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How to Have Fun With Vinegar and Baking Soda

Contributor
By Michael Motta
eHow Contributing Writer
(12 Ratings)

This was something that as a kid I improvised as a modification of the old vinegar and baking soda (acid and base) chemical reaction. It's fun and a little bit educational!

Difficulty: Easy
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  1. Step 1

    Choose a container with pop-on/pop-off lid. Use a simple pop-on/pop-off pill bottle for this, but realize that you're not likely to find pill bottles so easily opened anymore. Try a camera film cannister or similar. There are also tiny Tupperware containers that are in the ballpark.

  2. Step 2

    Pour Some Baking Soda Into the Container. You don't even need to fill it halfway.

  3. Step 3

    With some haste and the cap at the ready, pour some vinegar on top of the baking soda, quickly replacing the cap.

  4. Step 4

    Hurl the container high into the air, outdoors of course. Do this over the front yard.

  5. Step 5

    Watch (and hear) your container explode. The cap will blow off in mid-air and you can hear a "pop".

  6. Step 6

    Repeat!

Tips & Warnings
  • Scientific explanation - Vinegar is acetic acid (CH3COOH), baking soda is sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3). CH3COOH + NaHCO3 ---> CH3COONa + H2CO3. H2CO3 is carbonic acid, which is unstable and rapidly decomposes into carbon dioxide and water H2CO3 ---> H2O + CO2 So the small mess that spews is sodium acetate (CH3COONa) in water (H2O), as the carbon dioxide gas (Co2) escapes (causing the top to pop).
  • Surprise a friend who doesn't know about acids and bases.
  • Don't do this in the living room.

Comments  

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on 6/12/2009 Thanks for sharing.

AbbyNormal said

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on 5/13/2008 boys, boys, boys ....

jimdris said

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on 12/31/2007 We did something similar as kids with dry ice. We'd put a small piece in an empty plastic bleach bottle, add a cup of water, screw on the plastic lid, and throw it into the garage and shut the door. The rapid release of CO2 would rupture the bottle and make a loud BOOM!

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