When science and play come together, kids start learning with fun. With some ingredients from your home kitchen and balloon, your child will have amazing chemistry with this science experiment.
Check out the simple step-by-step instructions for this DIY Balloon Experiment.
Material Required
- Empty Water Bottles
- Food Colours
- Balloons
- Funnel (optional)
- Alternate 1 – ENO & Water
- Alternate 2 – Vinegar & Baking Soda
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Instructions For Alternate 1 Method – ENO & Water
- Fill the water bottle 2/3rd full of water.
- Loosen up your balloon by stretching a few times before filling it up
- Fill the balloons with 2 ENO Sachets and food colour matching with the colour of the balloon. You may take the help of a funnel for easy pouring of the stuff.
- Now securely stretch the neck of the balloon to place over the mouth of the bottle for a tightly sealed grip.
- Lift the balloon up to dump the mixture into the water bottle and continue to hold the balloon to see THE MAGIC OF BALLOON BLOW UP.
Instructions For Alternate 2 Method – Vinegar & Baking Soda
- Fill the empty water bottle 1/3rd full of vinegar.
- Loosen up your balloon by stretching a few times before filling it up
- Fill the balloons with 2 teaspoons of Baking Soda and food colour matching with the colour of the balloon. You may take the help of a funnel for easy pouring of the stuff.
- Now securely stretch the neck of the balloon to place over the mouth of the bottle for a tightly sealed grip.
- Lift the balloon up to dump the mixture into the bottle filled with Vinegar and continue to hold the balloon to see THE MAGIC OF BALLOON BLOW UP.
The Science Behind It
The baking soda and the vinegar create an ACID-BASE reaction and the two chemicals work together to create a gas called carbon dioxide. This happens because the acetic acid in vinegar breaks down the calcium carbonate (baking soda) into the basics of its chemical composition. The carbon combines with the oxygen in the bottle to create Carbon Dioxide gas. The gas so formed rises up and since it can’t escape from the bottle, it enters the balloon to blow it up.
Similarly, ENO is a mixture of Citric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate and Sodium Carbonate. When it gets dissolved with water, Citric Acid will dissociate as it is a weak acid. It will produce Citrate Ion which will give reaction with Sodium Ion from Sodium Bicarbonate to form Sodium Citrate which is a salt. Also this reaction produces Carbon Dioxide in ample amount which enters the balloon to inflate.