Exploding sandwich bags - well nearly!!!

This week at science club we investigated exploding sandwich bags.

We knew that if you mixed vinegar and baking soda together you get a reaction that produces fizzing, foaming and bubbles. This is caused by the carbon dioxide gas produced during the reaction.

The idea was to trap this gas inside the zip-lock bag, stand bag and watch it pop.

But....

The bags did expand when they filled with the carbon dioxide gas but there was not quite enough pressure to pop open the bag.

Here you can see the bag all puffed up.

So we investigated what the best recipe was to use by altering 1 variable at a time. We tried using more or less vinegar and more of less baking soda.

In the end we found out that more vinegar makes a better reaction and finally we did get at least 1 bag to EXPLODE!