bicarb soda and vinegar experiment method

Learn about Reactions with This Vinegar and Baking Soda Experiment

Take a peek in your pantry. Do you have baking soda and vinegar? If so, you and your kids have the basic supplies for a bubbly science experiment! 

These two products are staples in many households because they are essential cooking ingredients. , Baking soda helps baked goods rise, and a pinch or two will balance the acidity in dishes like tomato soup. Vinegar is a common ingredient in salad dressings and sauces, and a splash will elevate any dish in need of a bright, tangy flavor.

But can you mix vinegar and baking soda together? You sure can—and the result is a wonderful at-home science experiment. Vinegar and baking soda create a very effective cleaner for dishwashers, washing machines, clogged sinks, and even tile grout because of the chemical reaction that occurs when the two substances interact. You can harness this same reaction for an exciting chemistry activity!

The Science behind the Reaction

A baking soda and vinegar reaction is simple and safe for budding scientists of all ages. Older children may be curious about why the reaction occurs—here’s the rundown:

When combined, baking soda and vinegar undergo an acid-base reaction. Acids and bases are aqueous solutions (meaning they’re substances dissolved in water) that exist at opposite ends of the pH (potential of hydrogen) scale, which spans from 0 to 14. Acids measure between 0 and 7 and bases measure between 7 and 14, while a pH of 7 indicates a neutral substance. In simple terms, bases have the potential to gain hydrogen ions (an ion is a type of atom, one of the tiny building blocks that make up all matter), while acids have the potential to donate hydrogen ions to another substance.

Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, has a pH level of 9, making it a base. Vinegar, which is acetic acid dissolved in water, has a pH level of 2–3, making it an acid. , Baking soda is made up of sodium, hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen atoms. Vinegar is made up of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen atoms.

When you mix baking soda and vinegar together, two hydrogen atoms move from the vinegar to the baking soda to create a salt called sodium acetate. The remaining atoms create a new acid—but it breaks down quickly into water and carbon dioxide gas.

It’s Time for an Experiment

Your kids can witness an acid-base chemical reaction right in your kitchen. This baking soda experiment for kids combines vinegar and baking soda, then uses the resulting carbon dioxide gas to inflate a balloon. This same reaction is behind science projects like fizzy potions and DIY volcanoes .

Children of all ages can participate in every step of this experiment, but younger kids may need help from an adult. You know your kid scientists’ abilities best!

Vinegar and Baking Soda Experiment

• ⅓ cup baking soda
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 empty plastic water or soda bottle
• 1 uninflated balloon
• 1 funnel 
• Use the funnel to fill the uninflated balloon with baking soda. Kids can help pour the baking soda while an adult holds the funnel and balloon. 
• Pour the vinegar into the empty plastic bottle. Fit the opening of the balloon over the mouth of the bottle, trying not to spill any baking soda out of the balloon.
• Once the balloon is securely attached to the bottle with no gaps for air to escape, lift the balloon and let the baking soda fall into the vinegar below.
• Watch as the baking soda and vinegar react—the mixture will bubble and fizz. As the reaction takes place, the balloon should begin to expand and fill with carbon dioxide gas!

Using the Scientific Method

The balloon experiment is an excellent way to show your children the wonders of chemistry from the comfort of home. You can build on their learning by teaching them to follow the scientific method. This process is what scientists around the world use to construct and test their hypotheses (what they think will happen in an experiment).

Help your children navigate the following steps:

• Identify a problem or question: Ask your kids, “What do you think will happen to the balloon when we combine vinegar and baking soda?” 
• Form a hypothesis : Encourage your children to guess how the vinegar and baking soda will react—and how that reaction will affect the balloon. Help them frame their hypothesis using the “if _____, then _____” format. For example: If the baking soda and vinegar mix, then bubbles will form and the balloon will expand.
• Conduct the experiment : Follow the steps in the experiment above to test their hypotheses. 
• Collect and analyze the results: Help your kids monitor how the experiment plays out. Older children can make notes, while young ones may want to take photos or draw pictures of the experiment.
• Provide a conclusion: Ask your kids if their hypotheses were correct. If they were, great! If not, ask them how the experiment differed from what they expected. Remember: Science is all about making wrong guesses and learning from them. Help your young chemists understand that an incorrect hypothesis is just as good as a correct one.

You and your kids can apply the scientific method to all kinds of at-home science experiments. There are plenty of family-friendly activities to grow your children’s interest in chemistry. For example, you could test whether a substance is acidic or basic using cabbage and water , or using carbon dioxide gas to create a miniature “snowstorm.”   

If your kids have a passion for experiments, sign them up for a science-based subscription box from Little Passports. The Science Junior box , designed for five-to-eight-year-olds, helps early elementary schoolers explore the wonders of science firsthand. Science Expeditions teaches children ages eight and up about more advanced scientific topics, such as aerodynamics and solar energy. Each month you’ll receive a box full of activities and discoveries to help your budding scientists flourish and grow.

Get Free Activities and Exclusive Offers

Blog categories.

• Craft & DIY
• World Holidays

Watch the Video!

Recent Posts

• Celebrate Your Daughter with This Japanese Girls’ Day Craft
• Enjoy a Fun-Filled Day with 10 Non-Screen Activities for Kids
• Spinning Science: How to Make a Tornado in a Bottle
• These Cute Easter Bunny Crafts Are a Hopping Good Time
• 3 Adorable DIY Gifts for Your Kids’ Favorite Teachers

Suggested keywords:

• Science Experiments
• DIY Experiments
• School Experiments
• Kids Experiments
• Lab Experiments

vinegar and baking soda experiment

The vinegar and baking soda experiment is a classic and exciting science activity that demonstrates a chemical reaction. Discover how to conduct this experiment step-by-step and understand the science behind it.

The vinegar and baking soda experiment is a classic and popular demonstration that showcases the fascinating chemical reaction that occurs when an acid and a base interact. By combining vinegar (acetic acid) and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), we can observe an exciting display of bubbling and fizzing. This experiment not only captivates the imagination but also serves as a valuable educational tool, allowing us to explore the properties of acids and bases in an interactive and engaging manner.

To conduct this experiment, you will need a few basic materials: baking soda, vinegar, a clear plastic bottle or glass jar, a funnel (optional), and a balloon (optional).

Let's walk through the steps of the experiment:

• Begin by selecting a clear plastic bottle or glass jar to serve as the container for the reaction. It's helpful to use a clear vessel, as it allows for better observation of the reaction.
• If desired, use a funnel to carefully pour a small amount of baking soda into the bottle, filling it to about one-quarter of its capacity. The funnel helps to prevent any spillage or mess.
• Slowly pour vinegar into the bottle, being cautious not to fill it to the brim. Leave some space at the top to accommodate the reaction that will take place. As the vinegar comes into contact with the baking soda, the magic begins.
• Observe the reaction as the vinegar and baking soda interact. Almost immediately, you will witness a flurry of bubbles and fizzing. This effervescent display is a result of the chemical reaction occurring between the acetic acid in the vinegar and the sodium bicarbonate in the baking soda.
• For an added interactive element, you can stretch a balloon over the top of the bottle or jar before pouring in the vinegar. As the carbon dioxide gas is generated during the reaction, it will inflate the balloon, creating a visual representation of the gas production.

The chemical reaction that transpires between the vinegar and baking soda can be explained by the following equation:

CH3COOH (acetic acid) + NaHCO3 (sodium bicarbonate) → CO2 (carbon dioxide) + NaC2H3O2 (sodium acetate) + H2O (water)

The reaction between the acid (vinegar) and the base (baking soda) produces carbon dioxide gas, which manifests as bubbles. Simultaneously, sodium acetate and water are formed as byproducts of the chemical reaction.

This experiment serves as an excellent educational tool, particularly for teaching children about chemical reactions and the properties of acids and bases. It provides a hands-on experience that allows them to witness the exciting transformation and understand the principles at play.

By engaging in the vinegar and baking soda experiment, children can develop a deeper appreciation for the world of chemistry. They can learn about the concept of chemical reactions, how different substances interact, and the role of acids and bases in these processes. Furthermore, the visual effects of bubbling and the inflation of the balloon make the experiment even more captivating and memorable.

However, it is important to note that while this experiment is safe and enjoyable, caution should always be exercised. Adult supervision is advised, especially when working with young children. It's crucial to handle the materials responsibly, avoid ingestion or contact with eyes, and clean up any spills promptly.

In conclusion, the vinegar and baking soda experiment provides an exciting opportunity to explore the chemical reaction between an acid (vinegar) and a base (baking soda). Through the combination of these two substances, we witness a captivating display of bubbling and fizzing, accompanied by the production of carbon dioxide gas, sodium acetate, and water. This experiment serves as an interactive and educational tool, allowing children to gain insights into the world of chemistry, understand the properties of acids and

• Share this :

Mohamed Aslam

Related posts, water experiments, most popular, how to make waterproof bag, how to make slime at home, how to send a secret message like a secret agent, how to mix soft drink and baking soda: a refreshing experiment, to our newsletter.

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• MEMBER LOGIN

Hands On As We Grow®

Hands on kids activities for hands on moms. Focusing on kids activities perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

Mega Baking Soda to Vinegar Ratio Experiment

Science Kindergartners Experiment 41 Comments

Set up a mega science experiment to figure out what baking soda and vinegar ratio works best for you and your preschooler!

We love a good baking soda and vinegar experiment, don’t you!??

I don’t know how many times the kids and I have done experiments with baking soda and vinegar .

But I’ve always questioned how much to use of each…

I’ve always just guessed and it turned out however it turned out.

Sometimes it was a great fizzy explosion, other times it just plain fizzled out.

However, the boys have always had a good time with our experiments.

But I thought it was time to figure out the ratio to make the best fizzy “explosion” using just baking soda and vinegar.

And letting the kids decide what worked the best.

First of all, why do baking soda and vinegar react the way they do?

I’m not all science-y and understand chemical reactions, so I had to look up a good answer for you from Steve Spangler Science.

The bubbles and foam you see are filled with carbon dioxide gas (CO 2 ) that’s being released by an acid/base reaction. Vinegar is acetic acid dissolved in water and baking soda is a base called sodium bicarbonate. Initially, the reaction makes carbonic acid which is unstable. It quickly breaks down into CO 2  and water. The gas then rapidly leaves the water creating foam and bubbles along the way.

You can read more about how the science behind this experiment as well as learn how to make and amazing rocket propelled by baking soda and vinegar over on Steve Spangler Science.

What ratio of baking soda to vinegar is best?

I set up an experiment for Henry and I to discover how to get the best baking soda and vinegar results.

We kept it a simple mixture, with just these 2 ingredients:

• baking soda

No added food coloring to worry about stains or anything like that. Keeping it very simple.

It might be handy to set this up on a tray, or outside and keep a sponge or towel handy to clean up the fizzy overflow.

I set up 3 glasses (clear).

Then, I had Henry write the numbers 1-2-3 each on a piece of paper to label the glasses so he could write down the results of his experiment.

The More Vinegar Experiment

First, I started by pouring vinegar in each glass.

I corresponded the number of tablespoons of vinegar to the number on Henry’s papers.

• 1 tablespoon 2 tablespoons
• 3 tablespoons

For this initial experiment, we used one tablespoon of baking soda as our constant for this round of experimenting.

Henry measured one tablespoon of baking soda and dumped it into the first glass with one tablespoon of vinegar and observed what happened.

We kept doing this (always with one tablespoon of baking soda) through all three glasses and found that the fizzing got bigger and better with each additional tablespoon of vinegar.

Another round of testing would be done to see the reaction with even more vinegar!

Does Even More Vinegar Get a Better Fizz?

Another setup was done with more vinegar, to see if the explosions would keep getting biger.

