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Definition: Phenolphthalein |
PhenolphthaleinNoun1. A laxative used in many preparations under various trade names; also used as an acid-base indicator in titrations involving weak acids and strong bases because it is brilliant red at high alkalinity and colorless below pH 8. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definitions |
Health | An acid-base indicator which is colorless in acid solution, but turns pink to red as the solution becomes alkaline. It is used medicinally as a cathartic. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In strongly alkaline solutions, phenolphthalein's pink color undergoes a rather slow fading reaction and becomes colorless again. In other words the molecule has three forms:
H2P <-> P2- <-> POH3-
acidic alkaline strong alkaline
no color pink no color
The fading reaction is sometimes used in undergraduate classes for the study of reaction kinetics.Phenolphthalein is insoluble in water, and is usually dissolved in alcohols for use in experiments. It is itself a weak acid, which can lose an H+ ions in solution. The phenolphthalein atom is colourless. However, the ion is a pink/purple colour. When an alkaline is added to the phenolphthalein, the atom<->ions equilibrium shifts to the ionisation because H+ ions are removed, (by Le Chatelier's principle).
Phenolphthalein has been used for over a century as a laxative, but is now being removed from the market because of concerns over carcinogenity. However, the small amounts usually used in experiments are harmless.

Spelling tip: Phenolphthalein has two pHs in it!
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Phenolphthalein."
Crosswords: Phenolphthalein |
| Specialty definitions using "phenolphthalein": CARBONATION EQUIPMENT OPERATOR ♦ Phenolphthalein Alkalinity ♦ Sulfobromophthalein ♦ total acidity. (references) |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Most laxative makers have replaced or plan to replace phenolphthalein with a safer ingredient. (references) | |
The Food and Drug Administration has proposed a ban on all over-the-counter products containing phenolphthalein. (references) | ||
Studies suggest that phenolphthalein, an ingredient in some stimulant laxatives, might increase a person's risk for cancer. (references) | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
phenolphthalein | 47 |
indicator phenolphthalein | 3 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "phenolphthalein"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 酚酞. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | phenolphthalein. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | fenolftaleïne. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | fenolftaleiini. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
French | phénolphtaléine. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Phenolphthalein. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | fenolftaleina. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | enolphthaleinphay fenolftaleina. (various references) fenolftaleína. (various references) fenolftalein. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "phenolphthalein": phenolphthaleins. (additional references) | |
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"Phenolphthalein" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: phenolphtalein, phenolphthalien, phenolphthaline, phenolpthalein. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "phenolphthalein" (pronounced fē'nÄlfthā"lun or fe'nÄlfthā"lun) |
| 3 | -l u n | adrenaline, Alan, Ballon, befallen, Billon, bouillon, Callan, Chamberlain, chaplain, colon, crestfallen, discipline, elan, fallen, felon, gallon, globulin, gremlin, insulin, javelin, kaolin, Kremlin, lanolin, Magdalen, Marlin, masculine, melon, Mullen, muskmelon, muslin, pelon, penicillin, pentathlon, pollen, porcelain, solan, Solon, stolen, stollen, sullen, swollen, talon, Tolan, triathlon, vanillin, villain, watermelon, woolen, woollen, Zeppelin. |
| 3 | -l u n | adrenaline, Alan, Ballon, befallen, Billon, bouillon, Callan, Chamberlain, chaplain, colon, crestfallen, discipline, elan, fallen, felon, gallon, globulin, gremlin, insulin, javelin, kaolin, Kremlin, lanolin, Magdalen, Marlin, masculine, melon, Mullen, muskmelon, muslin, pelon, penicillin, pentathlon, pollen, porcelain, solan, Solon, stolen, stollen, sullen, swollen, talon, Tolan, triathlon, vanillin, villain, watermelon, woolen, woollen, Zeppelin. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-e-h-h-h-i-l-l-n-n-o-p-p-t" | |
-5 letters: anopheline, lithophane. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-e-e-h-h-h-i-l-l-n-n-o-p-p-t" | |
+1 letter: phenolphthaleins. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)50 68 65 6E 6F 6C 70 68 74 68 61 6C 65 69 6E |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references).--. .... . -. --- .-.. .--. .... - .... .- .-.. . .. -. |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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| Amazon.com BOOKS: Search for: "phenolphthalein" |