How can an understanding of pH—a logarithmic scale used to identify the acidity or basicity of a water-based solution—be used to design and create a color-changing paint? This activity provides students the opportunity to extract dyes from natural products and test dyes for acids or bases as teams develop a prototype “paint” that is eventually applied to help with a wall redesign at a local children’s hospital. Students learn about how dyes are extracted from organic material and use the engineering design process to test dyes using a variety of indicators to achieve the right color for their prototype. Students iterate on their dyes and use ratios and proportions to calculate the amount of dye needed to successfully complete their painting project.
- Subject:
- Applied Science
- Chemistry
- Engineering
- Mathematics
- Numbers and Operations
- Physical Science
- Material Type:
- Activity/Lab
- Provider:
- TeachEngineering
- Provider Set:
- Activities
- Author:
- Benjamin McCombs
- Carly Monfort
- Joseph Duncan
- Linda Gillum
- Miyong Hughes
- Date Added:
- 01/30/2019