This time we tried more vinegar in each glass:

• 4 tablespoons
• 5 tablespoons
• 6 tablespoons

Each still with one tablespoon of baking soda poured in to test.

We found once again that the fizzing was quite a bit bigger and better with 6 tablespoons as a result.

Yes! More vinegar equals more fizz!

Yet another round of testing needed to be done. This time I skipped numbers and didn’t do consecutive counting so we could really see the difference.

I set up the cups each with different amounts of vinegar:

• 12 tablespoons

Whoa! 12 tablespoons of vinegar to 1 tablespoon of baking soda overflowed our glasses!

(Told you the sponge may come in handy for cleanup! However, baking soda and vinegar make excellent detergents, so maybe you could do this in the bathtub and scrub the soap scum off in the process! Ha!)

I can’t help but wonder if we were to try it with even more vinegar what the result would be.

But our glass was overflowing the way it was, so that was the end of our experimenting to find out the best ratio.

The next question I had…

Is it better to add baking soda to vinegar? Or vinegar to baking soda?

Would twelve tablespoons of vinegar have the same reaction if the roles were reversed and we added it to one tablespoon of baking soda, or does it not matter?

Would the chemical reactions be the same?

We HAD to find out!

So we tested that as well with the best ratio of baking soda to vinegar above.

The amount of fizzing was the same for both.

However… there is a difference in the time of reaction between the two.

When you add baking soda to vinegar like we did the first experiment above, the reaction it creates is sort of delayed, building up to a big fizz. But it’s slow building.

On the flip side, when you flip flop the roles and add the vinegar to the baking soda , the reaction is immediate and almost explosive.

Depending on the experiment you’re doing, you may want to do it one way over the other.

Our Mega Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment Results:

Adding vinegar to baking soda gives you an immediate reaction. Adding baking soda to vinegar, the reaction is delayed, but then fizzes the same amount.

More vinegar is better. A 12 to 1 ratio of vinegar to baking soda caused a fizzing explosion!

We could have kept going with this all afternoon! Henry was getting a kick out of the experiment and loved watching it overflow the cup.

Do you add baking soda to vinegar or vinegar to baking soda when you do these experiments?

When we do our blow up a balloon experiment , it is adding the baking soda to the vinegar that is already in the bottle. Which is a delayed fizz. I wonder what would happen if we did the opposite and reversed the roles? Would the balloon blow up more rapidly? Would the balloon explode?

That sounds like an experiment we need to try, or you need to try and report back and tell me how it turns out!

What experiments have you done with vinegar and baking soda?

About Jamie Reimer

Jamie learned to be a hands on mom by creating activities, crafts and art projects for her three boys to do. Jamie needed the creative outlet that activities provided to get through the early years of parenting with a smile! Follow Jamie on Pinterest and Instagram !

More Hands on Kids Activities to Try

Reader Interactions

41 comments.

May 24, 2024 at 4:50 pm

Has anyone ever tried adding more baking soda to the ratio? Like what if once you got to 12 tablespoons of vinegar you added more baking soda?

Tabitha Lightfoot says

May 27, 2024 at 6:52 am

Great idea! We didn’t try that! If you try it, let us know how it goes!

Student says

May 24, 2024 at 4:44 pm

What if you add more baking soda?

ritchy says

November 5, 2021 at 11:24 am

good job keep it up

Jahseh says

November 3, 2021 at 10:24 am

Try sulfuric acid more reaction

lisa m fournier says

February 10, 2021 at 9:15 am

I would have loved to know the differentials between different types of vinegars being added to the baking soda.

February 15, 2021 at 5:40 am

Hi Lisa! It was always just normal vinegar – the part that was different was the amount that was added to each cup.

October 8, 2019 at 1:34 pm

Another thought … has anyone determined the volumes of ingredients that work best in various bottle sizes? For instance, my Library class will be using 20oz bottles. Some use 16. Some use liter. If the bottle is filled too full, insufficient amounts of CO2 will form, reducing the height of the rocket. Not enough mixture volume and no lift off.

October 8, 2019 at 1:30 pm

I love the trial and error nature of this. Plus you don’t have to actually launch to see the results of this portion of the experiment. I think I’ll try and go beyond the 12:1 ratio and see what I can determine. Might be difficult to measure. Thoughts?

October 14, 2019 at 6:17 am

Hi Peter – we haven’t tried anything beyond 12:1 to see what happens but if you did it in a larger glass, you could definitely try it out! And, experimenting with different size bottles is a great idea! Let us know how it goes if you try it out!

chantol says

September 24, 2019 at 9:28 pm

how do you measure the eruption?

September 30, 2019 at 6:16 am

Hi Chantol! Great question – for this one, they just watched the reactions to see how high the fizz went in the glass.

Timmer says

August 2, 2019 at 6:20 am

Thanks so much for posting your experiment! – Not only did this answer a question I had, but it’s a wonderful example of exploring along with your kids! They learn a lot from watching how YOU go about asking and answering questions.

Amy Hopkins says

March 12, 2019 at 9:57 pm

Hi there! I’m a TK/K teacher and will be inviting the first-/second-grade class to join us for my very first vinegar/baking soda experiment in the classroom. Your informational website was very helpful! Thank you for sharing your experiment test results! The students are going to be so excited!!!

Sincerely, Amy Hopkins

Steve Hoover says

February 21, 2019 at 6:06 pm

I arrived at a different ratio for actually making CO2. I used a 12 oz jar and measured how much CO2 was in the jar by lowering a lit match in it and watching the level it went out at. I extracted gas from the jar with an animal feeding syringe I got from Tractor Supply and counted how many extractions it took to empty the jar based on match tests. I started with 3 to 1 which filled the jar and took 10 extractions to empty it. I don’t know if it overflowed the jar. Then I tried the 12 to 1 which only half filled the jar and at 5 extractions it was empty. Then I tried 6 to 1 and again was able to get 10 extractions. So IMO 1/2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon, 6 to 1 is the ideal for making CO2.

October 16, 2018 at 11:12 am

I am doing that for my science project in my secondary school. : )

July 20, 2018 at 8:39 am

Bake Soda & Vinegar. I just found my intro experiment to review Scientific Method for my HS Honors Chem class. Thanks! LOL.

Fay Rowland says

January 14, 2018 at 6:55 am

brillo, thanks, I’ve always wondered what the best ratio is, many thanks xx

November 4, 2016 at 8:35 am

Why vinegar and baking soda mixed will exploded?

October 23, 2016 at 8:18 am

I am studying in class 7. I had got a project of showing this experiment in class. Thanks for giving me tips about it.

August 7, 2017 at 4:26 pm

Because vinegar is a base while baking soda is an acid. When acid and base are mix together they will react. Thank you.

Chemist says

November 3, 2014 at 11:43 pm

Ideal ratio is 70g/L. A tablespoon is 15g and so will react with up to 215mL or around 14 tablespoons. :)

savannah bussey says

January 5, 2014 at 8:28 pm

Thanks for the great idea for the project. instead i used ballons over the top! But it was a amazing projext!! :)

April 22, 2013 at 3:00 pm

if you add a drop of dish detergent to your vinegar it will make the eruption last longer.

Jamie Reimer says

April 22, 2013 at 3:09 pm

No way!!!! I did NOT know that Andi! Thank you so much for the tip! I’ll be trying that next time for sure!

maryanne @ mama smiles says

April 22, 2013 at 2:35 pm

I love the way you turned this into a full-blown science experiment!

April 22, 2013 at 3:30 pm

Thanks Mary Anne! :) It was so much fun!

Daisy Broomfield says

April 22, 2013 at 9:15 am

What great science and what a useful thing to know! We often set off a volcano with baking soda and vinegar and have generally added more powder when it stopped fizzing- your test suggests we should use more vinegar. Thanks for the tip (I think my boys would like to do the research themselves too- just to check!!)

April 22, 2013 at 3:31 pm

Yeah I think vinegar would get more out of it…. but maybe not either if its the second time around… because the soda would be dissolved… I’m not sure! Another thing to test!

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

What Parents Have to Say…

Shop ebooks of activities.

Get activity plans delivered to your inbox, every week!

Activities that hands-on parents absolutely love.

What Toddler Crafts & Art Projects Can We Do? 30 Ideas

30+ Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Kids To Do at Any Age

40+ Awesome Number Activities for Preschoolers

35 Name Activities For Preschoolers

Improve Kids Fine Motor Skills with 30 Materials & Activities

50 Simple & Fun Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers

Get started having fun with your kids.

PLAN THE FUN WITH THE FREE KIDS ACTIVITIES PLANNER! AND RECEIVE ACTIVITIES EVERY WEEK!

• Preschoolers
• Kindergartners
• Grade School
• Literacy & ABCs
• Math & 123s
• Art Projects
• Gross Motor
• Shop Activity Plans
• Member Login

Get Your ALL ACCESS Shop Pass here →

Baking Soda and Vinegar Science Experiments

Kids love easy science experiments you can do with baking soda and vinegar. When baking soda and vinegar combine, you get an incredible chemical reaction everyone will want to try. Check out our top baking soda and vinegar science experiments for preschool through middle school.

Take a look at how we give this classic science experiment a twist with the activities below. These are our favorite ways to explore a fizzing reaction. Use this safe experiment as an easy way to introduce a chemical reaction to younger kids.

See our list of preschool science experiments and elementary science experiments .

All you need are a few simple ingredients you may already have in your kitchen! Baking soda, vinegar, and a little food coloring will keep your kids busy for quite a while. We have also included a few other ingredients that react with baking soda to make it fizz. Find unique ways to enjoy this fun experiment any day of the year!

💡 You can easily try this experiment at home or in a classroom, making it easy to do!

Free Printable Fizzy Reactions Guide

If you love mixing baking soda and vinegar, look through the experiments below and grab the free printable baking soda and vinegar fizzy reactions guide !

Apple Volcano

Grab an apple that’s ready to be composted and try this fall theme baking soda and vinegar activity!

Baking Soda and Cranberry Juice

What happens when you add cranberry juice to baking soda? Fizzing cranberries ! What about lemon juice or lime juice like this Lemon Volcano ? Find out with these citric acid experiments.

Baking Soda Fizzy Paint

Try fizzy painting! Make your own cool fizzy art with baking soda and vinegar paint for a fun and easy art meets science activity. Try this fizzy heart !

Baking Soda Moon Rocks

Here we made our own DIY moon rocks for a cool space theme activity for kids.

Balloon Experiment

Can you blow up a balloon using only baking soda and vinegar?

Baking Soda Bottle Rocket

Combine physics and chemistry with this unique baking soda and vinegar science experiment! Kids will love blasting off a bottle rocket .

Bubbling Slime

This is by far one of the  coolest slime recipes we have to date because it combines two things we love: slime making and baking soda and vinegar reactions.

Classic Baking Soda Volcano

Vinegar volcanoes are always a hit, and you can make them in several ways. We are using the classic baking soda volcano to test our science skills! Learn how to make a batch of salt dough and craft a volcano fit for this science experiment.

Cookie Cutter Baking Soda Experiments

Grab your cookie cutters for a fun and easy baking soda project. Try different themes with your holiday cookie cutters. Try these fizzing snowflakes!

Dancing Corn

Dancing corn is usually a favorite baking soda and vinegar experiment around Thanksgiving for us! The alternative to this type of science project is done with a carbonated liquid, such as this dancing raisins science experiment.

Dinosaur Volcano

What’s more fun than combining dinosaur play and a baking soda and vinegar reaction! This dinosaur volcano activity provides an opportunity for younger kids to learn about dinosaurs, volcanoes, and the natural world in a hands-on way.

Fizzing Dinosaur Eggs

The coolest dinosaur activity EVER!! A fun variation on a baking soda and vinegar reaction where kids can hatch out their own dinosaurs.

