Cork to a Window: Class Response

Today, we did a lab which involved baking soda, vinegar, a test tube, and a cork. And can you guess what we had to do? We had to mix certain quantities of baking soda with certain quantities of vinegar into the test tube, cork it, and then watch the cork fly. But, here's the catch! We had to figure out how much of each substance we should mix and find out at what angle we should hold it in and at what height in order for the cork to pop up and hit a window which was about 686 cm away from us. Plus, our goal was to hit the window at least three times in a row. Tricky, huh? Not for our group... at first. We were able to hit it on our first try. However, we accidentally tweaked the measurements a little, which we shouldn't have done, or were too late to put on the cork. On the contrary, our third try was a success, whereas the forth wasn't. And so the pattern continued on and on until we started hitting above the window. We later discovered that we were holding the tube too high and the angle was too vertical. We then tried holding the test tube a couple of inches lower, and reduced the slope of the angle. Finally, our last try was a success, but we were unable to hit the window three times in a row due to lack of time.
What is the science behind this? Well, we mixed baking soda with vinegar, forming the substance CO2, widely known as carbon dioxide. Because this chemical change is occurring in a confined area (test tube with cork covering), pressure builds up. As the pressure builds up, the change and its reaction continues. More and more gas forms and there's nowhere else for the gas to go. Therefore, the pressure builds and builds until there's so much pressure that it pushes the cork up, forcing the cork to travel great distances, or just a couple of feet away depending on the proportion of the baking soda and the vinegar. However, if the proportion's too large and if there's too much pressure, the test tube might explode, causing the glass to shatter all over the place. As a result, people performing the experiment might get hurt so it's always important to wear goggles, or gloves perhaps. So be careful, and have fun!



















Information was recieved from personal experience and trusted resources, and was not recieved from any printed, broadcasted, or online resource.