Jan 29 2009
Fun with Baking Soda and Vinegar
Remember the days as a kid when you would do fun chemistry experiments in school. One of my favorites was playing with baking soda and vinegar – watching the reaction as the baking soda mixed with the vinegar, creating carbon dioxide gas and then as it would spew its slime all over the place. We used to make rockets that were propelled by the baking soda and vinegar mix – sometimes there would be good flights and others, we would experience a malfunction on the launch pad and the rocket would ‘pop its cork’. Another fun project is the volcano – take a pie pan, stand a small plastic coke bottle in the center of it, make up a paper Mache’ mix – form this around the bottle to make your volcano – when it is dry, you can paint your volcano and add any details that you wish. Add baking soda and vinegar to the bottle and watch the volcano erupt! Here is another variation on ‘fun’ with carbon dioxide gas. This does not involve baking soda and vinegar; rather it uses an Alka-Seltzer tablet and water. The reaction of the tablet when it comes in contact with water produces a gas. For this fun experiment you will need a pill bottle with a snap-on lid (not the child safety caps), an Alka-Seltzer tablet, water, and shaving cream. Be sure the shaving cream is the ‘white’ cream and not the gel type. Take your pill bottle and fill the bottom ¼ with water, squirt shaving cream on top of the water and fill almost to the top. Place the Alka-Seltzer tablet on top of the shaving cream, snap the lid on and set it down. The tablet will slowly sink through the shaving cream, and then when it reaches the water – it reacts, the gas builds up pressure inside the pill bottle, eventually the pressure is enough that the lid is forced off and the shaving cream comes charging out. This fun experiment should be done outside! Enjoy and have fun – and be safe in your experiments.