Fizzing Sidewalk Paint

This is an awesome way to take science outside and turn it into STEAM! Get outdoors, paint pictures, and enjoy a kid-favorite fizzing chemical reaction.

LEGO Volcano

Build your own volcano with basic LEGO bricks and watch it erupt over and over again.

Popping Bags

Another unique way to try a baking soda experiment outside! How to make an exploding plastic bag.

Sandbox Eruption

Take your baking soda project outdoors and build a baking soda and vinegar bottle rocket in your sandbox.

Snow Volcano

This makes for a great winter science experiment! Take the baking soda and vinegar fun outdoors and create your very own erupting snow-cano!

Watermelon-Cano

We love to make anything erupt… Also check out our apple volcano , pumpkin volcano and even a puking pumpkin .

Baking Soda and Vinegar Science Fair Project

Set this up as a Baking Soda and Vinegar Science Fair Project! Learn more about Science Fair Projects here and grab the free pack.

• Try using different baking soda and vinegar ratios to see how they affect the reaction.
• Add food coloring to the vinegar to create a colorful eruption.
• Test other household substances, such as lemon juice , orange juice, or cranberry juice , to compare their reaction with baking soda.
• Add dish soap and compare the eruptions.
• Try using containers with different size openings to observe the pressure the gas exerts, causing the eruption.

💡 Read more about the Scientific Method for Kids here!

What Makes Baking Soda Fizz?

Baking soda is made up of tiny particles called molecules. Each molecule has three different elements: sodium, hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen.

Something exciting happens when baking soda comes into contact with an acid, like vinegar! The acid (vinegar) and the base (baking soda) react. The vinegar donates a hydrogen ion to the baking soda during this reaction.

The hydrogen ion combines with the bicarbonate ion in baking soda to form carbonic acid. This is unstable and quickly breaks into water and carbon dioxide gas.

The carbon dioxide gas is why baking soda starts to fizz and bubble. The gas tries to escape from the mixture, creating bubbles that rise to the surface. These bubbles make a fizzing sound and give the impression of a mini volcano eruption!

So, when you mix baking soda with an acid like vinegar, you get a fantastic fizzy reaction due to the production of carbon dioxide gas. It’s truly an exciting and visually appealing demonstration of a chemical reaction!

You might also like: Cool Chemistry Projects for Kids

Endothermic Reaction

Mixing baking soda and vinegar is an endothermic reaction because the carbonic acid needs to take in energy from its surroundings (the mixture of baking soda and vinegar).

This process of taking in energy is what makes the reaction endothermic. And as it takes energy, it produces carbon dioxide gas, which creates all the exciting fizz and bubbles you see! It’s like a bit of science magic happening right before our eyes!

You might also like: Elephant Toothpaste (Exothermic Reaction)

Helpful Science Resources To Get You Started

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You’ll find helpful free printables throughout.

• Best Science Practices (as it relates to the scientific method)
• Science Vocabulary
• All About Scientists
• Free Science Worksheets
• DIY Science Kits
• Science Tools for Kids
• Scientific Method for Kids
• Citizen Science Guide
• Join us in the Club

Printable Science Projects For Kids

If you’re looking to grab all of our printable science projects in one convenient place plus exclusive worksheets and bonuses like a STEAM Project pack, our Science Project Pack is what you need! Over 300+ Pages!

• 90+ classic science activities  with journal pages, supply lists, set up and process, and science information.  NEW! Activity-specific observation pages!
• Best science practices posters  and our original science method process folders for extra alternatives!
• Be a Collector activities pack  introduces kids to the world of making collections through the eyes of a scientist. What will they collect first?
• Know the Words Science vocabulary pack  includes flashcards, crosswords, and word searches that illuminate keywords in the experiments!
• My science journal writing prompts  explore what it means to be a scientist!!
• Bonus STEAM Project Pack:  Art meets science with doable projects!
• Bonus Quick Grab Packs for Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Physics

One Comment

I am a regular visitor of your website. Thanks for the great article. By following this article I created youtube video of my son showing step by step tutorial of Magic Balloon Science Experiment for Kids using Baking Soda and Vinegar – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl_OMitc150

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to receive a free 5-Day STEM Challenge Guide

~ projects to try now ~.

Save Your Favorite Ideas

Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment

This classic science experiment is always a favorite activity for kids. And it’s easy to put together too! You only need baking soda, food coloring, water and vinegar. Kids will loving making this fizzy rainbow.

RELATED: Rain Cloud in a Jar

Rainbow Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment

Kids love doing this easy science experiment. Not only is it a fun activity but it’s a great learning exercise too. They also get to practice fine motor work by using a pipette or dropper.

To save steps, you can also do this experiment by using regular baking soda shaped into a rainbow. Then just add a few drops along the arches of the food coloring.

The Science

What happens when you mix vinegar and baking soda?

You see the bubbling and foaming but what is causing this reaction? The baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a base while the vinegar (acetic acid) is an acid and what you are seeing is an acid/base reaction. Initially, the reaction makes carbonic acid which is unstable and breaks down into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water which is what creates all of the fizzing and bubbles as the gas leaves the water.

Supplies Needed to do a Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment

– Baking Soda – we like this large 5 lb bag for activities

– Food Coloring Gel (one in each color of the rainbow) – we like to use this liquid food coloring gel since it’s concentrated and makes the colors really vibrant

– Dropper

– Water

– Vinegar

Watch the Video Tutorial Here!

How to do a fizzy baking soda and vinegar experiment.

1. Start by placing 1 cup of baking soda into a bowl.

2. In a pouring cup, add 3 tablespoons of water. Mix in 1-2 drops of red food coloring into the water. If using regular food coloring, you may need to add more drops to make it more vibrant.

3. Pour the food colored water into the bowl with baking soda and mix until the baking soda is dyed.

It should still be a powdery-like texture and look like the following:

Repeat the above steps for Yellow and Orange. 

For Green, Blue and Purple , mix only 1/2 cup of baking soda to 1.5 tablespoons of water (you don’t need as much of these colors to make the rainbow so you can halve the recipe above.

4.  Lay out the colors onto a white tray or baking sheet. Protect your table if needed so the food coloring does not go onto your table.

5.  Put vinegar in a bowl and then let kids use a dropper to drop the vinegar onto the rainbow.

Kids love seeing the reaction the baking soda and vinegar makes together!

We love how easy this science experiment is to set up. And kids love to use the droppers to make the vinegar/baking soda reaction.

The rainbow version is a lot of fun to try! We hope you enjoy this easy science experiment!

More Science Experiments

Try this fun and easy Grow a Rainbow Experiment . You only need washable markers and paper towel!

For another fun experiment, make some oobleck! 

Try a rainbow rain cloud in the jar experiment!

Related Ideas:

Cloud Dough

The BEST Playdough Recipe

How to Make Slime With Contact Solution

50+ Christmas Crafts for Kids

Share a comment.

We LOVE hearing from you! Submit your question or comment here.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cancel Reply

Sign up for my FREE newsletter and get new ideas to your inbox!

10+ Fun and Easy Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiments

They explode, they erupt, they are messy and boy are they fun! What could cause so much excitement? That’s right, baking soda and vinegar experiments. Go beyond the old baking soda and vinegar volcanoes and discover a world of new experiments to thrill your kids!

Chemistry for Kids – Sodium Bicarbonate and Vinegar Reactions

What you will discover in this article!

Disclaimer: This article may contain commission or affiliate links. As an Amazon Influencer I earn from qualifying purchases. Not seeing our videos? Turn off any adblockers to ensure our video feed can be seen. Or visit our YouTube channel to see if the video has been uploaded there. We are slowly uploading our archives. Thanks!

We love science experiments around here, but, often for my own sanity, we keep things easy, by just playing with variations of our favourite physics or chemistry reactions. One of our all time favourites is the simple baking soda and vinegar experiments.

Immediately, I am sure you are thinking of the old fashion Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcanoes we all built as children. We love that experiment too, but you can do lots of other things with this awesome reaction that don’t involve a whole lot of paper mache construction.

A quick note for those not in North American. Baking Soda is also known as Sodium Bicarbonate in many parts of the world.

The Science

These activities explore the popular baking soda and vinegar reaction, which is a simple acid-base chemical reaction. Vinegar or Acetic Acid has the chemical formula CH 3 COOH. Baking Soda, is a base also known as Sodium Bicarbonate or Sodium Bicarb, has the chemical formula ‎NaHCO 3 . During this reaction the products are sodium acetate (CH 3 COONa). Sodium acetate is made of 1 sodium ion, 2 carbon atoms, 3 hydrogen atoms, and 2 oxygen atoms. The other products are water (H 2 O) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). Carbon dioxide is the gas that causes the bubbling during the reaction.

Here is the chemical formula of this reaction

CH 3 COOH (l) + NaHCO 3 (s) → CH 3 COONa (aq) + H 2 O (l) + CO 2 (g) acetic acid (vinegar) + sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) -> sodium acetate + water + carbon dioxide

Is the reaction endothermic or exothermic?

It takes energy to break the chemical bonds in baking soda and vinegar. When this happens energy is released when the carbon dioxide, sodium acetate, and water are formed. Since more energy was needed to break the baking soda and vinegar apart, the temperature goes down . This is called an endothermic reaction. That means Baking Soda and Vinegar reactions are endothermic.

Now we know the science, let’s dig into some fun experiments!

Here are our top 10 favourite baking soda and vinegar experiments that the kids love doing over and over and over again! The best part, most of these are super easy science experiments. Great for those afternoons when you need a quick, fun project that will appeal to any age.

Measuring Chemical Reactions – Fireworks Experiment

Baking soda and vinegar is the perfect reaction to start learning some basic chemistry principles including how to measure a chemical reaction. In this experiment we have a fun Fireworks inspired reaction (great for July 4th), followed by a deep dive into chemistry as kids learn how to measure a chemical reaction with simple kitchen supplies.

Bottle Rockets

Building Bottle Rockets is such a fun activity for all ages, but especially as a year end celebration or summer camp activity. With this activity we are exploring the pressure and physics caused by a contained baking soda and vinegar reaction. And the results are spectacular!!

Greenhouse Effect Experiment

This powerful experiment demonstrates the heat capturing properties of greenhouse gases. An excellent project to do for Earth Day or as part of a unit study on environmental sciences and climate change. Create the Greenhouse Effect in a jar .

Hatching Dino Eggs

One of our most popular activities with everyone from the very young to the young at heart are these little Dino Eggs. Everyone dreams of hatching their very own dinosaur baby and in this fun activity you make it happen with a fizzy, fun and gorgeous chemical reaction.

Erupting Rainbow Rocks

Erupting rainbow rocks are a gorgeous, colourful science experiment that is so easy to do. Be prepared for lots of squeals of excitement and gasps of wonder as the rainbow of colours magically appear in the fizz!

Erupting Black Hole Science

We love studying space around here, and this is a fantastic activity for your star gazers and aspiring space travelers. Inspired by the first photographs of a black hole, we created this fun and interactive Space STEM Activity – Erupting Black Holes !

Magic Color Changing Oobleck

Imagine changing the colour of something, simply with chemistry. This Colour Changing Oobleck activity was not originally meant to be a baking soda and vinegar reaction, in fact we were simply setting out to test pH. Then we saw those fizzy little reactions as our Oobleck changed colour. Accidental discoveries in science are so much fun!

Baking Soda vs Baking Powder

Got a budding scientist on your hands that wants to run their very own science lab? This is a fantastic activity for kids to put their investigation skills to the test. Make sure you use test tubes and beakers for the best lab experience. Don’t forget the lab coat. Your young scientists will love this investigative activity exploring the differences between baking soda and baking powder .

