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Acids, Bases & Salts

Indicator Range

The span of pH over which an indicator's colour visibly changes, roughly one unit either side of its pKa.

Formula / equation pH = pK_In ± 1
Unit Dimensionless

In depth

Outside this range one form is present in such excess that its colour masks the other completely. A suitable indicator must have its range lying entirely within the vertical section of the titration curve, otherwise the colour change is gradual and the end point ill-defined.

Examples in the real world

Methyl orange changes between pH 3.1 and 4.4; phenolphthalein between 8.3 and 10.0.