Bubble Bombs

Bubble Bombs

What you need:

Water

Ruler

Measuring cup

zip lock plastic sandwich bag

paper towel

tablespoon

baking soda

vinegar

What to do:

1. We did our experiment outside on the sidewalk. Since the bag pops open you should do it were a mess is easily cleaned up. Indoors in a sink would work.

2. Make sure your zip lock bag doesn't have any holes in it by testing it with some plain water.

3. Take a paper towel and cut it into a 5in. by 5in. square. Put 1 1/2 tablespoons into the center of the square and fold the paper towel around the baking soda so the soda can not fall out.

4. Pour a 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1/4 cup of warm water into the zip lock bag. Zip part way shut.

5. Now take the paper towel "pouch" of soda and drop it into the zip lock bag, zip it the rest of the way shut, give it a little shake, sit it down and step away. This step must be done quickly as the reaction happens fast.

Why does the Bubble Bomb explode?

The bubbles in the Bubble Bomb are filled with carbon dioxide, a gas that forms when the vinegar (an acid) reacts with the baking soda (a base).

Here's some other ideas to try:

Use a different size of zipper-lock plastic bag. What do you think might happen? Do you think you'll need to use more baking soda, vinegar, and water to make the bag explode? Try it and see.

In the original experiment, we asked you to use warm water. Try using cold water or hot water. Does changing the temperature change your results? How?

The first time you tried this, you mixed the vinegar with water. Try doing the experiment again with just vinegar. How did this change your experiment?

Instead of using paper towel, make your "time release packet" using a different kind of paper, like toilet paper, tissue paper or notebook paper. What happened?