How to Explain Acids and Bases to Kids
Teach your child about atoms and molecules., Explain acids and bases., Show your child the pH scale., Teach the concept of neutrality., Emphasize safety., Introduce your child to litmus paper., Teach the properties of acids and bases., Gather safe...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Teach your child about atoms and molecules.
Tell your child that everything around us is made up of elements and atoms and molecules.
As an example, use water.
Explain to your child that water’s symbol is H2O.
The “H” stands for hydrogen; the “O” stands for oxygen.
Therefore, “H2O” indicates that there are two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom bound together.
A water molecule may be broken into parts, each with one OH and one H element. -
Step 2: Explain acids and bases.
If a liquid produces more hydroxide (OH), it is a base; if it produces more hydrogen (H), it is an acid.
It helps, when explaining complex concepts, to know your child’s learning style.
Does your child learn best through watching, listening, or physically doing something? When it doubt, use a combination of visual, auditory, and practical methods: most kids respond well to pictures, sounds, experiments, and things that engage their senses. , Tell your child that scientists came up with a way of telling how acidic or basic various substances were by assigning them a number on a pH scale.
The scale of acids and bases is fourteen degrees.
Draw the scale (or print one from the internet) and explain to your child that substances with a value of one to seven (having a low pH value) are acidic, while substances with a value of seven to fourteen (having a high pH value) are basic.
It might help to label your pH scale with names or pictures of everyday items that are either acidic or basic, in their proper places on the scale. , Substances with a pH of seven are neutral; they are neither acids or bases.
Distilled water is an example.
Acids and bases can neutralize one another when combined. , Very acidic substances (around one or below on the pH scale) are dangerous, as are very basic substances (around thirteen or above on the pH scale).
Tell your child that he or she should never experiment with such substances. , Litmus paper reveals whether a substance is an acid or a base.
It turns red for acids and blue for bases.
Dip the litmus paper in vinegar.
It should turn red to show acidity.
Dip the litmus paper in a solution of baking soda and water.
It should turn blue to show that the solution is a base.
Alternatively, you can create homemade test strips.
To do that, heat cabbage leaves in water or the microwave until they are soft, then cut them in small pieces, press them onto a coffee filter until the color is absorbed, then remove the cabbage and cut into strips.
These strips can be dipped into acids or bases as well. , In general, acids and bases have certain recognizable characteristics, which your child can notice even without litmus paper.
Acids have a sour taste and can dissolve many materials.
Citric acid, vinegar, and battery acid are all examples, as is the gastric acid that breaks down the food we eat.
Bases have a bitter taste and tend to be slimy or slippery.
They can break down dirt and plaque by forming hydroxide bubbles and are therefore often used for cleaning.
Soaps, dishwashing liquids, detergents, bleaches, hair conditioners, and baking soda are all examples. , You can grab many acidic and basic items from your kitchen: orange juice, milk, baking soda, lemons, whatever you have on hand. , Remind your child that acids will taste sour, while bases will taste bitter. , Kids love experiments and tend to remember concepts better when they have experimented with them themselves.
Get your child involved right away by having him or her gather the necessary materials for an experiment: cabbage leaves, a blender, a strainer, water, five plastic gelatin cups, vinegar, baking soda, dish soap, lemon or lime juice, and milk. , Place four or five leaves in the blender, fill it halfway with water, and puree.
Strain the solids out of the blended mixture, and pour the purple liquid into the five plastic gelation cups (putting roughly equal amounts into each cup).
Alternatively, you can make an indicator by filling a saucepan with water, boiling it, and then placing sliced red cabbage leaves into the pan.
Let it stand for ten minutes, until the water turns red.
Cool to room temperature. , The five substances you’ve gathered are chemical reagents.
If they are acidic, they will turn the purple liquid a bright neon pink; if they are basic, they will turn it a dark blue-green color.
Ask your child to make predictions based on how the substances (except for the dish soap, of course) taste. , Have your child drop a teaspoon of each reagent into one of the five cups.
Be sure to save the milk for last.
Record all findings as you go, having your child note the particular reagent, its taste, his or her prediction, and the color that results from the experiment.
When your child gets to the milk, you should note that the indicator turns neither bright pink nor dark blue; it becomes a creamy violet color instead.
This is because milk is neutral; it sits at the middle of the pH scale and does not taste either sour or bitter.
Remind your child of the pH scale and explain that substances get increasingly sour as they get lower on the scale and increasingly bitter as they get higher. , You can also see what happens when your child adds a base to an acid (or vice versa).
Note the fact that you can create a neutral substance by combining reagents. , Your child should have grasped the concept of pH through the experiment, but review to be sure.
Ask him to go over his data and explain to you why substances behaved as they did, then ask follow-up questions to challenge his ability to comprehend the information. -
Step 3: Show your child the pH scale.
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Step 4: Teach the concept of neutrality.
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Step 5: Emphasize safety.
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Step 6: Introduce your child to litmus paper.
