Create your own volcanic eruption and investigate acid-base reactions.

You will need:

• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• A “volcano” –a container to hold the reaction

(Note: a fun related art project is to create and paint your own volcano out of Plaster of Paris or paper-maché with a built-in well to hold the reagents.)

Safety Tips:

Provide paper towels to clean up the resulting eruption – it can be a fizzy mess. The lab’s reagents are harmless, but you should take care to avoid contact with your eyes.

Experiment Steps:

1. Place some baking soda into your container.
2. Pour in some vinegar.
3. Watch for the resulting volcanic eruption.

Explanation:

The sodium bicarbonate in baking soda is neutralized by the acetic acid in vinegar, and the reaction causes carbon dioxide to be released as one of the by-products. The carbon dioxide is the cause of the fizzing and crackling sounds heard during the eruption.

The reaction you witnessed was this:
NaHCO₃ + CH₃COOH »» CO₂ + H₂O + Na (aq) + CH₃COO (aq)

Related Products

For more at home exploration of acid-base reactions, try WARD’S lab activities:

• Patriotic Colors Activity (36 V 0001)
• Red Cabbage pH Indicator Kit (36 V 6974)

If you would like to learn more about volcanoes, see WARD’S videos and models:

• Our Amazing Volcanoes Model Kit (80 V 0241)
• GeoBlox Volcano Block Models (80 V 0210)
• Volcanoes CD-ROM (74 V 6252)
• In the Path of a Killer Volcano Video (193 V 0355)

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