Why do acid and alkaline solutions get colorful when exposed to indicators?
In: Chemistry
The INDICATORS get colorful when exposed to alkaline or acid solutions. The indicators are chemicals that are designed to change color (interact with light differently) when they react with an acid or an alkaline.
If you look at [phenolphthalein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenolphthalein), you can see how its molecule changes with the formation of an acidic (-COOH) section or a basic ( -OH) section, and the new configuration of the molecule absorbs various frequencies (colors) of light differently, thus changing colors.
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