Cleaning up after the Thanksgiving festivities, you have a bucket of ammonia solution in the kitchen. Your little cousin comes in and pours her glass of cranberry juice right into the bucket of ammonia. To everyone's surprise it turns from bright red to blue as it hits the ammonia.
Being an astute chemistry pro, what would your explanation for this curious observation be? Can you think of a way to really impress everyone by turning the solution from blue to red again?
2007-11-25 13:30:35 · 2 answers · asked by Kimberly L 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
Aparantly, the colored component of cranberry juice acts as a pH indicator; when it was poured into the ammonia solution the basic conditions caused the red-blue color change. presumably if something acidic was added the red color would return (as long as the color change was not some kind of irreversible reaction).
2007-11-25 13:39:53 · answer #1 · answered by Flying Dragon 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Let the coloring matter of cranberry juice be called CJH.
CJH(red) + NH3 ===> CJ(-)(blue) + NH4+
CJ(-)(blue) + CH2H3O2 ===> CJH(red) + C2H3O2-
Add vinegar, which is a 5% solution of acetic acid, HC2H3O2.
2007-11-25 13:39:23 · answer #2 · answered by steve_geo1 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