Balloon Science

Like our bottle rockets, in this activity we are capturing the CO2 gases that result from a baking soda and vinegar reaction. Using our STEM skills we tested different ratios to see how it affects the inflating of our balloons. We have done this experiment for Groundhog Day and Halloween . It is great fun and can be easily adapted for any theme and is super easy to do.

Volcano Slime

After years of failure we finally found success making slime with contact lens solution and baking soda. Well it didn’t take long for the kids to start asking… what would happen if we added vinegar? And our Erupting Volcano Slime was born!

Puking Pumpkin Volcano

Take your fall Halloween celebrations to a new level of “EEEWWWW” with Puking Pumpkin Volcanoes ! This simple activity always delights the kids.

Apple Volcano Experiment

This Apple Volcano is perfect for Back to School and Fall Science. Kids love Apple Science Experiments, and this colorful one is always popular.

Christmas Tree Chemistry

This is a great Christmas STEAM activity , but if you need something for a different time of year, simply switch out your Silicone Molds to change the theme of this activity for any holiday or event. We’ve done it for Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, Dinosaur themed and more. Kids get to decorate their Christmas Tree then make it erupt in a colourful chemical reaction.

Invisible Ink

Another fun use of acids and bases is to make invisible ink . This is such a fun experiment with big wow moments for kids!

Art from Science Galaxy Project

Combine these incredible chemical reactions with a fun art project in this easy activity that is perfect for STEAM club or to celebrate the night skies. We had so much fun making these Galaxy art prints .

Have a great time exploring the amazing reaction between baking soda and vinegar! Your kids are going to have a blast!

Ready to dig into more Chemistry learning in a fun, interactive way? Try our Periodic Table of Elements BINGO game!

Have fun learning and exploring with chemistry!

5 Days of Smart STEM Ideas for Kids

Get started in STEM with easy, engaging activities.

Classes for Curious minds

A place for children to learn, experiment, explore and play

For children aged 3-12 years

Blow Up a Balloon Using Just Bicarbonate of Soda and Vinegar 

Blow Up a Balloon Using Just Bicarbonate of Soda and Vinegar

January 2019

Blow up a balloon using just bicarbonate of soda and vinegar in this simple science experiment

You will need.

● Clear bottle ● Vinegar ● Balloon ● Bicarbonate of soda ● Funnel 

The Experiment

1. Pour 4 tablespoons of vinegar into the bottle. 2. Use the funnel to add 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda into the balloon. 3. Pull the neck of the balloon over the neck of the bottle without releasing any bicarbonate of soda. 4. Lift the balloon so that the bicarbonate of soda falls from the balloon into the bottle and mixes with the vinegar. 5. Watch the balloon inflate on its own.  

The Science 

The bicarbonate of soda and vinegar react together to make an acid-base chemical reaction which produces carbon dioxide gas. Once the carbon dioxide fills the bottle it expands into the balloon, causing it to inflate. 

Want More Epic Experiments?  

If you enjoyed this experiment and want more fun, more science, and more epic experiments, enrol now in our science ​ holiday camps ​ and ​ science classes ​ where kids can learn, experiment, explore, and play! 

Book your Holiday workshops and Term classes today!

Schools & Nurseries

Start a Science or Little Maths club to your school/nursery

We offer tailor-made tutoring to students of Chemistry, Physics, Biology and Maths.

Latest News

We published our first book: FULL OF BRAINS!

Holiday Science Camps

AGES 4-12 YEARS

find out more and enrol

Science Term Classes

AGES 3-4 YEARS AGES 4-7 YEARS AGES 8-12 YEARS

Schools & Nursery Clubs

AGES 3-4 YEARS AGES 4-12 YEARS

Our website uses cookies to give you a better customer experience. By continuing we will assume you are happy with receiving all cookies. ACCEPT You can get more information on cookies HERE

• _Sensory Play
• __Materials for Sensory Play
• __Sensory Bottles
• __Sensory Bins
• _Small World Play
• _Bookish Play
• _Science Experiments
• _Fine Motor Fun
• _Educational Toys
• _Monthly Play Calendars
• _Recycled Craft
• _Alphabet crafts
• _Mother's Day Craft
• _Halloween Craft
• _Christmas Craft
• _How to repurpose craft
• _Book Lists
• _Book Reviews
• _Book Week Ideas
• _Book Storage Ideas
• _Autumn/Fall
• _New Years Eve
• _Australia Day
• _Valentines Day
• _St Patricks Day
• _Mothers Day
• _4th of July
• _Fathers Day
• _Elf on the Shelf
• 4th of July
• animal figurines
• back to school
• cutlery tray play
• elf on the shelf
• fathers day
• free playdough mat
• free printable
• gross motor play
• imaginary play
• kmart play tray
• letter of the week
• magnetic tiles
• nature play
• open ended play
• outdoor play
• science experiment
• sight words
• teacher gifts
• toilet paper rolls
• wooden toys
• world book day

Magic Colourful Fizzing Bicarb Soda & Vinegar Science Experiment

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• Shallow tray
• Food colouring
• Bicarb Soda { Baking Soda }

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR COLOURFUL BICARB & VINEGAR REACTIONS

What's happening when baking soda and vinegar react.

OTHER FUN SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS FOR KIDS

• Lava Lamp Sensory Bottle
• Magic Milk Science Experiment
• Colourful Witches Potions
• Fizzing Pumpkins

Would you like to comment?

Rainbow Play Ideas

FIND CRAFT & ACTIVITIES FOR

Sign - Up For My Newsletter

Popular Posts

• Book Character Costume Ideas for Teachers
• 75 Easy World Book Day & Book Week Costume Ideas for 2024
• How to make an Elf Pokemon Card
• 65 Funny Elf on the Shelf Ideas for Cheeky Elves
• 25 Fun Elf On The Shelf Arrival Ideas
• Elf on the Shelf Ideas for Tweens and Teenagers

Contact Form

JOIN ME ON FACEBOOK

Finding Myself Young

• DISCLOSURE POLICY
• PRIVACY POLICY

7 Fizzy Baking Soda and Vinegar Science Experiments

This post may contain affiliate links.

Sharing is caring!

There is something about baking soda and vinegar science experiments that just never gets old. Kids of all ages enjoy these activities, but in my experience, little ones love them the most. They get so excited when they watch the baking soda and vinegar reaction!

When my kids were little I got into the habit of buying large containers of baking soda and white vinegar. These supplies are pretty inexpensive, especially when purchased in bulk. You might not want to use them in food prep after a while, but they are always good for science experiments.

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar (water and acetic acid) form carbon dioxide gas when they are mixed together.

These easy science experiments are sure to be a hit! Creating an acid-base reaction is a fun way to learn about chemical reactions.

Baking Soda and Vinegar Science Experiments

Tip – I recommend doing all of the vinegar and baking soda science experiments on a baking sheet or outside. The fizzy reactions can get messy quickly!

Classic Volcano

Making a volcano is a classic science experiment for kids. This activity can fit in with a science lesson about chemical reactions, but it can also be a great volcano demonstration in a lesson about volcanos.

You will need:

• Container to hold the baking soda
• Baking soda
• Playdough or clay (if you want to form a classic volcano shape)

First, gather all of your materials. You can use pretty much any container to make the volcano. I used a beaker from my science cabinet, but you could use a drinking glass, a mason jar, a clean can, etc. I have even seen people make a big baking soda and vinegar volcanos using sand buckets! (Definitely do that outside for easy cleanup.)

I recommend putting the volcano in a glass casserole dish to contain the mess.

If you want to form the classic volcano shape, use playdough or clay to add a slope to your container. You can also paint it if you want. Let this harden and dry before adding baking soda or vinegar.

When your volcano is ready, sprinkle baking soda into your container. Different volcanos will need different amounts of baking soda. If you have a small container you will just need a little. If you use a large container you will need a lot.

When everyone is ready, pour the vinegar onto the baking soda. The fizzy chemical reaction happens pretty much instantly.

Fizzy Dinosaur Eggs

This fizzy dinosaur eggs activity from Kim at TheBestIdeasForKids.com is going to be a hit with any young children who love dinosaurs. Kids can help prepare the baking soda eggs and then use the vinegar to make them ‘hatch’ or an adult can prepare the eggs ahead of time.

• Food coloring
• Small plastic dinosaurs (or whatever you want inside of the eggs)
• Squirt bottle or dropper

Get the full fizzy dinosaur egg directions .

Drop Painting

I loved setting my kids up with this activity when they were toddlers – early elementary. It was my go-to activity when I needed them to be engaged at the kitchen table so I could supervise them while cooking. They had a great time and I was able to cook without little hands helping.

• Baking tray or dish
• Cups – one for each color
• Different colors of food coloring
• Dropper or pipette – one for each color

To set up this activity, add a layer of baking soda to a baking dish. Then add vinegar to small cups. I used an assortment of recycled glass jars. Add a few drops of food coloring to each cup. Kids can help mix primary colors to create secondary colors. Put a pipette or dropper in each cup.

Now kids can use the pipettes to drop colored vinegar onto the baking soda. Everywhere that a drop of vinegar hits the baking soda kids will see bubbles in the color of the vinegar.

Some kids like to make a picture using the baking soda as a temporary canvas. Other kids just enjoy the process. Either way, they are having fun experimenting with baking soda and vinegar. This sort of activity when kids are young lays a foundation for understanding chemical reactions when they are older.

Hot ice seems like an oxymoron, but it is actually a really cool science experiment using baking soda and vinegar. This activity has a few more steps than some of the other ideas, but kids will be delighted with the result.

• Baking Soda
• Glass measuring cup
• Glass pie plate
• Refrigerator

Get the full directions for hot ice from PlaydoughtoPlato.com .

Hidden Colors

This hidden colors activity is similar to the vinegar drop painting activity. It uses the same basic supplies, but the order is different.

• Mini-muffin tin
• Vinegar in a cup
• Dropper or pipette

Put a few drops of food coloring in each mini-muffin tin well. Cover it with a thin layer of baking soda. You want enough baking soda to cover the food coloring, but not enough to fill up the muffin tin. When it is ready, kids shouldn’t be able to tell what color is in which spot.

Pour vinegar into a cup and give your child a dropper or pipette.

Kids can slowly add drops of vinegar to each well of baking soda until they can see the color mix in with the carbon dioxide bubbles.

Exploding Bag

I think most kids go through a phase where they like to watch things explode. In my house that happened in the late elementary and early middle school years.

This baking soda and vinegar activity will make kids who love explosions happy.

I think it is a good idea to do this activity outside because it can get messy! The aftermath of a baking soda and vinegar explosion can feel gritty so it is helpful if it is done on a driveway so it can be hosed off.

• Plastic bag with a zip seal
• Permanent markers (optional)

Get the full directions for making an exploding bag at MomBrite.com .

Inflate a Balloon

Watching fizzy bubbles and explosions can be fun, but this baking soda and vinegar experiment helps kids understand that chemical reactions can be useful. They will attempt to inflate a balloon using baking soda and vinegar. Now, this certainly isn’t the most efficient way to blow up a balloon, but it gets kids thinking about science as useful.

• Plastic bottle

Get the full directions at HappyBrownHouse.com .

I hope your kids enjoyed these simple science experiments! Once they have tried a few of these simple baking soda and vinegar activities, let them try making changes to see if the results change. Maybe they can try using lemon juice instead of vinegar and see what happens!

Check out these other science activities for kids!

• How to Grow a Germ Farm
• Rock Cycle Activities for Middle School
• Helpful Science Vocabulary Activities

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Welcome! My name is Jennifer. I am a teacher at heart. Before my children were born I was a public school teacher. Now, I am a homeschooling mom of two.

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

Happy Hooligans

Crafts and Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers to Tweens

Fizzing Colours! A Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment for Preschoolers

Last updated on February 18, 2021

• Facebook 527
• Pinterest 16.0K

Toddlers and preschoolers will love this classic baking soda and vinegar experiment . They’ll ooh and ahh over the colourful chemical reactions they’ll create with just 3 kitchen ingredients!

