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THE SCIENCE LAB
Make & Do Activity Kit
500 Harris St Ultimo
PO Box K346 Haymarket NSW 1238
Australia
Tel: 02 6217 0111
http://play.powerhousemuseum.com
This work is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike 2.5 License.
Indicator eggs
By using red cabbage indicator you can test substances tond out which are acids and which are bases.By soakinghardboiled eggs in this sollution you can use the same method
to paint and decorated them in dierent colours.
Time:2+ hrs
Difculty:Hints: Observe what happens to the colouro your eggs when they are let or a day.
Adults only step: Chop
some red cabbage leaves
into small pieces and place
in a saucepan. Pour water
over the cabbage and boil.
Simmer or 20 minutes.
1.
Allow mixture to cool a little
until it is very warm. Strain
the leaves rom the water
into a large bowl. Pour the
juice back into the pan.
Compost the leaves.
2.
Add the peeled boiled eggs
to the warm cabbage water
and allow it to soak or
20 minutes. They will turn
blue. Allow the eggs to dry
completely.
3.
Mix 1 teaspoon o baking
soda and 1 teaspoon o
water in a dish. Mix a
teasoon o lemon juice
with a teaspoon o water in
another dish.
4.
Painting with lemon will
turn a pink colour and
indicates lemon is an acid.
Painting with baking soda
turns a green/blue colour
indicating it is a base.
5.
Allow to dry. Your eggs
are still edible but i
you experiment with
other substances we
recommend that you do
not eat them.
6.
4 peeled hard boiled
eggs
a saucepan
a large spoon
2 paint brushes or 2
cotton tips
1/4 o a red cabbage
1 litre o water
a knie
a cutting surace
a strainer
baking soda
1 juiced lemon
2 small dishes
1 large bowl
1 clean old teatowel
What you will need:
500 Harris St. Ultimo
PO Box K346 Haymarket NSW 1238Australia Tel: 02 9217 0111
http://play.powerhousemuseum.com
Creative Commons Licence for use of this work
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Australia Licence (CC BY-NC 3.0 AU)
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/au/
7/29/2019 Easter indicator eggs
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Page 2
500 Harris St Ultimo
PO Box K346 Haymarket NSW 1238
Australia
Tel: 02 6217 0111
http://play.powerhousemuseum.com
This work is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike 2.5 License.
THE SCIENCE LAB
Make & Do Activity Kit
Indicator eggs
Recording your results:
Use these egg shapes to record the colour results
that you get rom each experiment. Label each with
the name o the substance you used. The PH colour
chart on the next page can be used to match your
eggs colour. It will Indicate the amount o acid
or base in your test substance. Record where the
substances ts on the PH scale.
Acid, base or neutral:
Whats going on?
Substances can be either an
acid, base or neutral. In orderto test i something is an acid or a base we can
use an indicator. An indicator will change in colour
when it goes rom acidic to basic conditions and
can tell us the pH o dierent things. Red cabbage
contains a natural pigment molecule called favin
which changes colour when it comes into contact
with acids and bases. Egg whites are slightly basic.
Lemon juice and vinegar are both acid so they will
turn pinks or oranges. Baking soda turns a green/
blue colour indicating a base is present.
What else can I do:
Activity 1: Homemade litmus paper
Try our instructions or making Homemade litmus
paperand nd things to test or acids and bases
around the house such as soaps, lemonade and
cream o tartar. There is a larger list o suggestions
in the Homemade litmus paperinstructions
download. You can also use these substances to
experiment on your egg but it is important to note
they will no longer be edible.
Activity 2 : Colourul artwork
Litmus paper can be used to create coloured paper.
You can make these into cards and wrapping paper.
You will nd instruction in the Homemade litmus
paperactivity.
500 Harris st. UltimoPO Box K346 Haymarket NSW 1238
Australia Tel: 02 9217 0111
http://play.powerhousemuseum.com
Creative Commons Licence for use of this workThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial 3.0 Australia Licence (CC BY-NC 3.0 AU)
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/au/
7/29/2019 Easter indicator eggs
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Page 3
500 Harris St Ultimo
PO Box K346 Haymarket NSW 1238
Australia
Tel: 02 6217 0111
http://play.powerhousemuseum.com
This work is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike 2.5 License.
THE SCIENCE LAB
Make & Do Activity Kit
Indicator eggs