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Phenolphthalein

Definition: Phenolphthalein

Phenolphthalein

Noun

1. 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.
 


Specialty Definitions: Phenolphthalein

DomainDefinitions

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.

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Specialty Definition: Phenolphthalein

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Phenolphthalein is a sensitive pH indicator with the formula C20H14O4. Often used in titrations, it turns from colourless in acidic solutions to pink in alkaline solutions, the changeover occurring between pH 8 and pH 10. If the concentration of indicator is particularly strong, it can appear purple.

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!

External links

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Phenolphthalein."

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Crosswords: Phenolphthalein

Specialty definitions using "phenolphthalein": CARBONATION EQUIPMENT OPERATORPhenolphthalein AlkalinitySulfobromophthaleintotal acidity. (references)

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Non-Fiction Usage: Phenolphthalein

SubjectTopicQuote

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.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Phenolphthalein

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.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

  phenolphthalein

47

  indicator phenolphthalein

3
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Phenolphthalein

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

   

Portuguese

  

fenolftaleina. (various references)

   

Spanish

  

fenolftaleína. (various references)

   

Swedish

  

fenolftalein. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Phenolphthalein

Derivations

Words beginning with "phenolphthalein": phenolphthaleins. (additional references)


Misspellings

"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).

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Rhyming with "Phenolphthalein"

# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "phenolphthalein" (pronounced fē'nÄlfthā"lun or fe'nÄlfthā"lun)
3-l u nadrenaline, 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 nadrenaline, 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.

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Anagrams: Phenolphthalein

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.

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Alternative Orthography: Phenolphthalein


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)

American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)

=

Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)

Braille (1829, in France) (references)

Morse Code (1836) (references)

.--.    ....    .    -.    ---    .-..    .--.    ....    -    ....    .-    .-..    .    ..    -.

Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)

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Bibliographic Items: "phenolphthalein"


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Amazon.com BOOKS: Search for: "phenolphthalein"

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Public Service or Web Sites Triggered by: Phenolphthalein