A baking soda and vinegar experiment is one of those classic science experiments  that always fascinates. It’s perfect for the classroom or for a day at home when your kids are bored.

Your children will love the colourful, bubbling eruptions that result when baking soda and vinegar are combined.

This experiment is easy and inexpensive to set up so you can do it over and over, whenever you need a quick and easy activity to entertain your kids.

In addition to being fun and entertaining, this activity is educational too. You’ll have an opportunity to discuss colour, colour mixing  and chemical reactions.

To do our colourful baking soda and vinegar experiment, you’ll need:

For your conviencience, this post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• box of baking soda (also known as bicarb soda)
• small bowl of white vinegar

• food colouring or liquid watercolours
• baking sheet  or a messy craft mat

We did several science activities yesterday, and according to the hooligan you see in the photo above, this was the best “spare-a-mint” of the day.

I’m guessing it’s because it had the goopiest results for her to dig her hands into.  This little one just loves getting messy when she plays.

The Experiment:

We began by sprinkling baking soda all over the baking sheet.  Then we shook the baking sheet back and forth to evenly distribute the baking soda.

Next, using food colouring and liquid watercolours, we squeezed drops of colour all over the baking soda.

And now for the fun part:

A drop of vinegar dripped on top of a drop food colouring.

FIZZ, FIZZ, BUBBLE, BUBBLE!

I wish I’d snapped a picture of her face when the first eruption took place. Her expression was one of pure delight and amazement.

Then she began dripping vinegar onto all of the colours on the tray, watching and listening to each one bubble and fizz.

Using a dropper is great for helping to develop fine-motor skills, pencil grasp and co-ordination.

At one point, I gave her a spray bottle of vinegar so she could spray the baking soda as well.

A spray bottle is great for strengthening muscles and co-ordination in little hands. It was a lot of fun to use but we found that the dropper gave us a more intense reaction.

As the colours erupt on the baking sheet, you can explain  why baking soda and vinegar react the way they do when combined .

We also discussed primary and secondary colours. I would say “Look!  We have purple happening here!  Which two colours mixed together to make purple?”

She dripped and she dropped until the tray was a collage of colourful craters.

And then, as I suspected she put down her dropper, and sunk her hands into the results of our experiment.

What a lovely way to finish up the activity, sliding and swishing her hands through a soft and soupy rainbow of colour.

I hope you’ll try this baking soda and vinegar experiment with your kids or students!

And stay tuned…  I’ll be sharing more of yesterday’s science activities throughout the week.

Looking for more awesome science activities for kids?

You’ll find all of my easy science activities for toddlers and preschoolers here!

Get the 3-5 Playful Preschool e-Book!

25+ Preschool activities by 25 bloggers, 10 printables, PLUS 50 links to activities not featured in the book.

Click to download your copy now!

Follow the Hooligans on Facebook !

for FREE crafts, 

activities & recipes!

Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.

Reader Interactions

February 20, 2016 at 11:20 pm

Great activity! I have tried this with my preschoolers and it keeps them fully engaged for long periods of time. Love your photos 🙂

May 19, 2016 at 8:53 pm

This may be a silly question, but do you mix the food colouring with water, or just drop on pure food colouring?

happyhooligans

May 20, 2016 at 6:57 am

We used ours full-strength, Sasha.

December 13, 2017 at 12:07 am

There is one sentence that looks like it might have been the victim of an incomplete edit. “A drop of vinegar dripped on top one of a drop food colouring”

May 16, 2020 at 3:59 pm

Can I use red vinegar instead of white vinegar?

Jackie Currie

May 17, 2020 at 10:50 am

I imagine it would work, Alina. Sprinkle a little baking soda on a plate and drip some red vinegar on it. If it fizzes, you’re good to go.

February 17, 2022 at 6:01 am

Hi! I am planning on doing this with my preschoolers too but just wondering what the clean up process is? Did you throw the baking soda in the garbage after?

March 23, 2022 at 2:55 pm

I pour it down the drain Camille. Baking soda and vinegar are commonly used to flush kitchen drains.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Join My Private Support Network!

10 AMAZING Baking Soda Experiments

July 18, 2020 By Emma Vanstone 6 Comments

Baking soda experiments or activities are a great, safe and easy way to introduce the concept of a chemical reaction to children. Baking soda is alkaline and reacts with acids such as vinegar, releasing carbon dioxide ( a gas ) and water. The fizz produced is brilliant fun for children to watch, especially if you combine it with washing up liquid ( dish soap ) to make even more bubbles or add a bit of food colouring, ice or a theme.

Note: This is an old post that I have updated, so there are now more than ten ideas!

Baking Soda Reactions

Make honeycomb.

Did you know honeycomb has lots of holes due to the addition of baking soda? Making honeycomb is a delicious way to see the bubbles made when baking soda reacts.

Baking Soda Rocket

This rocket is my favourite baking soda experiment, but it does shoot up with a bang, so take extra special care and stand well back! You’ll need to wrap the baking soda in a small piece of kitchen towel to slow the reaction down for long enough to push the cork securely into place.

Baking Soda Powered Boat

We loved making our baking soda boat , although it was tricky to get the mechanism to work correctly. It’s worth persevering with, though. It’s fun to try making several different size boats and investigate how they move when you add different amounts of baking soda and vinegar.

Monster Tea Party and witchy potions

Our monster tea party was filled with fun fizzy potions and an excellent opportunity to try baking soda as well as bicarbonate of soda. Which do you think worked the best?

If monsters aren’t your thing, how about making witchy or fairy potions?

Baking Soda Volcano

A baking soda volcano is a staple science activity for kids. Try asking children to investigate using different amounts of vinegar but keeping the amount of washing-up liquid and baking soda the same. Can they create the perfect recipe for an eruption?

Volcanos can be made using snow, sand, papier mache, LEGO or anything else you can make a basic volcano shape with.

Baking Soda Popper

My children loved these baking soda poppers . Please be careful and stand back, as these can shoot up with a little warning and a lot of force.

We experimented to discover the best baking soda and vinegar combination for a launch.

What reacts with baking soda?

This fun investigation is great for children to start thinking scientifically. We tested lots of different liquids to discover what reacts with baking soda and what doesn’t.

Remember to keep the amount of baking soda and the test substance the same.

Fizzing rocks with baking soda

Make baking soda rocks and watch them fizz! Can you hide something inside them?

Blow up a balloon with baking soda

Did you know you can blow up a balloon with baking soda and vinegar or another acid?

Baking Soda Ice Cubes

Make some colourful baking soda ice cubes and watch them fizz as you add vinegar.

Frozen Vinegar

Inspiration Laboratories froze the vinegar instead of the baking soda, which also worked brilliantly.

Dancing Raisins

Watch raisins dance around a glass due to bubbles of carbon dioxide.

Fizzy Paint

We did this many years ago but loved our fizzy paint afternoon .

Exploding Sandwich Bag

Exploding sandwich bags are always fun too! Simply pop a bit of vinegar and baking soda in a sealable plastic bag, fasten it quickly and stand back to watch!

Colour Changing Baking Soda Potions

These colour-changing potions made with red cabbage indicator are fantastic fun and easy to make too!

These change colour as the acid and then alkali is added.

Christmas Elf Lab

We very much enjoyed our magical fizzy elf lab for Christmas time too!

Do you have any more baking soda experiments to tell us about?

What is a baking soda and vinegar reaction?

If you combine an acid and an alkali, they react together to neutralise each other. Vinegar is an acid, and bicarbonate of soda is an alkali.

The reaction releases carbon dioxide gas, which is the bubbles you see. If you add washing-up liquid ( dish soap ) to your eruption, mix the bubbles making the washing-up liquid bubble up, giving you an extra bubbly mix.

Don’t forget we’ve got 100s more easy science experiments for you to try at home or school!

Last Updated on April 9, 2024 by Emma Vanstone

Safety Notice

Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

Reader Interactions

May 03, 2014 at 5:05 pm

We love the baking soda experiments – and there are several here we haven’t tried! These will keep us busy for awhile!

May 05, 2014 at 7:02 am

Loving the baking soda ideas – we’ve tried a volcano before. Will have to try some more.

May 06, 2014 at 12:49 pm

Thanks Erica 🙂

September 08, 2016 at 8:17 pm

this was so helpful in help of finding fun and new experiments thank you to the creators of this.

June 10, 2017 at 5:30 pm

We have done every single one of these experiments before we even looked at this website and they were really cool.

March 05, 2018 at 9:24 pm

i found a science project but it calls for 80% vinegar. where can i find it

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

Get our mega Halloween worksheets bundle! 👻

Every product is independently selected by (obsessive) editors. Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission.

How To Make a Baking Soda Volcano With Free Observation Sheet

This experiment will have kids erupting with applause!

The classic baking soda volcano experiment has been entertaining kids (and adults) of all ages for decades. But it’s more than just a lot of fun. This experiment also teaches kids about simple chemical reactions and physical properties. The best part? It’s easy to do and uses only a few basic ingredients. Read on to see how to conduct the baking soda volcano experiment, and fill out the form on this page to grab your free recording sheet!

How does the baking soda volcano experiment work?

This experiment involves pouring vinegar mixed with dish soap into a small amount of baking soda. The baking soda acts as a base while the vinegar is an acid. When the base and the acid come together, they create an endothermic reaction that produces carbon dioxide. The dish soap helps to create the foaming effect as the “lava” pours out of the volcano.

What does the baking soda volcano teach?

The baking soda volcano experiment is a great way to demonstrate a chemical reaction between an acid and a carbonate. When the carbonate (found in the baking soda) is exposed to the acids (found in the vinegar), it creates a decomposition reaction that releases carbon dioxide as gas. While this experiment is an example of an acid-base reaction, it’s also a great simulation of a real volcanic eruption.

Is there a baking soda volcano video?

This video shows how to make a volcano erupt using ingredients you can probably find in your kitchen.

Materials needed

To do the baking soda volcano experiment, you will need:

• Baking soda
• Food coloring
• Mini Paper Cups
• Plastic Volcano Form

Our free recording sheet is also helpful—fill out the form on this page to grab it.

Baking soda volcano experiment steps:

1. to start, place a tiny paper cup into the hole at the top of the plastic volcano mold..

2. Once your volcano is set up, pour 1 to 2 teaspoons of baking soda into the paper cup.

3. Next, add about a half cup of vinegar into a plastic measuring cup.

4. Add a few squirts of dish soap to the vinegar solution.

5. Add some squirts of red and yellow food coloring to the vinegar mixture.

6. Use a plastic spoon to mix all the ingredients in the plastic measuring cup together.

7. Pour the vinegar solution into the small paper cup at the top of the volcano.

8. Finally, watch and enjoy the eruption!

Grab our free baking soda volcano experiment worksheet

Fill out the form on this page to get your free worksheet. The worksheet asks kids to guess the correct order of the steps in the experiment. Next, kids must make a prediction about what they think will happen. They can use the provided spaces to draw what happens before and after they add the ingredients. Did their predictions come true?

Additional reflection questions

• What role does the dish soap play in the reaction that occurs?
• How would it be different if you added baking soda to the vinegar instead of the other way around?
• What do you think would happen if you added a different liquid than vinegar?
• What do you think would happen if you added more baking soda?

Can the baking soda volcano experiment be done for a science fair?

Yes! If you want to do this experiment for a science fair, we recommend switching up some of the variables. For example: Does the amount of baking soda matter? Does the type of dish soap? Form a hypothesis about how changing the variables will impact the experiment. Good luck!

Looking for more experiment ideas? Check out our  big list of experiment ideas here.

Plus, be sure to subscribe to our newsletters for more articles like this., you might also like.

