In the red cabbage lab, we just took the cabbage juice and in 5 separate cups mixed it with 5 different liquids, ex: coke, milk, cleaning agent, etc, and matched the color to a ph chart to tell if it was a base or an acid. Simple lab. The question needs a relatively simple explanation of what chemical changes occurred to turn the juice to a different color. I know it has something to do with the hydrogen ions and maybe the dissociation of the electrons, but I am not really sure how or why.

You're asking the same question and apparently not doing much work of your own. Yes, it is a simple lab. No, it isn't a simpler answer. I searched Google, which you could do too, and finally came up with this equation. Red cabbage has a flavenoid in it. The particular flavenoid red cabbage has is an anthrocyanin. When an acid or base is added to this particular anthrocyanin, it changes color due to a conjugated system and the color ranges from purple to yellow to green. Here is the chemical equation for the various colors. I tried to copy and paste the equations but couldn't do it. You can do to this site and see the equations. You can also see that it isn't a simple explanation. Scroll down about 3/4 of the page to see the equations. After that I've listed another site that shows the various colors. You probably used something like that in your lab.

http://lecturedemos.chem.umass.edu/chemReactions4_9A.html

For the color chart scroll the next site about 3/4 down the page.

You can see it isn't such a simple answer. You can take these complicated equations and simplify them by saying that the chemical in red cabbage leaves adds or removes H when mixed with acids or bases which changes the chemical structure to produce different colors shown on the color chart.
http://www.coolscience.org/CoolScience/Teachers/Activities/CabbageJuice.htm

Thanks for your help. I did google for 3 hours before I came here. You asked me to specify the lab I was doing so I did. Thank you again.

In the red cabbage lab, the color change that occurs when the cabbage juice is mixed with different liquids is due to a chemical change known as an indicator reaction. Red cabbage contains a pigment called anthocyanin, which is responsible for its natural purple color.

The anthocyanin pigment in red cabbage is a natural pH indicator, meaning it can change color depending on the acidity or basicity of a solution. This is because anthocyanin molecules can exist in different forms, depending on the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in the solution.

When the cabbage juice is exposed to an acidic solution, such as vinegar or lemon juice, the anthocyanin molecules take on a reddish color. This is because in an acidic environment, the concentration of hydrogen ions is high, which causes the anthocyanin molecules to become positively charged.

On the other hand, when the cabbage juice is mixed with a basic solution, such as baking soda or ammonia, the anthocyanin molecules change to a bluish or greenish color. In a basic environment, the concentration of hydrogen ions is low, and the anthocyanin molecules become negatively charged.

The change in color occurs because the different forms of the anthocyanin pigment absorb and reflect light differently, resulting in a visible color change. Therefore, by comparing the color of the cabbage juice mixture with a pH chart, you can determine whether the solution is acidic or basic.

To summarize, when you mix the red cabbage juice with different liquids, the chemical changes occur due to the interaction between the anthocyanin pigment and the varying concentrations of hydrogen ions in the solutions. This interaction results in a color change, allowing you to identify whether the liquid is acidic or basic.