Milk of Magnesia Experiment – Color Changing Liquid Teaches Science Behind Antacids
If you’ve ever wondered how those antacids really work inside your stomach, the Milk of Magnesia demo is easy to perform and really illustrates the concept of pH change and the buffering power of magnesium hydroxide. I first saw the demonstration performed by Sue Ann Berger during a Flinn Morning of Chemistry many years ago. She originally called the demonstration M.O.M. to the Rescue, and the audience reaction from her standing room only crowd was fantastic. The Milk of Magnesia demo is a favorite among chemistry teachers because of the visual way it teaches the buffering action of magnesium hydroxide. I recently shared this cool science demo on 9News.
Read the Color Changing Milk of Magnesia Experiment
Watch the Milk of Magnesia Experiment Video
Milk of magnesia is a liquid used as an antacid and, sometimes, a laxative. Also known as magnesium hydroxide or Mg(OH)2, the solution is taken orally. The original concentrated formula was concocted by a man named Charles Henry Phillips in 1880, and sold under the brand Phillips’ Milk of Magnesia. Today, the rights to the name “milk of magnesia” appear to be owned by Bayer Corporation and, interestingly, “Phillips’ Milk of Magnesia” is owned by Sterling Drug.
Milk of magnesia is an alkaline suspension, meaning that it undergoes a neutralizing reaction when encountering anything acidic. This makes it an effective combatant of excess stomach acid when taken internally. Too much hydrochloric acid (HCl) excreted by the parietal cells in the stomach can lead to indigestion, heartburn and stomach ulcers. Milk of magnesia in the form of an antacid is dosed from 500 mg-1.5 mg (0.02-0.05 oz) and readily enters the stomach, where the hydroxide ions in milk of magnesia combine with the hydrogen ions in HCl to calm overactivity in the stomach.
this is great! i need a really good sience project for my age.i am in 5th grade i need help send me some ideas also lvoe your ideas but they are to imature.
thanks dianna
So cool!
i need some ideas but still don’t have anything to do for my science project???
p.s. i need help
Hello! my name is Fiona I am in 6th grade I wanted to give u some information for u’r project:
Milk is mostly water, but, it contains vitamins, minerals,proteins and tiny droplets of fat.
Hope it’ll work!
see ya!
very useful information.
This is a very cool project. I remember doing something similar with coke for a 5 grade science project.
very useful info….
i just cant find the ingredant too do it..can u help me please it for a school project..lolz
Julie – I assume it is the cabbage juice indicator your are having trouble finding and not the milk of magnesia. You can purchase it through the Steve Spangler Science website by following this link (https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/1552) or you can make your own by following the experiment in this link (https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000048). I hope this helps.
What???
Hey this experiments are really cool. I can’t figure out this one.
Why does this expirement work?
Destiny – you can find the answer by following this link to the Steve Spangler Science website: https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/color-changing-milk-of-magnesia
This I think is a wonderful science project for children, but has anyone thought to mention that the use and over use antacids can cause great harm. In a study of 500,000 patients written and published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, scientists concluded that antacids in fact make your digestive system much more welcoming for malicious harmful bacteria and viruses-and that can open the flood gates to all sorts of complications. They discovered that individuals taking acid-suppressing medications were 4.5 times more likely to get pneumonia than those who hadn’t taken the drugs!
Add ice to milk of magnesia solution for better results. Ice slows down the color changes 🙂
how does this work? i need to know for my science experiment. i know it says on the site but its too scientific..any help please? 🙂
So what exactly does this represt? Just the color changes, or could I add food and show how it digests/dissolves? Please help soon it’s for an important project.
Ask your science teacher
Anyone? Help?
This helps me a lot. I took it twice in a row to make sure all that is bothering inside my stomach is gone. As a matter of fact Im inside the toilet now at 4:42 in the morning.