16 Red-Hot Volcano Science Experiments and Kits For Classrooms or Science Fairs

Kids will erupt with excitement! Continue Reading

Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. 5335 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32256

Play of the Wild

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. -Oscar Wilde

Frozen Bicarbonate of Soda and Vinegar Experiment

Frozen baking soda / bicarbonate of soda and vinegar science experiment

This Frozen baking soda / bicarbonate of soda and vinegar science experiment is a fun way for children to see how temperature affects chemical reactions.  When I do this with my children, I add in food colouring (or natural pH indicators) so that they can see the colours mix along with the chemical reaction. 

Older children can do several baking soda / bicarbonate of soda and vinegar science experiments, to compare how freezing vinegar or freezing baking soda changes the reaction.  When comparing your reaction, it is advised that children use the same amount of bicarbonate of soda and vinegar each time. 

What you need

• Baking soda / bicarbonate of soda
• Ice cube tray (s)
• Baking tray / ceramic tray (s)
• Use of a freezer
• Measuring cups

To do this, you need to freeze vinegar (mixed with food colouring optional) in ice cube trays.  In order to freeze baking soda, mix it with some water (and food colouring) and place it in ice cube trays before freezing them.  If you are doing this as a comparative experiment, make sure that you measure the baking soda and vinegar so that you compare the same amounts each time.

*Above, we placed frozen vinegar with some cabbage juice (natural pH indicator) in a tray of bicarbonate of soda.

Questions to ask

• What happens when you mix bicarbonate of soda and vinegar?
• Is there a difference when you freeze vinegar and add it to bicarbonate of soda?  What about when you freeze bicarbonate of soda and add it to vinegar? Why do you think it happened?
• How does freezing them change the reaction?  How does it affect how quickly they react / how long they take to react?
• Which did you like best?  Why?
• Why do you think they do different things?
• What did you learn?

What they get from bicarbonate of soda /baking soda and vinegar experiments

Doing a frozen baking soda / bicarbonate of soda and vinegar science experiment is a fun, hands-on, way for children to be able to compare reactions of bicarbonate of soda and vinegar.  Research shows that people learn best (for long-term memory at least) when they learn through hands-on, practical experiences (Hearns, Miller & Nelson, 2009; Hillman, 2011; Ferri, B.H., Ferri, A.A., Majerich, D.M., Madden, A.G., 2016).  It’s also an opportunity for children to be able to begin to develop scientific thinking.  Further, inquiry based learning will encourage children’s curiosity and love of learning which also benefits the process of learning (Ambrose et al. 2010; Froyd 2008; Prince & Felder, 2007; Springer, Stanne & Donovan, 1999).

There are also opportunities for children to develop scientific skills such as prediction, observation, recording (including data recording) and sharing/presenting their ideas.  Children may also draw or write to record what they observe, which can be a good motivation for children who are reluctant to write.

Take it further

Offer children the opportunity to think of another experiment to try. This will further support inquiry based learning.

You may want to see my other experiments using bicarbonate of soda / baking soda and vinegar with children.  This includes:

• Baking Soda and Vinegar Painting Experiment for Kids (coming soon)
• Colorful Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment for Kids
• Color pH Baking Soda and Vinegar Science Experiment
• Explosive Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment for Kids
• Valentines STEM Art Projects for Toddlers and Kids

Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., & Norman, M. K. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. https://books.google.com/books

Ferri, B.H., Ferri, A.A., Majerich, D.M., Madden, A.G. (2016).  Effects of In-Class Hands-On Laboratories in a Large Enrollment, Multiple Section Blended Linear Circuits Course.  Advances in Engineering Education, 5 (3). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1121997.pdf

Froyd, J. E. (2008). White paper on promising practices in undergraduate STEM education . Commissioned paper, Board on Science Education, National Academies. Retrieved from https://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/BOSE/DBASSE_080106#.UUoV5hngJ8g

Hearns, M.K., Miller, B.K. and Nelson, D.L. (2009).  Hands-On Learning versus Learning by Demonstration at Three Recall Points in University Students. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 30 (4), 169-171. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3928/15394492-20090825-01

Hillman, C.N. (2011).  The effects of hands-on learning versus learning by demonstration on memory in community dwelling older adults (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Toledo).  Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6231/d55fc1c730ec086f012677c54141f466e18e.pdf

Prince, M., & Felder, R. (2007). The many facets of inductive teaching and learning. Journal of College Science Teaching, 36 (5), 14–20.  https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents

Springer, L., Stanne, M. E., & Donovan, S. (1999). Measuring the success of small-group learning in college-level SMET teaching: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 69 , 21–51.  http://archive.wceruw.org/cl1/CL/resource/scismet.pdf

Physics & Chemistry , Preschooler , School Age

Baking soda , bicarbonate of soda , chemical reaction , colour , frozen , learning outside , pH , science experiment , STEM , Vinegar

2 thoughts on “ Frozen Bicarbonate of Soda and Vinegar Experiment ” Leave a comment ›

• Pingback: EYFS Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers at home – Play of the Wild
• Pingback: Acid and Base Experiment-Turmeric pH Indicator – Play of the Wild

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Fizzy science experiment with bicarbonate soda and vinegar

03/02/2017 by Cathy James 4 Comments

This is a really fun, fizzy science experiment that you can try with your children: using bicarbonate of soda and vinegar to have fun with chemistry. Don’t forget the glitter!

Fizzy science experiment with bicarbonate of soda and vinegar

My children love kitchen science experiments and this is one of their favourites. We’re using simple ingredients to create some fun chemistry reactions full of fizz!

For the experiment you will need:

:: bicarbonate of soda (sometimes called baking soda) which you’ll find in the baking section of the store

:: vingear – we’re using distilled white vinegar, also easily available in the grocery store

:: red and pink food colours – which is optional, but fun for a Valentine-themed activity

:: glitter – again optional, but it makes the fizzing even more fun

:: a pipette or a spoon

Take a small container and fill it with some bicarbonate of soda, and glitter if you’re using it.

We’re using heart-shaped pots as this is our Valentine-themed sensory science activity.

Set out your ‘invitation to fizz’ along with some vinegar.

We added some of the food colouring to the vinegar. It’s a good idea to place your soda-filled pots on a tray, plate, or bowl, to help contain the fizz once the chemistry starts to happen.

Then it’s time to start playing. We use a pipette to drop vinegar on to our bicarbonate of soda.

Add a little, add a lot, and watch as the chemical reaction happens between the bicarbonate of soda and the vinegar to make a big fizz.

You can keep topping up the vinegar to make your fizzy hearts grow bigger and bigger. Listen to the great sounds it makes!

What’s the science behind the experiment?

What’s happening to make the fizz? What you’re seeing is a chemical reaction taking place as the base (the bicarbonate of soda, NaHCO 3 ) reacts with the acid (the vinegar, HCH 3 COO). When they mix together they create carbonic acid, which is unstable. The carbonic acid splits up into water and carbon dioxide – and that’s why you can see and hear all the fizzing.

More lovely Valentine’s Day activities for your children

Did you see all my other  Valentine’s Day activities for children ? I’ve got more free printables, art, math, science, literacy and play ideas, all with a Valentine theme.  You can find them all here.

16/02/2015 at 9:12 pm

Hello. We tried this today when a friend brought her children round to play with mine. They loved every second and had so much fun; the laughter and constant enthusiastic comments said it all! Thanks for such a fun idea.

17/02/2015 at 9:21 am

Rachel – that’s made my day! So happy they had fun with it. Cathy

19/11/2020 at 8:33 am

Hello. This experiment was so fun and enjoyable. I am still waiting to get more vinegar to try it again but add some sequins or something else. I am also trying to get my dads permission to do it over his head!!!

20/11/2020 at 1:22 pm

Ha ha, good luck with getting permission Tobii!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

NurtureStore

• Login | Register

Have 10% off on us on your first purchase - Use code NOW10

Free shipping for orders over $100

Available for dispatch within 2 days

Free gift with purchase of over $100

Check out with Paypal and Afterpay

Beyond the volcano: vinegar and bicarb soda experiments for the classroom!

Follow FizzicsEd Articles:

The countdown begins. The anticipation builds. Steady hands grip the beaker and empty its contents into the mouth of the volcano. As bicarb soda comes in contact with vinegar, it erupts with glorious foam! Making a vinegar and bicarb soda volcano is a staple in every school kid’s science experience. But are you sick of doing the same old thing for the umpteenth time? We’ve racked our brains to come up with the following list of experiments using vinegar and bicarb soda, to teach not only chemistry or geology; but a plethora of scientific principles!

Time to raid the cupboard…

Vinegar and bicarbonate soda chocolate cake!

Baking, one of my favourite types of science! It is a wonderful way to teach the importance of following experimental methods, since the deliciousness of the end product depends on it! Common raising agents used in cake making are baking powder, bicarb soda, or eggs. This particular recipe utilises the fizz from the vinegar and bicarbonate soda reaction to give the cake its height and doesn’t require any fancy mixers or equipment. Try varying the amount or ratio of vinegar and bicarb soda as a science project, and see how it affects the cake!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder
• 1 tsp bicarb soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup oil (olive or rice bran)
• 1 tbsp vinegar (balsamic is best!)
• 3 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup water
• Mix dry ingredients in a bowl with a whisk.
• Add wet ingredients and whisk until just mixed.
• Pour mixture into a greased and lined cake pan.
• Bake at 180℃ in a preheated oven for approximately 40 minutes. Check by poking the cake with a skewer, it should come out clean when the cake is done.
• Let cool for 10 minutes before handling.

Serve hot with ice cream as a pudding or add icing when it’s completely cooled, and you’ll have a science lesson for dessert!

Fizzy bombs

Here’s a good one for the little ones. Make colourful bicarb soda bombs and watch them fizz as you drizzle vinegar on them or drop one into a glass of vinegar!

What you will need

• A container
• 1/2 cup bicarb soda
• Food colouring
• Water (optional)
• Muffin tray or ice cube tray

• The mixture should be crumbly and holds its shape when pressed with the spoon. If not, add a few drops of water and mix, repeat until it does.

• Leave to dry for an hour then turn out onto a plate.

Endothermic reactions

There are many ways to tell if a chemical reaction has occurred; temperature change is one of them. When vinegar and bicarb soda are undergoing a chemical reaction, the mixture gets noticeably colder! That’s because the reaction is endothermic, which means it absorbs energy from its surroundings during the process.

• Thermometer
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 tbsp bicarb soda
• Pour vinegar into the foam cup and measure its temperature with the thermometer. Record.
• Add the bicarb soda gradually to avoid overflowing foam, stirring with the thermometer.
• Record the lowest temperature when the reading on the thermometer stops dropping.

You can ask your students to make observations during the experiment: did the temperature increase, decrease, or stay the same? What else did they notice about the reaction? Comparing results across the class can lead to a discussion about the reasons why there might be variations in the results.

As an extension for high school chemistry, you can use this experiment to demonstrate how to calculate the change in enthalpy for a reaction:

delta H equals C x M delta T

where: ΔH = change in enthalpy (kJ), C = specific heat capacity of water (4.18 kJ kg-1 °C-1), M = mass of solution (kg), ΔT = change in temperature of the solution (°C).

Hot ice… an exothermic reaction

One of the products of the vinegar and bicarb soda reaction is sodium acetate. It is used as a flavouring for salt and vinegar chips (yum!) as well as the main ingredient for a pocket warmer.

Pocket warmers contain a supersaturated solution of sodium acetate, where heaps of sodium acetate solids are dissolved in just a tiny amount of water. The solution is liquid until the little metal disk is clicked in and initiates an exothermic crystallisation. The clear liquid turns into a white solid fairly quickly and releasing heat in the process, hence it is often called “hot ice”. This cool experiment can easily segue to a discussion about states of matter or activation energy of a chemical reaction. Here is a video demonstrating how to make sodium acetate with items bought from the supermarket or pharmacy, so you can try making “stalagmites” or “hot ice” with you students too!

