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Anupamagrawal13a

Purpose:

The purpose of this science fair project is to understand the reaction between vinegar (a weak acid) and sodium bicarbonate. Acids have many properties such as a sour taste, they dissolve in water to form solutions that conduct electricity, can release hydrogen when add to certain metals, and can neutralize bases.

When you combine vinegar with baking soda you will produce carbon dioxide gas. Carbon dioxide gas will cause gas pressure will which inflate items such as a balloon. Baking soda is known in chemistry as Sodium Bicarbonate.

Hypothesis:

Mixing vinegar with baking soda will yield carbon dioxide gas. The carbon dioxide gas will cause the cylinder filled with baking soda to expand. The expanded cylinder will allow more vinegar to enter it which prompts a greater gas pressure. The overall effect of the reaction will enable the balloon to self inflate.

Variables:

· Amount of Baking Soda

· Amount of Vinegar

· Material that holds the baking soda (waxed paper versus paper towel)

· Temperature of the vinegar

Materials Needed:

· Large round Balloon

· 2-Liter plastic soda bottle

· Vinegar

· Funnel

· Waxed Paper

· Towel

· Baking Soda

· Spoon

· Scissors

SCIENCE EXPERIEMENT SETUP INSTRUCTIONS: Create a Balloon Self-Inflator

For this science fair project you will create contraption called a "Balloon Self-Inflator". Follow these steps to create the Balloon Self-Inflator.

1. Cut a piece of waxed paper into a 10in by 6in rectangle.

2. Drop a lengthwise half-inch thick strip of baking soda in the center of the rectangle. (The baking soda powder will be 10 inches long.)

3. Roll the waxed paper rectangle until you have a 10inch long cylinder that is a half-inch thick and fold over the ends of the cylinder.

4. Stick the cylinder through the opening of a 2-Liter plastic soda bottle. Push the cylinder until it is all the way inside the plastic soda bottle.

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT INSTRUCTIONS:

1. IMPORTANT NOTE: Have the balloon handy because you are going to immediately stretch it over the opening of the soda bottle after you complete Step 2.

2. Use the funnel to pour 1 to 2 cups of vinegar into the soda bottle. Stretch the balloon over the soda bottle opening.

3. Shake vigorously for 10 to 20 seconds. What happens? The balloon should inflate.

Extensions of this science fair project:

You can modify the variables to extend the scope of this science fair project. For example, try using paper towel instead of waxed paper when you create the cylinder. How does the paper towel react? Does the balloon still inflate? Does the balloon inflate at a faster or slower rate?

Another example would be to modify the temperature of the vinegar. What happens when you have room temperature vinegar versus warm vinegar? How does ice cold vinegar affect the inflation of the balloon?

Summary of Results:

Mixing vinegar with baking soda does indeed raise the gas pressure and inflate the balloon. Initially the mixture of vinegar and baking soda creates carbon dioxide gas. This carbon dioxide gas causes the cylinder to expand and allow more vinegar to enter the baking soda filled cylinder. This causes a snowball effect causing the balloon to inflate.

Create a table of your results for the various experiments. You can create a chart that has the type of cylinder (waxed paper or paper towel) versus the temperature of the vinegar.

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