pH test strip

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Blue litmus paper (left) and a pH test strip (right)

A pH test strip, also called pH strip, pH test kit, strip paper, universal indicator test kit among other dozen names, is a type of testing material which, when immersed in a solution, displays smooth color changes over a pH value range from 0 to 14, to indicate the acidity or alkalinity of solutions.

General

pH strips come in various forms, the most common form involves a plastic case with a colored palette indicating the color of the indicator at different pH values. Some have three rolls of pH paper, each for different pH range (acidic, neutral, basic), while others have a series of dots on a paper strip, which display the pH level via various indicators.

Availability

pH test strips can be bought from most hardware stores, as swimming pool water pH test kits. They can also be bought online.

DIY pH strip

A simple ph test kit can be made by carefully adding bits of prepared universal indicator on a strip of paper and using a printed image of the indicator at various pH levels as reference. If you don't have access to that, you can substitute a more common indicator such as anthocyanin.

See also

References

Relevant Sciencemadness threads