As you can see, these versatile kitchen chemicals can be used to teach energy conversions, forces, reaction rates and more. In case you’re wondering, the following is the overall reaction which you find traditionally written:

Vinegar + Bicarbonate Soda —> Carbon Dioxide + Water + Sodium Acetate

NaHCO3 (aq) + CH3COOH (aq) —-> CO2 (g) + H2O (l) + CH3COONa (aq)

But really, the reaction occurs in two steps! First, there is a double displacement reaction in which acetic acid in the vinegar reacts with sodium bicarbonate to form sodium acetate and carbonic acid:

NaHCO3 + HC2H3O2 → CH3COONa + H2CO3

The carbonic acid is unstable though, so it breaks down into liquid water and carbon dioxide as a gas in a decomposition reaction

H2CO3 → H2O + CO2

Happy teaching,

Jaqueline Kao.

Want more free science experiments?

New primary science teaching book.

“Be Amazing! How to teach science, the way primary kids love”

Want more ideas for teaching science?

Love Science? Subscribe!

Receive more lesson plans and fun science ideas.

SCIENCE PARTIES

Calendar of events.

HIGH SCHOOL Science@Home 4-Week Membership 12PM: March 2024

Price: $50 - $900

PRIMARY Science@Home 4-Week Membership 2PM: March 2024

Light and Colour Online Workshop, Jan 18 PM

Light and colour online workshop, jan 18 am.

Lego Robotics, Sydney Olympic Park Jan 2024

Creative Coding, Sydney Olympic Park Jan 2024

Creative Coding, Sydney Olympic Park July 11 2023

Price: $100

Fizzics Education STEAM Day: Robots vs Dinosaurs, Lalor, Apr 14

Price: $45 - $50

Creative Coding, Sydney Olympic Park April 14 2023

Science@home after school 4-week membership: march 2023.

Price: $40 - $1200

Featured Articles

Minute to win it science games.

• History [4]
• Pop Culture [4]
• Toys & Gadgets [1]
• project-based learning [5]
• Science & Technology Camps [1]
• Lesson ideas [1]
• Philosophy [1]
• Coding [14]
• Indigenous [3]
• Preschool [24]
• Video Conferencing [40]
• Lab Tech [1]
• Pakistan [1]
• Cooking [3]
• Remote Education [18]
• Virtual Excursions [9]
• Inclusive education [6]
• Leadership [1]
• Electricity [1]
• Agritech [1]
• Dinosaurs [7]
• Kids Parties [5]
• Robotics [10]
• Edutech [26]
• Classroom management [1]
• video conference [1]
• special needs [1]
• scholarship [1]
• Distance Education [51]
• Kitchen Chemistry [7]
• Distance Learning [19]
• Student encouragement [2]
• Agriculture [4]
• Eastershow [2]
• Maker Space [11]
• Scicomm [141]
• primary education [46]
• virtual [2]
• gamification [1]
• Asia Pacific [1]
• Edchat [223]
• literacy [7]
• Higher education [4]
• Child online safety [1]
• Esports [1]
• Augmented Reality [4]
• Edtech [68]
• Science [6]
• secondary education [45]
• teacher [1]
• biotechnology [1]
• curriculum [2]
• AussieED [1]
• Education [211]
• Museums [31]
• Science News [4]
• Christmas [1]
• Vacation care [1]
• computational thinking [2]
• Awards [14]
• Educhange [5]
• Social Media [8]
• experiments [6]
• middle school [2]
• Inquiry-based learning [5]
• digital technologies [5]
• Earth science [1]
• Big History [1]
• Environment [38]
• seasonal [1]
• Artificial Intelligence [3]
• Medicine [1]
• Biology [44]
• Events [45]
• National Science Week [3]
• Space Science [31]
• competitions [13]
• Sustainability [11]
• Student investigation [2]
• Social Emotional Learning [1]
• CAST test [1]
• Farming [1]
• Outdoors [36]
• careers [10]
• UN SDGs [4]
• collaboration [1]
• Engineering [4]
• US Education [1]
• Outreach [35]
• Physics [6]
• K to 2 education [1]
• Virtual reality [2]
• citizen science [1]
• Churchill Fellowship [19]
• Ozscied [2]
• Teaching [264]
• Chemistry [5]
• International [1]
• Photography [1]
• numeracy [1]
• Cleveland [1]
• Podcasts [119]
• Television [2]
• design thinking [8]
• Chinese student visits [1]
• Parenting [4]
• preservice teaching [5]
• Higher order thinking [1]

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

School Comments View All

Fizzics Education curated a thoughtful and hands-on experience for the children, incorporating practical, skill-based learning activities and followed by a science presentation at the end of the event involving liquid nitrogen. This was delivered safely and effectively, capturing both the children and the parents for the duration of the presentation.

Fizzics Education ran a show today at our school and it was wonderful. He was a great facilitator and the show was age appropriate and well done.

I just wanted to pass on how much the staff and students really enjoyed it and how perfect it was to launch our science week activities. The students were enthralled, educated and entertained – a perfect trifecta!

Thanks so much for presenting at our school on Monday. Our students enjoyed the show.

Fizzics Education Awards

• Free Resources

Free Chemistry Book! Sign-up to our newsletter and receive a free book!

Female Accountant Apply Here

Physics teacher apply here, science teacher apply here, view all vacancies, join our team apply here.

Send us an Email at [email protected]

Phone Number: 1300 856 828

Email: [email protected], address: unit 10/55 fourth ave blacktown, nsw 2148, australia.

• Privacy & Legal Policy
• Copyright Notice
• Terms of Trade
• Cookie Policy

Copyright 2024 Fizzics Education . All rights reserved.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy .

Get more science with our newsletter!

Thank you for looking to subscribing to our newsletter 🙂 Through this service you’ll be first to know about the newest free experiments, science news and special offers.

PLUS: Get a free Kitchen Chemistry Booklet with >20 experiments, how to use variables plus a handy template!

Click the image to preview

Please select an ebook!

Kids Edition

Parent Edition

Teacher Edition

Please fill out the details below and an email will be sent to you. Once you get that just click on the link to confirm your subscription and you're all done!

First Name *

Last Name *

Email Address *

Phone Number

Subscribe as a Teacher?

Preschool Teacher

Primary Teacher

High School Teacher

Vacation Care or Library

Subscribe as a Parent?

Enquiry Form

Extra things, products that might interest you.

Rainbow Fireworks Glasses

Magic Crystal Tree Science Kit

Helicopter Spiral Top

Fly Back Glider

• Grade Level

Where are you located?

• New South Wales
• Australian Capital Territory

Location not listed?

Which grade level are you teaching.

• Whole School
• Teacher Professional Development
• Special School Events
• Early Childhood
• Kindergarten

Which broad syllabus outcome you want to teach?

What is the age range of the attendee?

• Age 5 and up
• Age 6 and up
• Age 7 and up
• Age 8 and up
• Age 9 and up
• Age 10 and up
• Age 11 and up
• Age 12 and up

General Enquiry Form

Check if you require a live online class.

Subscribe for special offers & receive free resources?

How did you hear about us?

Choose a program *

Choose from school show *

* Please select a value!

* Please add a value!

Date required *

Time required *

Your browser is not supported

Sorry but it looks as if your browser is out of date. To get the best experience using our site we recommend that you upgrade or switch browsers.

Find a solution

• Skip to main content
• Skip to navigation

• Back to parent navigation item
• Find resources
• Experiments and investigations
• Cross-curricular activities
• Meet the scientists
• Boost your knowledge
• Beyond the classroom
• Get funding
• About the RSC

• More navigation items

Primary science investigations

• 2 Air pressure and the antigravity bottle
• 3 Air pressure, gases and the leaky bottle
• 4 Dissolving, density and ‘heavy’ sugar
• 5 Fizzy irreversible changes and bath bombs
• 6 Irreversible changes and the ‘fire extinguisher’
• 7 Irreversible changes and the ‘freaky hand’
• 8 Properties of gases, air pressure and ‘sticky’ cups
• 9 Properties of solids and ‘biscuit bashing’
• 10 Viscosity and ‘racing’ liquids
• 11 Freezing and the ‘intriguing ice’ experiment
• 12 Liquids, gases and the ‘lava lamp’

Irreversible changes and the ‘freaky hand’

Five out of five

• No comments

Try this investigation to get learners thinking about when an irreversible reaction produces a gas

This resource is also available in Welsh and Irish

Get the Welsh language version .

Get the Irish language version .

This experiment focuses on reacting vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to produce carbon dioxide gas. First watch the video showing the ‘freaky hand’ demonstration, then find out how to run this as an investigation to explore irreversible reactions.

Learning objectives

• To describe the difference between a reversible and an irreversible change.
• To explain that mixing some materials can result in the formation of new ones (in this case, one of these is carbon dioxide) and that this kind of change is not reversible.
• Understand that gases expand to fill their container.

Enquiry skills:

• To be able to use results to make predictions to set up further comparative and fair tests.

Watch the video

The video demonstration below shows how to carry out the ‘feaky hand’ experiment.

Source: Royal Society of Chemistry

Make a freaky inflatable hand to demonstrate irreversible reactions to primary students.

Download the supporting materials

Set up and run the investigation with your class using the teacher notes and classroom slides, featuring a full equipment list, method, key words and definitions, questions for learners, FAQs and more.

• Teacher notes

PDF  |  Editable Word document

Classroom slides

PDF  |  Editable PowerPoint document

DOWNLOAD ALL

What do learners need to know first?

Learners must have an understanding of the properties of solids, liquids and gases and the behaviour of their particles in each state.

Learners must also have investigated reversible changes and be able to give examples of reversible changes.

Equipment list

• Disposable, stretch latex gloves (careful of latex allergies)
• Bicarbonate of soda
• Small jam jar, cup or beaker (the neck should be wide enough to give a tight seal with the gloves)

Additional resources

• Investigate chemical changes further in our fire extinguisher investigation , lava lamp investigation   or bath bomb investigation .  
• Try carbon from a candle from our collection of video demonstrations exploring changing materials .
• Read up on irreversible changes in this  That’s Chemistry!  textbook chapter .
• Introduce your learners to irreversible changes in the kitchen using our primary science podcast . 

Freaky hand: teacher notes

Freaky hand: classroom slides, additional information.

Primary science investigations were developed in collaboration with the Primary Science Teaching Trust

Air pressure and the antigravity bottle

Air pressure, gases and the leaky bottle

Dissolving, density and ‘heavy’ sugar

Fizzy irreversible changes and bath bombs

Irreversible changes and the ‘fire extinguisher’

Properties of gases, air pressure and ‘sticky’ cups

Properties of solids and ‘biscuit bashing’

Viscosity and ‘racing’ liquids

Freezing and the ‘intriguing ice’ experiment

Liquids, gases and the ‘lava lamp’

• Practical experiments
• Reactions and synthesis

Related articles

Help learners master equilibrium and reversible reactions

2024-06-24T06:59:00Z By Emma Owens

Use this poster, fact sheet and storyboard activity to ensure your 14–16 students understand dynamic equilibrium

Non-burning paper: investigate the fire triangle and conditions for combustion

2024-06-10T05:00:00Z By Declan Fleming

Use this reworking of the classic non-burning £5 note demonstration to explore combustion with learners aged 11–16 years

Everything you need to introduce alkenes

2024-06-04T08:22:00Z By Dan Beech

Help your 14–16 learners to master the fundamentals of the reactions of alkenes with these ideas and activities

No comments yet

Only registered users can comment on this article., more primary science.

