Q33 of 48 Page 15

What will be the action of the following substances on litmus paper?

Dry HCl gas, moistened NH3 gas, lemon juice, carbonated soft drink, curd, soap solution

(i) Dry HCl gas: No change on litmus paper. This is because litmus paper changes colour only if ions such as hydrogen (H+) or hydronium (H3O+) ions are present in a solution. HCl can only furnish ions when it reacts with water. Thus, dry HCl gas does not change the colour of litmus paper.


(ii) Moistened NH3 gas: Red litmus turns blue as it is basic in nature


(iii) Lemon Juice: Blue litmus turns red as it contains citric acid


(iv) Carbonated soft drinks: Blue litmus turns red as it contains carbonic acid


(v) Curd: Blue litmus turns red as it contains lactic acid


(vi) Soap solution: Red litmus turns blue as it is basic in nature.


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