Exploring Substances: Acidic, Basic, and Neutral
Sour, slippery and bitter
Find out how acids and bases taste and feel, and why you must not taste unknown substances.
Think about the Group A things you can eat: lemon, amla, tamarind, vinegar. They all taste sour. So things that taste sour usually contain acids.
Some common acids in food:
| Food | Acid |
|---|---|
| tamarind (imli) | tartaric acid |
| amla | ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and citric acid |
| tomato | citric acid and oxalic acid |
| orange and lemon | citric acid |
Now rub a little baking soda solution between your fingers. It feels soapy or slippery, just like handwash does when you wash your hands. Bases are generally slippery to touch.
Bases also generally taste bitter. But turn that round with care: not everything bitter is a base. Karela (bitter gourd) is bitter and is not basic. A taste is only a clue.
Caution. Never taste anything until you are asked to, and never taste an unknown substance. Some acids and bases can burn your tongue or skin. That is exactly why we need indicators: they tell us without tasting.
Practise this lesson
Questions that get harder as you improve, a Tutor that helps without giving the answer away, and progress you can see. Free for every learner.
No account, no email address. Opens the real product.