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Exploring Substances: Acidic, Basic, and Neutral

No change is an answer too

A student writes three strip results in a notebook. You read them and name the group.

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The idea

A neutral substance is neither acidic nor basic. Pure water, sugar solution and salt solution are neutral. They change neither blue litmus nor red litmus.

One strip that does not change is not enough. The strip only rules one group out. That means the liquid is not in that group.

What one unchanged strip rules out
The strip did not changeRuled outStill possible
Blue litmusacidicbasic, neutral
Red litmusbasicacidic, neutral
Turmericbasicacidic, neutral
Salt water. Blue litmus stays blue.
Step 1 of 4
  1. Salt water. Blue litmus stays blue.
  2. Red litmus stays red too.
  3. Both papers: no change.
  4. Two unchanged papers: neutral.

Blue and red litmus both unchanged means neutral. Turmeric cannot tell acidic from neutral. This is because turmeric stays yellow in both.

Jump to lesson

This track

  1. 0 Start here
  2. 1 Three groups, and no tasting
  3. 2 Acids in our food
  4. 3 Bases around us
  5. 4 Turmeric paper and red rose
  6. 5 No change is an answer too
  7. 6 An acid and a base cancel each other
  8. 7 Checkpoint: groups, strips and neutralisation
  9. 8 Indicators from plants
  10. 9 Indicators you can smell
  11. 10 Neutralising soil and waste
  12. 11 Checkpoint: plant indicators, smell and soil
  13. 12 The big picture
  14. 13 Track quiz

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