Ostwald's theory of indicators
- noun
- Specialized
:
teoría de los indicadores de Ostwald
- According to Ostwald's theory of indicators, the color change is due to the different colors of the ionized and unionized forms.
Examples
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In chemistry class, we studied Ostwald's theory of indicators to understand the behavior of litmus and phenolphthalein.
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In our chemistry lab, we learned how Ostwald's theory of indicators explains the color changes of litmus paper when acids are added.
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The Ostwald's theory of indicators explains why some substances change color when an acid or base is added.
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According to Ostwald's theory of indicators, the color change during titration is crucial.
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Many students struggle to grasp Ostwald's theory of indicators in chemistry class.
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Understanding Ostwald's theory of indicators is essential for interpreting the results of titration experiments.
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During the lecture, the professor emphasized Ostwald's theory of indicators to illustrate the importance of weak acids in colorimetric analysis.
Synonyms
A rule that explains why dyes used to show acid or base change color when their two forms look different
Surface Forms
Morphology
Ostwald's + theory + of + indicator
The phrase is compositionally clear: it denotes a theory (theory) about indicators attributed to Ostwald, so a learner who knows 'theory' and 'indicator' can infer it is Ostwald's account of how indicators behave. However, the detailed technical content (weak-acid/weak-base explanation of color change) is specialized chemistry knowledge and the proper name 'Ostwald' gives no semantic clue, so the full meaning is not predictable for an average B1 learner.
Etymology
Ostwald's theory of indicators says an indicator is a weak acid or weak base whose ionized and non-ionized forms look like different colors. So when you add acid or base, one form becomes more common and the indicator 'changes color', which is what the theory explains.
