This document provides instructions for an experiment to make a heavy balloon filled with carbon dioxide gas. Baking soda and vinegar are mixed, which produce carbon dioxide gas that fills a balloon. The balloon filled with carbon dioxide is expected to fall faster than a normal air-filled balloon when dropped from the same height, since carbon dioxide is heavier than air. The experiment is carried out and observations confirm that the carbon dioxide balloon does fall faster, supporting the initial hypothesis.

1. HOW TO MAKE A HEAVY
BALLOON

2. We all know that balloons, when
inflated with helium, float
because helium is lighter than
air. But have you ever thought
about blowing up a heavy balloon
that will be heavier than air?
When you fill a balloon with
carbon dioxide, you can do just
that. 
INTRODUCTION

3. Vinegar and baking soda combine to
make carbon dioxide. Vinegar is a
liquid made up of acetic acid and
water. Baking soda is a white powdery
substance and a chemical salt also
known as a base. When a base (baking
soda) and an acid (vinegar) react, it
creates carbon dioxide.
BACKGROUND

4. We think that the balloon we
filled with carbon dioxide will
be heavier than the balloon we
filled with air. When both
balloons are dropped from a
height of about six feet, the
carbon dioxide balloon will
drop faster because of its
weight.
HYPOTHESIS

5. MATERIALS
This experiment requires basic
materials. We need a one small
funnel, two balloons, one empty
20 ounce bottle, vinegar, and
baking soda. You can find all
these items at your local super
market.

6. PROCEDURE
S
The first step to this experiment is
to put three tsp. of baking soda in an
empty 20 oz. bottle, then using a
funnel, fill a balloon with vinegar till it
is nearly full. Next stretch the
opening of the balloon over the
bottles opening, then let the vinegar
escape into the bottle. When the
balloon starts to expand take it off
and tie it. Blow up another balloon the
same size using your air then drop the
two balloons from the same height.

7. Baking soda and vinegar react,
creating a chemical reaction
which can expand and overflow.
To be safe you should wear
safety goggles and put newspaper
down at your work space, because
this experiment can be messy.
SAFETY

8. OBSERVATION As we did our experiment we noticed
that when the vinegar started to mix
with the baking soda, the sound it
made sounded like “fizz”. It also
looked liked a sprite juice. The
balloon filled up fast, but only to a
small size. It smelt like vinegar.
When we dropped the two balloons
the CO2 filled balloon would always
be the first one to hit the ground. It
even felt heavy too!

9. EXPLANATION
The reason why this balloon is heavier
is because the baking soda and vinegar
react to form carbon dioxide gas,
which will fill the balloon. Carbon
dioxide weighs three times more than
air so the CO2-filled balloon will fall
much faster that the air-filled balloon.
The chemical equation for this
experiment is
HC2HO2+NaHCO3 NaC2H3O2+H2O+CO2
vinegar baking soda sodium acetate water carbon dioxide

10. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we hope you
learned something new about
what happens when baking soda
and vinegar is combined to form
carbon dioxide. This experiment
is very easy and we encourage
that you try this too. Thank you!