Inquiry experiment
Aim/Purpose :
To see what happens when baking soda and vinegar mix/combine
To see the reaction that occurs when these two substances are mixed
Prediction - What do we think is going to happen:
We think it will explode/ It’s going to blow up
The ziplock bag will pop open and the liquid will spill out
It could fizz up
The bag might fill up with air
Fizz up like soda when shaken
The air pressure created inside the bag will cause the seal on the bag to pop open
Steps:
- Open up a paper towel on a flat surface
- Put 4 levelled teaspoons of baking soda in the centre of the paper towel
- Wrap up the baking soda in the paper towel like a package - Keep the baking soda concentrated in the middle of the paper towel
- Tape down your package of baking soda with a piece of masking tape so that everything stays in place
- Open the vinegar and pour it into a cup - until the cup is half full
- Then open a zip lock bag and pour the vinegar into it
- Hold the package inside the zip lock bag, making sure it doesn’t yet make contact with the vinegar - then zip up the bag - making sure that it is completely closed
- Let the package of baking soda drop into the vinegar and shake the bag up a little so that they start to mix
- Observe what happens
Materials/equipment:
- Baking Soda (4 x tablespoons)
- Vinegar (half a cup)
- Ziplock sandwich bags
- Plastic spoon
- Paper towel
- Masking tape
Roles within the group:
- Presenter - conducts the experiment
- Assistant - collects all the materials
- Videographer - takes a video of the experiment
- Recorder - Record the result
After students have prepared they can present the experiment in front of the class who will be the audience. The videographer can record the experiment and the recording can be shared at a later stage.
The Result - What did we see happen?
When we dropped the baking soda into the vinegar and that caused a gas eruption. The bag fizzed up and up and until there was no air the bag will explode.
Variables - How could we change the variables?
Predict what might happen if we change the variables
Experiment - Were our predictions accurate?
Put 5 or more teaspoons of baking soda into the package - Bigger explosion/more powerful
If there is too much baking soda and not enough vinegar, it may not work
Put more vinegar - Bigger explosion/not pop
Way less baking soda and wrapped in more paper towels - nothing - it would take a longer time to see a reaction
Baking soda - With no package surrounding it - The reaction would happen instantly and uncontrollably
The Science - Why did it happen? Here are some websites to look at…. You may be able to find other websites too!
When vinegar and baking soda are first mixed together, hydrogen ions in the vinegar react with the sodium and bicarbonate ions in the baking soda making a chemical reaction and the air bursts through
