Self-Inflating Balloon

Grades:

3 - 6

Duration:

1 hour

Subject:

Chemistry

About this Activity

Why inflate balloons yourself when you can use a chemical reaction to do it for you!

You just made a chemical reaction between an acid and a base! We know a reaction occurred because of the bubbling that happened and the liquid turned cooler. When we mix baking soda which is a base called sodium bicarbonate with vinegar, an acid called acetic acid, we form sodium acetate, water, and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide, similar to what you breathe out is a gas that inflates the balloon!

BC Curriculum Tie-Ins:

Kindergarten:

  • Properties of familiar materials

Grade 1:

  • Specific properties of materials allow us to use them in different ways

Grade 2:

  • Physical ways of changing materials

Grade 3:

  • Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space
  • Atoms are building blocks of matter
  • Sources of thermal energy
  • Transfer of thermal energy

Grade 4 - 6:

  • Phases of matter
  • The effect of temperature on particle movement

Materials:

Lesson plan

Video Link

More Information

Older students can experiment with different amounts of acid and base in each solution, and different temperatures of water, to see what produces the most carbon dioxide gas.

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