Weird Science!

Here is the Science Project:

Will the increased amounts of vinegar and baking soda produce a louder sound then the decreased amount of vinegar and baking soda?

 

Hypothesis:  I predict that the “boom” sound that is produced by a Baking Soda Bomb Group A containing 2.5 dl Vinegar and 30ml of Baking Soda will be the loudest sound because it will create the most amount of carbon dioxide gas therefore building up enough pressure in the bottle.

 

Procedure:

1.  Unscrew cap, and empty water bottle
2. Place the funnel into the empty water bottle

1. Measure the vinegar by using a glass measuring cup
2. Pour measured vinegar into the empty bottle

 Pour measured vinegar into the empty bottle

 Use tablespoon to measure out baking soda

1. Place measured baking soda on a napkin
2. Wrap napkin into a tight wad

 Shove napkin wad into the bottle. Quickly screw on cap
 Shake bottle for 2 seconds. Throw bottle into the air by using an “under-dog” toss. Observe the crash/splitting/sliding bottle and measure the sound. Collect the data.

 The Launch..........

 The blur.........

 The flying bottle.................

 The impact zone.....SPLAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 It landed here.....and clear over here......

 

General Observations: I observed that when the bottle hit the ground at a vertical or at a 45 degree angle, the bottle had a more violent explosion.  The angle in which the bottle hit the ground was critical to creating the loudest sound.  I observed that when I threw the bottle straight up it would make a louder noise then when I threw it in an arch. I also observed that with the Control Group on the second trial the cap leaked causing a hissing sound, and no explosion.  I also noticed that two of the bottles within Group A leaked causing no explosion.  In Group B I observed that two extremes happened: the one of the bottles exploded, one slide and rocketed across the ground, while the third was silent.  And finally in Group C, one of the bottles completely shattered rocketing the cap 30 feet away, while another split and the cap was found 10 feet away from the explosion.

 

Calculations: I based my sound scale from 1-5 with 1 being no sound to 5 being the loudest sound.  I then took three trials for each group and added it then divided it by 3 and came up with the average.  I used the chart to gather the information.  I used the bar graph to show the results of each group. I saw that in the nearly every second trial of each group the sound increased.  I also observed that the average was typically lower then one of the trials.  Based on the graph you can observe that Group C had the loudest sound result. 

 Conclusion:  Based on the evidence collected the hypothesis was proven incorrect.  Group C produced the loudest sounds and force to split the bottles open. The bottles in Group C hit at a vertical or a 45 degree angle.   According to the hypothesis, predicting that the “boom” sound that was produced by a Baking Soda Bomb Group A containing 4.0 dl Vinegar and 30 ml Baking Soda would be the loudest sound because it would create the most amount of carbon dioxide gas therefore building up enough pressure in the bottle to explode, it should have been the loudest. Through more observation of Group A the space available in the bottle after filling it with the vinegar did not have sufficient space to allow the pressure to build up.

What I learned was that when you have 2.5 dl of vinegar and 12.5 ml of baking soda it tended to make the loudest explosion, again based on the angle of the bottle as it hit the ground.  The angle really affects the intensity of the explosion.  This was the surprising element of this experiment.  I did not expect this to be the case. I would like to research why the angle of the bottle has such a huge affect on the outcome of the experiment.

What mom learned?  read the homework packet 2 weeks in advance so that we don't have a 24 hour marathon to complete the work.  Noted, and checked!