What is a chemical?
“Chemical” is really just a fancy name for matter or stuff. So really chemicals are everywhere and everything, from the air around us to you yourself! A useful way to make sense of all of the chemicals around us is to find out whether they are acids, bases or neutral. Acids and bases are opposite like hot and cold, neutral means neither or in-between.
One way to find out whether chemicals are acidic, basic, or neutral is to test them with an indicator. Watch how an indicator works in this video or make one for yourself and then test out all the chemicals around you.
Big Ideas covered
Grade 1: Matter (Properties)
Grade 5: Chemistry (Solutions)