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Step 7: Teach the properties of acids and bases.
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Step 8: Gather safe examples for a taste test.
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Step 9: Ask your child to taste items and guess whether they are acids or bases.
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Step 10: Gather your materials.
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Step 11: Make an indicator with cabbage leaves.
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Step 12: Look at your substances.
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Step 13: Perform the experiment.
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Step 14: Experiment with neutralization.
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Step 15: Review the results.
Detailed Guide
Tell your child that everything around us is made up of elements and atoms and molecules.
As an example, use water.
Explain to your child that water’s symbol is H2O.
The “H” stands for hydrogen; the “O” stands for oxygen.
Therefore, “H2O” indicates that there are two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom bound together.
A water molecule may be broken into parts, each with one OH and one H element.
If a liquid produces more hydroxide (OH), it is a base; if it produces more hydrogen (H), it is an acid.
It helps, when explaining complex concepts, to know your child’s learning style.
Does your child learn best through watching, listening, or physically doing something? When it doubt, use a combination of visual, auditory, and practical methods: most kids respond well to pictures, sounds, experiments, and things that engage their senses. , Tell your child that scientists came up with a way of telling how acidic or basic various substances were by assigning them a number on a pH scale.
The scale of acids and bases is fourteen degrees.
Draw the scale (or print one from the internet) and explain to your child that substances with a value of one to seven (having a low pH value) are acidic, while substances with a value of seven to fourteen (having a high pH value) are basic.
It might help to label your pH scale with names or pictures of everyday items that are either acidic or basic, in their proper places on the scale. , Substances with a pH of seven are neutral; they are neither acids or bases.
Distilled water is an example.
Acids and bases can neutralize one another when combined. , Very acidic substances (around one or below on the pH scale) are dangerous, as are very basic substances (around thirteen or above on the pH scale).
Tell your child that he or she should never experiment with such substances. , Litmus paper reveals whether a substance is an acid or a base.
It turns red for acids and blue for bases.
Dip the litmus paper in vinegar.
It should turn red to show acidity.
Dip the litmus paper in a solution of baking soda and water.
It should turn blue to show that the solution is a base.
Alternatively, you can create homemade test strips.
To do that, heat cabbage leaves in water or the microwave until they are soft, then cut them in small pieces, press them onto a coffee filter until the color is absorbed, then remove the cabbage and cut into strips.
These strips can be dipped into acids or bases as well. , In general, acids and bases have certain recognizable characteristics, which your child can notice even without litmus paper.
Acids have a sour taste and can dissolve many materials.
Citric acid, vinegar, and battery acid are all examples, as is the gastric acid that breaks down the food we eat.
Bases have a bitter taste and tend to be slimy or slippery.
They can break down dirt and plaque by forming hydroxide bubbles and are therefore often used for cleaning.
Soaps, dishwashing liquids, detergents, bleaches, hair conditioners, and baking soda are all examples. , You can grab many acidic and basic items from your kitchen: orange juice, milk, baking soda, lemons, whatever you have on hand. , Remind your child that acids will taste sour, while bases will taste bitter. , Kids love experiments and tend to remember concepts better when they have experimented with them themselves.
Get your child involved right away by having him or her gather the necessary materials for an experiment: cabbage leaves, a blender, a strainer, water, five plastic gelatin cups, vinegar, baking soda, dish soap, lemon or lime juice, and milk. , Place four or five leaves in the blender, fill it halfway with water, and puree.
Strain the solids out of the blended mixture, and pour the purple liquid into the five plastic gelation cups (putting roughly equal amounts into each cup).
Alternatively, you can make an indicator by filling a saucepan with water, boiling it, and then placing sliced red cabbage leaves into the pan.
Let it stand for ten minutes, until the water turns red.
Cool to room temperature. , The five substances you’ve gathered are chemical reagents.
If they are acidic, they will turn the purple liquid a bright neon pink; if they are basic, they will turn it a dark blue-green color.
Ask your child to make predictions based on how the substances (except for the dish soap, of course) taste. , Have your child drop a teaspoon of each reagent into one of the five cups.
Be sure to save the milk for last.
Record all findings as you go, having your child note the particular reagent, its taste, his or her prediction, and the color that results from the experiment.
When your child gets to the milk, you should note that the indicator turns neither bright pink nor dark blue; it becomes a creamy violet color instead.
This is because milk is neutral; it sits at the middle of the pH scale and does not taste either sour or bitter.
Remind your child of the pH scale and explain that substances get increasingly sour as they get lower on the scale and increasingly bitter as they get higher. , You can also see what happens when your child adds a base to an acid (or vice versa).
Note the fact that you can create a neutral substance by combining reagents. , Your child should have grasped the concept of pH through the experiment, but review to be sure.
Ask him to go over his data and explain to you why substances behaved as they did, then ask follow-up questions to challenge his ability to comprehend the information.
About the Author
Amber Moore
Committed to making crafts accessible and understandable for everyone.
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