Litmus & pH Chemistry Experiment Kit
by Science Supply Solutions

With a combination of litmus and pH papers, you’ll be able to perform some very basic science experiments in your own home, using some common household products. The kit includes 20 strips of red litmus paper, 20 strips of blue litmus paper, and 40 strips of pH paper. An activity guide is also included, to help guide you through the use of pH and litmus paper, as well as basic information about acids and bases, and how pH affects our daily lives.

Litmus tests are used to determine if a solution is an acid, or a base. While red litmus paper reacts to acids with an approximate pH of 4.5 or lower, turning blue. Blue litmus paper will react to bases with a pH that is above 8.3, and turn red. Litmus tests cannot be used to determine the actual pH of a solution, but they do serve to give a rough approximation by telling you in which range the pH falls.

The pH test paper is more precise that the litmus paper, as it is capable of showing a pH range of 1-14 through a series of colors and shades. It usually comes with a color matching chart, so that the test strip can be matched up to determine the approximate pH of the solution. This can be difficult to do sometimes, as some of the different colors can closely resemble each other.