Fizz Inflator Experiment

Greetings! You already know how much I love fizz, and today we get to use a lot—and I mean a lot—of fizz. I feel fizztastic just thinking about it, and you should too! So gather all the scientists in your house and get ready for another fun-filled fizzy experiment.

Fizzlebop Supply List

1. Small balloon
   
2. ½ cup (120 mL) vinegar
   
3. Small plastic bottle (20 oz or 600 mL)
   
4. Funnel
   
5. Baking soda
   
6. String (about 2 feet or 0.6 meters long)
   
7. Ruler
   

The Experiment

1. Loosen up the balloon by stretching it a few times. You can do this by blowing it up, then letting all the air out (and repeating that a few times). 
   
2. Carefully pour the vinegar into the bottle.
   
3. Fit the opening of the balloon around the small end of the funnel and fill it more than halfway full with baking soda. 
   
4. This next part could get tricky, so work together. Carefully put the balloon’s neck over the neck of the bottle without letting any baking soda into the bottle. 
   
5. Lift the balloon, allowing the baking soda to sprinkle from the balloon into the bottle.
   
6. Observe what happens as the vinegar and baking soda mix. Wrap the string around the balloon once. Then measure the string on a ruler to find the diameter. 
   
7. Try this again using a different amount of baking soda. Measure the diameter and observe whether it changed. ​
   

“Dr. Fizzlebop, what’s happening?”

Did you know that baking soda is considered a base (a compound that can neutralize an acid or react with an acid to form a salt) and vinegar is an acid (a chemical substance that can neutralize or dissolve some substances)? When baking soda and vinegar mix, they cause a chemical reaction—the reaction between the base and the acid creates carbon dioxide gas. And because gas expands, it fills the bottle, but the bottle’s sides don’t grow with the gas. The excess gas goes up into the balloon, causing it to inflate.

Collecting Your Family’s Data

How quickly did the chemical reaction start once the base and acid were combined?         

Did the balloon expand to different sizes when you used different amounts of baking soda? If yes, write down your measurement of the balloon’s size every time you used a different amount of baking soda.

Share your answers in the comments below.

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