Why do vinegar and baking soda react to each other

One of our favourites is fizzy colour changing potions! These use red cabbage indicator for the colour changing part and the vinegar and baking soda reaction to make the fizz!

Frozen baking soda ice cubes are great fun too! Science Sparks Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

Put your baking soda paper roll in the bottle, cork the bottle, shake it up and quickly place it on the ground. See how high your rocket will go!

Baking soda and vinegar react with each other because they exchange atoms. In this case, they are exchanging a proton, which is a subatomic particle that makes atoms. You can also think of a proton as a Hydrogen atom that is missing an electron.

In this reaction, baking soda acts as a base, and takes a proton from vinegar, which is an acid. The reaction releases gas because when the baking soda receives the proton, it transforms into water and carbon dioxide.

This answer above and answer 5 below give generally correct descriptions of the reaction, but arguably suffer from being insufficiently explicit. The reaction of baking soda sodium bicarbonate and vinegar acetic acid is as follows. Note that all of this occurs in an aqueous i. The charges arise because single valence electron of Na stays with the bicarbonate.

Again, the charges result from the single valence electron of H staying with the acetate. Sodium acetate is soluble in water, so no solid compound is formed, and neither substance will decompose in plain water. Before the reaction, the H atoms and the associated electrons are part of acetic acid molecules; after the reaction the H protons are part of water molecules, while the electrons originally with the H atom are still with the acetate ion.

Although not a direct exchange between acetic acid and sodium bicarbonate, the hydrogen nucleus has been transferred to a new compound and the electrons have not. This is the Bronsted definition of acid-base reactions.

As described above and in the existing responses, the hydrogen nucleus is associated with different anions before and after the reaction, but it remains a hydrogen. The main problem with the current responses here above, and 5 is that they answer the question "What is the reaction between baking soda and vinegar? This is the realm of Chemical Thermodynamics. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate: each molecule of baking soda contains a sodium atom, a hydrogen atom, an oxygen atom, and a carbon dioxide molecule.

Vinegar contains acetic acid, each molecule of which contains a hydrogen atom, and an acetate ion. When combined, the hydrogen atom in the acetic acid meets up with the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in the baking soda to form a molecule of water, while the acetate ion grabs onto the sodium atom and forms a salt, sodium acetate. The carbon dioxide molecule, free of its other chemical bonds, can now escape, and bubbles forth as a gas.

They react because baking soda is a base and vinegar is an acid dissolved in water. When you mix an acid and a base in a solvent, which in this case is the water, usually the acid transfers hydrogen to the base to form a new compound.

In this case, the new compound is called carbonic acid, which then decomposes to water and carbon dioxide gas. A more precise definition of acids and bases states that a base is a compound that wants to donate electrons, and an acid is a compound that wants to accept electrons. For the full and detailed explanation of what actually takes place when you mix vinegar and baking soda, we researched from professional scientists.

Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate: each molecule of baking soda contains a sodium atom, a hydrogen atom, an oxygen atom, and a carbon dioxide molecule. Vinegar contains acetic acid, each molecule of which contains a hydrogen atom, and an acetate ion.

When combined, the hydrogen atom in the acetic acid meets up with the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in the baking soda to form a molecule of water, while the acetate ion grabs onto the sodium atom and forms a salt, sodium acetate. The carbon dioxide molecule, free of its other chemical bonds, can now escape and bubbles forth as a gas.

Our ever expanding list of toys that use bi-carb and vinegar as fuel.