Catherine’s chemistry practical skills sessions

Find out how Catherine organised her chemistry practical skills sessions and get tips for applying to the RSC Primary Science Teaching Empowerment Fund

CPD support from the Primary Science Teaching Trust

Explore professional development resources, webinars and support from the Primary Science Teaching Trust.

STEM careers and skills activities

Introduce primary learners to STEM careers and encourage them to explore their own skills. Includes a game, colouring poster, fact files and teaching notes.

• Newsletters
• Find your local education coordinator

Site powered by Webvision Cloud

12 Ways to Use Vinegar and Baking Soda to Clean Every Room in Your Home

Recipes and step-by-step instructions.

• University of Exeter
• University of Plymouth
• University of the West of England (Hartpury College)
• Natural Cleaning
• Pest Control
• Green Living
• Thrift & Minimalism
• Sustainable Eating

If you've been thinking about removing the toxic cleaners you use in your home but still want to keep everything pristine, consider using baking soda and vinegar as a cleaning solution.

Baking soda and vinegar, in combination, are tough on stains and smells. The chemical reaction between alkaline baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and acidic vinegar creates carbon dioxide bubbles that help lift away stubborn dirt too.

Below, explore 12 easy recipes for using baking soda and vinegar to clean all sorts of messes around your house.

Tips for Using Vinegar and Baking Soda to Clean

• Mix a fresh batch each time you need it and use it immediately.
• Distilled white vinegar is the best type of vinegar to use for cleaning.
• Mixing baking soda and vinegar doesn't release dangerous fumes, but you may want to stand back as the reaction releases carbon dioxide (bubbles).

Drain Cleaner

ThamKC / Getty Images

You can use baking soda and vinegar to refresh a stinky drain and clear minor blockages. The action of the carbon dioxide gas bubbles released as the baking soda and vinegar react can help dislodge any food or waste that’s creating blockages and smells within your drains.

• Sprinkle half a cup of baking soda down the drain.
• Pour in one cup of vinegar. Allow the mixture to bubble.
• Once the bubbles stop, fully open your hot water tap and run for five minutes.
• Flush with plenty of cold water.

Oven Cleaner

Helin Loik-Tomson / Getty Images

Using baking soda and vinegar together is a great way to get your oven clean without resorting to harsh cleaners. The bubbling action loosens stubborn stains and the gentle abrasiveness of the baking soda cleans your oven without leaving scratches.

For this simple oven cleaner recipe, you'll also use the cleaning power of lemons .

• Mix half a cup of lemon juice with one cup of white vinegar in a spray bottle. 
• Spray this mixture over the interior surfaces of your oven and leave it to sit for 10 minutes. 
• Sprinkle baking soda over the liquid and leave for 10 minutes. 
• Wipe off with a damp cloth.

Remove Limescale on Faucets

RobsonPL / Getty Images

If you live in an area with hard water, you probably spend a lot of time trying to remove limescale deposits from your stainless steel hardware like faucets and showerheads. The method below helps lift stubborn stains because the acidic vinegar breaks down mineral deposits. 

• Soak a dishcloth or towel in vinegar and wrap it around the area you’re trying to clean. Leave this in place for two hours.
• Just before you remove the cloth, make a paste of equal parts baking soda and water.
• Once you remove the cloth, spread the paste over the area and scrub with a small brush.
• Use another clean, damp cloth to remove any traces of the paste.

Carpet Stain Remover

Wakila / Getty Images

Some carpet cleaners are packed with chemicals that can degrade or strip the color from your carpets. Try the following more gentle stain remover first.

As with any carpet cleaner , do a patch test on a small, inconspicuous area before applying it to your entire carpet.

• Put two tablespoons of baking soda in a small bowl and add enough vinegar to make a thick paste. 
• While the mixture is bubbling, apply it to the stain and rub the paste into the carpet fibers. 
• Leave overnight.
• Vacuum to remove the dried paste.

Mildew Remover

Baloon111 / Getty Images

If you’ve had any fabrics in storage, they may end up smelling a little funky (mildew is often the cause). You can use baking soda and vinegar in your washing machine to help get rid of that mildew odor .

The baking soda helps neutralize smells and soften water, helping your detergent work more effectively. Add vinegar towards the end of the wash cycle as an alternative to fabric softener.

• Load your machine as normal.
• Add half a cup of baking soda to your regular detergent powder or liquid.
• When your load reaches the rinse cycle, add one cup of vinegar.

Showerhead Cleaner

Ivan halkin / Getty Images

If you live in an area with hard water, your showerhead may quickly get stained and clogged with mineral deposits. Vinegar can help soften these deposits, and then the fizzing action of mixing it with baking soda lifts them away. 

• Remove the showerhead and place it in a watertight bag.
• Pour in enough vinegar so that the showerhead is covered. Leave overnight.
• Remove the showerhead and sprinkle with baking soda.
• After the bubbles have stopped, scrub the showerhead with a small brush.
• Rinse well with fresh water.

This is just one of many recipes to clean a showerhead using baking soda .

Toilet Cleaner

JPC-PROD / Getty Images

While a mixture of baking soda and vinegar can’t kill all the germs in your toilet, it can help loosen stains from hard water and neutralize odors.

• Spray vinegar all over the inside of the toilet bowl.
• Sprinkle the same area with a liberal amount of baking soda.
• Spray with more vinegar if you don’t see many bubbles forming.
• Leave for five minutes.
• Scrub the area with a toilet brush.

Pet Odor Neutralizer

Angela Auclair / Getty Images

As much as we love our pets, their beds can start to smell a little bad over time. To neutralize those pet odors, use a mixture of vinegar and baking soda. This freshening technique is especially useful for pet beds that you can’t put through the wash. 

• Pour vinegar into a spray bottle and squirt over your pet’s bed until it’s damp.
• Sprinkle baking soda liberally over the area you sprayed with vinegar.
• Leave until the vinegar has dried.
• Vacuum the area thoroughly.

Grout Cleaner

Slobo / Getty Images

Tile grout is notoriously difficult to clean, but baking soda and vinegar can help make this job a little easier.

The abrasive action of baking soda can help lift away stubborn stains, and the bubbles from the combination with vinegar mean you need less elbow grease. 

• Make a thick paste with baking soda and water.
• Apply this to the grout and rub in with a small brush
• Pour vinegar into a spray bottle and squirt it over the paste mixture you’ve already applied.
• Leave for 10 minutes or until the mixture has stopped bubbling.
• Rub in with a small brush before wiping away the paste with a damp cloth .

Pan Cleaner

Cavan Images / Getty Images

The bubbling effect of mixing baking soda and vinegar can also help loosen baked-on dirt, while the abrasive action of baking soda can help you lift this dirt away easily.

Avoid using baking soda on aluminum pans, as it may scratch the surface and the aluminum could then oxidize and turn brown.

• Sprinkle baking soda over any stains on your pans. 
• Pour vinegar into a spray bottle and spritz over the baking soda.
• Leave until the mixture has stopped bubbling.
• Use a dish sponge to help lift away stubborn stains.
• Wash pans in hot water and dish soap.

Bathroom Cleaning Spray

Anchalee Phanmaha / Getty Images

This gentle cleaning spray is great at removing soap scum, mildew, and hard water stains. It’s perfect for use in the bathroom but works just as well in other areas of the house too.

Ingredients

• 1 ⅓ cup of baking soda
• 1/2 cup of liquid dish soap
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• Mix with a spoon and make sure all the baking soda is dissolved.
• Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and apply to any areas you want to clean.
• Leave for 10 minutes before wiping the mixture away with a soft cloth or sponge. 

Remove Coffee and Tea Stains From Cups and Mugs

Westend61 / Getty Images

Over time, your favorite cups and mugs can become stained from the high levels of tannin found in both tea and coffee. Baking soda and vinegar can help loosen these stains and leave your china looking sparkly again.

Take care to only apply this mixture to the interior of mugs and avoid any delicate patterns or glazes.

• Mix equal parts baking soda and vinegar and apply to any stains.
• Leave the mixture until it’s stopped bubbling, and then wipe away with a damp cloth.
• Stubborn stains may need a few repeat treatments.

It’s best to avoid this method on plastic travel mugs as the abrasive baking soda may cause tiny scratches that can harbor bacteria.

What Not to Clean With Baking Soda and Vinegar

Baking soda and vinegar might seem like the answer to all your cleaning woes, but they shouldn’t be used on certain items. This is mainly due to the abrasive action of baking soda, which can scratch some surfaces. We recommended avoiding using this blend on the following items:

• Marble or quartz
• Ceramic stovetops
• Wood furniture or floors
• Silverware 
• Gold-plated items 
• How to Clean a Showerhead With Baking Soda: Recipe and Instructions
• Cheap and Natural Cleaning Alternatives
• Cleaning With Baking Soda: 3 Easy Recipes for Tough Kitchen Messes
• 5 Ways to Kill Mold Naturally
• How to Make Your Own Washing Machine Cleaner
• Make Your Own Veggie and Fruit Wash
• Simplify Your Home Cleaning Routine with These Easy Tips
• How to Clean Silver Naturally Using Baking Soda and Other Green Ingredients
• How to Clean Copper Naturally: 4 Sustainable Ways
• 20 Ways to Use Vinegar When Doing Laundry
• How to Green Your Cleaning Routine
• 16 Ways to Use Citrus to Clean Your House
• 8 Easy Maintenance Tips for Front Load Washers
• 8 Things NOT to Clean With Vinegar
• 6 Ways to Clean Your Home With Salt
• How to Kill Mildew Naturally

Hidden Colours Bicarbonate Soda Vinegar Experiment

Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links which I may earn a small commission from if you purchase through them, at no extra cost to you.

All you need are two common household items to create a chemical reaction that will make everything look different all of a sudden!

Bicarb Soda and Vinegar Hidden Colours Experiment

When it comes to science, exploration is key. By exploring the world around them, kids can learn about the principles that govern our physical universe. And when it comes to exploring science concepts, there’s no better way to do it than with a fun and interactive experiment like the Bicarbonate of Soda and Vinegar Hidden Colours Experiment.

This experiment is a great way to get kids interested in science and chemistry. It’s also a fun way to teach them about how molecules interact with one another. With just a few common household items, you can create a reaction that will produce an instant reward! All while refining and strengthening their fine motor skills and hand eye coordination along with other valuable skills.

What you need to create the Hidden Colours experiment

In order to complete the Hidden Colours Experiment, you will need:

The mixture is safe to touch and perfect for some messy play after the experiment has been completed. Add some cars or dinosaurs and see where the setting takes your child’s play!

Is bicarbonate of soda and the same as baking soda?

How to do the hidden colours experiment.

1. Add a few drops of food colouring to each well of the muffin tray

2. Cover the food colouring with bicarbonate of soda

There is so much going on with just the addition of the vinegar! What colour is going to be next? Its so exciting! This activity is a favourite in our house as I am sure it will be in yours too!

The hidden colours experiment literally takes minutes to set up and it really packs a wow factor!

The chemical reaction that occurs when you mix bicarbonate soda and vinegar together

The reaction results in:

Do your kids love this experiment?

If your kids loved this home learning science experiment, they will likely love Fizzy dinosaur eggs too!

Learning Opportunities

This science experiment for kids is full of potential learning and development opportunities.

With some strategic positioning of containers, placing the vinegar opposite to the child’s dominant hand, they will cross their dominant hand across the middle of their body to refill their pipette.

This hidden colours science experiment is such a winner with kids of all ages! It really is such a great way of exposing your child to scientific concepts and play based learning!

She loves houseplants, giant chunky cookies and all things play based, incorporating learning experiences into every day!

Similar Posts

Science play – a rainbow eruption, taste safe dirt recipe, creative dinosaur play dough stomp, rubber egg science experiment, rubber ducky stamping, paper pineapple, leave a reply cancel reply.