
what is happening?
What happened:
Red cabbage juice is, in this experiment, used to indicate whether a solution is acidic or basic. The color spectrum of red cabbage ranges from light pink (=very acidic), to pink, purple (neutral), blue, turquoise, green and yellow (=very basic). The red cabbage is enchanted because you can see all the different colors and their respective pH levels.
