Scientific Investigation Template

Title : The Effect of the Amount of Baking Soda on the Volume of Gas Produced

Name : Emily Stegmeyer / Calvin Burns

Class / Period : Honors Chemistry Hr. 1

The Research Question
How does the amount of baking soda, added to a constant amount of vinegar, effect the volume of gas production?

The Hypothesis
If more baking soda is added to a constant volume of vinegar, then there will be an increase in the volume of gas production, until a plateau is reached.

Theory/ Background information/Abstract.
Calvin and I decided to do this experiment because we thought it would be really interesting and fun to measure the volume of gas that the reaction between the baking soda and vinegar released, with a balloon. We knew from a control trial with Ms. Mulrenin that there would be a chemical reaction between the vinegar and the baking soda, and also that the gas produced from that reaction would begin to inflate the balloon.

Materials Required:
75 cm piece of string 25-mL graduated cylinder teaspoon 31 teaspoons of solid pure baking soda funnel 160 mL of distilled white vinegar with 0.83M stock solution meter stick balloons
250-mL beaker 16.9 fl. oz. plastic water bottle

Variables:
What will change ? ( Independent )
What will be kept the same ? ( Control )
What will be measured ? ( Dependent )
The amount of baking soda used.

The amount of vinegar (15 mL), size of water bottle (16.9 fl. oz.), type of vinegar (distilled white vinegar), type of baking soda (pure, solid Hospitality brand), temperature of room (room temperature throughout whole procedure), and waited until the solution stopped bubbling to measure the circumference of the balloon.
The circumference of the balloon, inflated by the gas from the chemical reaction between the vinegar and the baking soda.

Method:
1. Put on apron and safety goggles, and gather all needed materials.
2. First, run a control trial to make sure that a chemical reaction will indeed take place. This can be done by following steps 3-8, but using 10 mL of vinegar and 1 tsp. of baking soda.
3. For the trials, use a 25 mL graduated cylinder to measure out 15 mL of vinegar and pour it into a 16.9 fl. oz. plastic water bottle with the help of a funnel.
4. Now place funnel in the opening in balloon. Measure out 1 tsp. of baking soda (remembering to level it out with baking soda lid or other flat object) and add to the balloon through the funnel.
5. Once the funnel is removed from the balloon, attach the mouth of the balloon to the opening of the water bottle, and once secured around the opening, dump the baking soda from the balloon, into the water bottle.
6. Once the baking soda is added to the vinegar, swish the water bottle gently in circular motions, so as to fully incorporate the baking soda into the vinegar, but not to make the balloon fall off.
7. After the baking soda/vinegar solution has stopped bubbling, use a piece of string to measure the circumference of the widest part of the balloon. Then take the piece of string and measure it against a meter stick
8. Once the measurement has been taken, remove the balloon from the bottle and dump the solution down the sink.
9. Repeat steps 3-8 with 2, 3, 4, and 5 tsps. of baking soda.

Results :

What was found out in the investigation
Quantitative measured data must be organized into data table(s). Data tables must have a title, grid, headings and units.
Any relevant qualitative data – this may or may not be organized into a table as well. This should include all evidence of changes that resulted, ie…colour / appearance, etc…

Data processing:

Summary and analysis
Summarize what happened, in other words, verbally explain and interpret your results using scientific reasoning.

Summarize and evaluate the procedure

In the end,