INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT
AKSH NARAYAN CHAKRABARTY
XII-B
R no. 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MY HEARTFELT GRATITUDE TO MY
CHEMISTRY TEACHER, [Link] MA’AM, FOR THEIR VALUABLE
GUIDANCE, MOTIVATION, AND CONSTANT SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THE
COURSE OF THIS PROJECT.
THIS PROJECT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THEIR
ASSISTANCE AND SUGGESTIONS.
AKSH NARAYAN CHAKRABARTY
CLASS: XII
ROLL NO: 3
INTRODUCTION
Chemical reactions occur when two or more substances interact to form
new products with different properties. One of the simplest and most
interesting examples of such a reaction is between baking soda (sodium
bicarbonate, NaHCO₃) and vinegar (acetic acid, CH₃COOH).
When these two react, carbon dioxide gas is released along with the
formation of water and sodium acetate. The effervescence observed is due
to the rapid escape of CO₂ gas. This experiment helps us understand acid–
base reactions, gas evolution, and chemical decomposition in an easy and
visual way.
.
OBJECTIVES
THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THIS INVESTIGATION ARE:
TO STUDY THE CHEMICAL REACTION THAT OCCURS BETWEEN BAKING
SODA AND VINEGAR.
TO OBSERVE AND ANALYSE THE EFFERVESCENCE DUE TO GAS EVOLUTION
DURING THE REACTION.
TO IDENTIFY THE GAS EVOLVED USING A SIMPLE CHEMICAL TEST (LIME
WATER TEST).
TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF THE REACTION, I.E., WHETHER IT IS
ACID–BASE, ENDOTHERMIC/EXOTHERMIC, AND DECOMPOSITION-BASED.
TO CONNECT THIS REACTION TO REAL-LIFE APPLICATIONS, SUCH AS
BAKING, CLEANING, AND USE IN FIRE EXTINGUISHERS.
HYPOTHESIS
IT IS HYPOTHESIZED THAT:
WHEN VINEGAR (WHICH CONTAINS ACETIC ACID)
REACTS WITH BAKING SODA (SODIUM BICARBONATE), AN
ACID–BASE NEUTRALISATION TAKES PLACE.
THIS REACTION WILL RELEASE A GAS, WHICH IS
EXPECTED TO BE CARBON DIOXIDE (CO₂).
THE GAS CAN BE IDENTIFIED BY PASSING IT THROUGH
LIME WATER, WHICH WILL TURN MILKY DUE TO THE
FORMATION OF CALCIUM CARBONATE (CACO₃).
MATERIALS REQUIRED
VINEGAR, BAKING SODA, TEST TUBE, SPATULA, DROPPER (OPTIONAL), LIME
WATER (OPTIONAL).
PROCEDURE
MEASURE 10 ML OF VINEGAR AND POUR IT INTO A TEST TUBE.
ADD 1–2 G OF BAKING SODA USING A SPATULA.
OBSERVE THE REACTION — VIGOROUS EFFERVESCENCE APPEARS DUE
TO THE EVOLUTION OF GAS.
BRING A TEST TUBE CONTAINING LIME WATER NEAR THE MOUTH OF
THE REACTING TEST TUBE OR CONNECT THEM USING A DELIVERY TUBE
IF AVAILABLE.
OBSERVE THE CHANGE IN LIME WATER (TURNS MILKY).
RECORD YOUR OBSERVATIONS CAREFULLY.
OBSERVATION
Step Observation
When baking soda is added to vinegar Effervescence observed immediately
Nature of gas evolved Colourless, odourless, non-combustible
When passed through lime water Lime water turns milky
Inference Gas evolved is CO₂
RESULT AND ANALYSIS
THE GAS EVOLVED TURNS LIME WATER MILKY, CONFIRMING IT IS
CARBON DIOXIDE (CO₂).
THE REACTION BETWEEN VINEGAR AND BAKING SODA IS AN ACID–BASE
REACTION.
THE PRODUCTS FORMED ARE SODIUM ACETATE, WATER, AND CARBON
DIOXIDE GAS.
THE FIZZING OBSERVED IS DUE TO THE RAPID RELEASE OF CO₂ GAS.
DISCUSSION
THIS EXPERIMENT DEMONSTRATES AN EVERYDAY EXAMPLE OF
NEUTRALISATION AND GAS EVOLUTION.
THE REACTION IS MILDLY ENDOTHERMIC (ABSORBS A LITTLE HEAT), HENCE
THE TEST TUBE MAY FEEL SLIGHTLY COOL TO TOUCH.
IN BAKING, THIS REACTION HELPS DOUGH OR BATTER RISE, AS CO₂ GAS
CREATES AIR POCKETS.
IN FIRE EXTINGUISHERS, SIMILAR ACID–BASE REACTIONS ARE USED TO
RELEASE CO₂ GAS TO PUT OUT FLAMES.
THIS SIMPLE REACTION SHOWS HOW CHEMISTRY CONNECTS WITH REAL-
LIFE PROCESSES IN A SAFE AND OBSERVABLE WAY.
CONCLUSION
THE EXPERIMENT CONFIRMS THAT WHEN BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR
REACT, CARBON DIOXIDE GAS IS PRODUCED.
THE GAS WAS IDENTIFIED BY PASSING IT THROUGH LIME WATER,
WHICH TURNED MILKY, VERIFYING ITS NATURE AS CO₂.
HENCE, THE HYPOTHESIS IS PROVED CORRECT.
THIS REACTION IS A CLEAR EXAMPLE OF AN ACID–BASE REACTION
PRODUCING A GAS, SALT, AND WATER.
SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE WORK
THE SAME SETUP CAN BE USED TO MEASURE THE VOLUME OF CO₂
USING A BALLOON ATTACHED TO THE TEST TUBE.
STUDY HOW TEMPERATURE OR CONCENTRATION AFFECTS THE RATE OF
GAS EVOLUTION.
EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT ACIDS (LIKE LEMON JUICE) OR BASES
(LIKE WASHING SODA) FOR COMPARISON.
USE THE REACTION TO DEMONSTRATE ENDOTHERMIC COOLING BY
MEASURING TEMPERATURE CHANGE BEFORE AND AFTER THE REACTION.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
NCERT CHEMISTRY TEXTBOOK, CLASS XII
S. CHAND’S PRACTICAL CHEMISTRY MANUAL FOR CLASS XII
SCIENCE BUDDIES ([Link])
NCERT LAB MANUAL EXPERIMENTS REFERENCE
BASIC CHEMICAL REACTIONS IN EVERYDAY LIFE
([Link])