Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment

Make mealtimes memorable with this fun baking soda and vinegar experiment that plays around with regular sandwich lunch bags.

What You’ll Need

– one small zip-lock bag
– warm water
– vinegar
– ¼ cup measuring cup
-a tissue

What You’ll Do

Choose a workstation where you can be a little messy. Go outside, put newspaper on the kitchen table, or use the kitchen sink.

Open the sandwich bag and add ¼ cup warm water and ½ cup vinegar. Take the tissue and add three teaspoons of baking soda to the center. Wrap the tissue so that the baking soda is contained inside.

Now get ready to act quickly. Ziplock the bag shut until only a small opening remains for adding the baking soda. Put the baking soda-tissue into the bag and zip it shut!

Put the bag down and step back. If all goes well, your experiment will end in a bang!

What is Going On?

Another great example of an acid-base reaction, the baking soda and vinegar in the bag react together to create carbon dioxide. The tissue simply buys you time to shut the bag before the reaction occurs. Because gasses need lots of room to expand, the CO2 will quickly will the confines of the sandwich bag and put pressure on the sides until the bag bursts and the gas can fully disperse.