How to inflate a balloon with sodium bicarbonate and vinegar

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

Learn to blow up a balloon with simple ingredients you can find at home. Thanks to this method, you can fill plastic balloons with the carbon dioxide produced by the ingredients that react with each other. There is no trace of helium, so they will not fly.

Steps

Part 1 of 2: Inflate the balloon

Step 1. Pour some vinegar into a plastic bottle

Choose one that contained water or another type that has a narrow neck. Pour some vinegar so that there is 3-5 cm of liquid on the bottom; use a funnel for this, if you have one available. You can use white or distilled vinegar that is not suitable for food use to obtain excellent results.

• You can try this method with any type of vinegar, but in that case it will take longer or you will need more liquid. Also, the other types of vinegar are more expensive.
• Remember that vinegar can damage metal containers and give an unpleasant taste to both foods and drinks that you will later put in these containers. If you don't have plastic bottles, use a high-quality stainless steel bottle to minimize this risk. You can also consider diluting the vinegar with water (to make it less aggressive), but be aware that it will take longer to inflate the balloon.

Step 2. Use a funnel or straw to pour some baking soda into a deflated balloon

You can use any type of balloon and any color. Grab it by the opening without squeezing it and make it face you. Insert the funnel, if you have one, into the balloon and pour about two tablespoons of baking soda, the balloon should be half filled.

If you don't have a funnel, insert a plastic straw into a mound of baking soda, close the top opening with your finger, and then slide it into the balloon. At this point, lift your finger and tap the straw to drop the baking soda. Repeat this procedure until you have filled 1/3 of the balloon

Step 3. Enlarge the opening of the balloon and slide it over the neck of the bottle

At this stage, be careful not to drop the baking soda. Grab the opening of the balloon with both hands and spread it out to wrap the neck of the plastic bottle in which you put the vinegar. Ask a friend to hold the bottle steady so it doesn't wobble.

Step 4. Lift the balloon and observe the reaction

The baking soda will fall into the bottle through the neck and come into contact with the vinegar at the bottom. At this point, the two compounds will react with each other and fizz, transforming into different chemical compounds. One of these is carbon dioxide, a gas which, as it rises, will inflate the balloon.

Gently shake the bottle to mix the two ingredients, if you don't have many bubbles

Step 5. If nothing happens, try again using larger amounts of vinegar or baking soda

If the reaction has stopped, but the balloon is still deflated even after counting to 100, empty the bottle and try again by increasing the doses of reagents. The residues that remained in the bottle have turned into different compounds, mostly water, so they are not reusable.

Don't overdo it, the bottle should never be filled with vinegar over 1/3 of its capacity

Part 2 of 2: The Mechanism of Action

Step 1. This method is based on chemical reactions

All the matter that surrounds us is composed of molecules, that is, different types of substances. Often, two types of molecules react with each other by breaking up and reassembling themselves to form different molecules.

Step 2. Learn about baking soda and vinegar

The reagents, that is the substances that have reacted with each other creating the effervescence that you could see, are sodium bicarbonate and vinegar. Unlike other household products, both of these ingredients are simple compounds and not the result of several elements:

• Baking soda is also called sodium hydrogen carbonate.
• White vinegar is a mixture of acetic acid and water. Only acetic acid reacts with bicarbonate.

Step 3. Learn about the reaction

Baking soda is a definite substance basic. Vinegar, or acetic acid, is a substance sour. Bases and acids react with each other, partially breaking down and creating different substances. This process describes a "neutralization" because the product is neither acidic nor basic. In the example described here, water, a type of salt and carbon dioxide is obtained. Carbon dioxide, a gas, leaves the liquid mixture and expands in the bottle to the balloon, inflating the latter.

Although the definition of acid and base may seem complicated, you can compare the differences between the original substances and the "neutralized" product to note the obvious changes. For example, vinegar has a strong odor and can be used to dissolve scale and dirt. Once mixed with baking soda, the smell is less intense and also the cleansing capacity is no higher than that of pure water

Step 4. Study the chemical formula

If you know chemistry or are curious how scientists describe reactions, the formula below represents the reaction that occurs between sodium bicarbonate NaHCO₃ and acetic acid HC₂H.₃OR₂(aq) NaC₂H.₃OR₂. Can you imagine how each molecule breaks down and reassembles itself?

• NaHCO₃(aq) + HC₂H.₃OR₂(aq) → NaC₂H.₃OR₂(aq) + H₂O (l) + CO₂(g).
• The letters in brackets indicate the state of the various elements: "g" stands for gaseous, "l" for liquid and "aq" for aqueous.