Sunday, February 15, 2009

Form a Gas

Inflate a balloon without blowing into it, or using a pump! You can do this by making a gas and then getting it to go into a balloon. The gas is called carbon dioxide. It is this gas which forms the bubbles in soda water and fizzy drinks.

Materials:
1. Vinegar
2. Sodium Bicarbonate
3. Balloon
4. Funnel
5. Narrow-Necked Bottle

Procedures:
1. Pour some vinegar into the narrow-necked bottle until it is about a quarter full.
2. Using the funnel, fill the balloon with sodium bicarbonate powder.
3. Stretch the neck of the balloon over the neck of the bottle. Do not let the sodium bicarbonate escape from the balloon.
4. Lift the balloon so that the sodium bicarbonate falls into the bottle. The vinegar begins to fizz and the balloon slowly starts to inflate. The vinegar reacts with the sodium bicarbonate to release bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. As more as gas forms, its pressure increases and the balloon expands.

Exploding drink
Shake a bottle of fizzy drink then unscrew the cap. The drink fizzes up out of the bottle! Carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the water in the drink. It is kept under pressure in the bottle. When you unscrew the cap, you reduce the pressure and the gas bubbles up out of the water.

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