Vinegar and Baking Soda Science

Have you ever thought of using vinegar and bakingdo. Take a piece of paper towel, and place some
soda to cure your case of boredom? There is notbaking soda on it. Fold the paper towel so that the
much worse than sitting around the house with nothingsodium bicarbonate is completely concealed. Take a
to do. There are many cool tricks and experimentsplastic zip bag, and put about 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1
that can be done with just vinegar and baking soda.4 cup of warm water in it. Zip the bag half way and
So, grab those ingredients and give these experimentsdrop the papertowel into the bag. QUICKLY zip the
a try!bag the rest of the way and stand back. Be sure to
First, lets understand why vinegar and baking sodado this quickly to get the best result.
make such a great combination. Vinegar is composedThe most popular use of baking soda and vinegar is
of about 5% acetic acid (CH3COOH). Baking sodathe classic volcano science fair project. The structure
(sodium bicarbonate NaHCO3) is a base. When theof the volcano can be made in many ways. I will just
two are mixed, a neutralization reaction occursexplain the essential part, the spewing lava! The inside
between the two which releases carbon dioxide gasof the volcano should be made with an open container
(CO2).(2 liter bottle works great). The volcano is built around
Now, lets see what we can do to entertain ourselves.the bottle. Place a tbsp. of dish soap and a tbsp of
First, we can blow up a balloon without blowing into it.baking soda into the bottle. If you wish, you can add a
Take a pop bottle and put a little vinegar in the bottom.drop of red food coloring for effect. When you are
Attach a balloon that is halfed fill with baking soda toready for the eruption, add a quarter cup of vinegar to
the top of the bottle. Now, lift the balloon so thethe bottle.
contents enter the bottle and watch the balloon fill withThose are just a few ideas, if you use your
CO2! This works best if you stretch the balloon a littleimagination you can find an unlimited number of fun
before using it.things to do. Anytime you are sitting around with
Everyone likes an explosion, so lets see what we cannothing to do, get creative and explore science.