Does blowing balloons for birthday parties leave you out of breath and tire you out? Or maybe you’re just looking for a cool party trick? This recipe from Scientist Factory lets you use a chemical reaction to inflate a balloon. No blowing necessary.

Equipment

  • Balloons
  • Baking soda
  • Vinegar
  • A bottle

Instructions

  1. Pour 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda into a balloon
  2. Pour about 100 ml room temperature vinegar into the bottle
  3. Place the lip of the balloon over the bottle’s neck but make sure that no baking soda enters the bottle yet
  4. When the balloon is properly secured to the bottle, lift the body of the balloon so that the baking soda falls into the vinegar and it starts to bubble
  5. Hold onto the balloon at the bottleneck while it fills with gass
  6. When the balloon is inflated with gas, loosen from the bottle and tie it like you would after blowing a balloon

What happens?

A chemical reaction happens when baking soda is mixed with an acid such as vinegar. This reaction creates carbon dioxide gas, and the gas takes up a lot more room than the baking soda and vinegar which causes the balloon to inflate. If you want to experiment further, try to blow up a balloon the ordinary way to the same size as the balloon with carbon dioxide. Compare how much the two balloons weigh and if they behave differently at all. Do you think carbon dioxide is lighter or heavier than regular air?

Does blowing balloons for birthday parties leave you out of breath and tire you out? Or maybe you’re just looking for a cool party trick? This recipe from Scientist Factory lets you use a chemical reaction to inflate a balloon. No blowing necessary. Equipment Balloons Baking soda Vinegar A bottle Instructions Pour 1-2 tablespoons of….Click to read more