Simple experiment: A foaming volcano from baking soda and vinegar

This experiment is not included i the MEL Chemistry subscription–we just love to show you the beauty of chemistry

This is the safest ac­tive vol­cano in ex­is­tence.

Reagents and equip­ment:
* plas­ticine;
* bak­ing soda (10 g);
* red food col­or­ing;
* liq­uid soap (10 ml);
* 9% so­lu­tion of acetic acid (100ml);
* spoon.

Step-by-step in­struc­tions
Make a vol­cano with plas­ticine and pour bak­ing soda into the “crater”. Then add a few drops of food col­or­ing and liq­uid soap. Stir thor­ough­ly. Then add acetic acid to the mix­ture. Watch the vol­cano erupt!

Pro­cess­es de­scrip­tion
Bak­ing soda is sodi­um bi­car­bon­ate. It re­acts with acetic acid with the re­lease of car­bon diox­ide. The gas makes the liq­uid soap froth, and the vol­cano erupts!
NaH­CO₃ + CH₃­COOH = CH₃­COONa + CO₂ + H₂O