What are common properties of bases?

1 Answer

Bases have pH values greater than 7, taste bitter and feel slippery on your skin.

Explanation:

On the pH scale; anything under 7 is considered acidic, 7 is neutral and anything over 7 is basic. The scale goes from 0-14.

Bases taste bitter as opposed to acids which taste sour.

The reason bases feel slippery on your skin is that they will react with fats or oils to make soap. If you get NaOH on your skin it could cause a chemical burn unless you rinse it off completely within a short time after getting it on your skin. How do you know when you have rinsed off all of the basic NaOH? When your hands don't feel slippery anymore!

Here is a video which discusses acids and bases.

Video from: Noel Pauller

Here is a video of an indicator lab testing different substances to find their pH levels!

Video from: Noel Pauller