Finding the pK(a) Values of a Double-Range Indicator Thymol Blue in a Remote Learning Activity

Colorful transitions of various acid-base indicators have been used to illustrate the concept of chemical equilibria, especially in spectrophotometric determination of the equilibrium constants or pKa values. To accommodate an online laboratory environment necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, this work employs color analyses from digital images to determine the pKa values of a double-range indicator thymol blue. The experiment has been developed into an online activity to teach chemical equilibria and dissociation of a diprotic acid. The pKa1 and pKa2 values determined by students are in good agreement with the literature values at 1.60 +/- 0.05 and 8.70 +/- 0.06, respectively. The results demonstrate a powerful application of RGB color analyses in determination of the pKa values of thymol blue without access to spectrophotometers.

Automated summary

Colorful transitions of acid-base indicators have been used to teach chemical equilibria, especially focusing on spectrophotometric determination of equilibrium constants. This study utilized color analyses from digital images to determine pKa values of thymol blue in an online laboratory environment. The results, showing good agreement with literature values, demonstrate the powerful application of RGB color analyses in determining pKa values without access to spectrophotometers.