1. WHY SHOULD I WANT Fire
THIS?
Keeping your home safe from fires should
be your home maintenance checklist. Having a
Fighter
proper fire escape route and emergency
numbers clearly posted is a great first step. In How can you make a fire
addition, it is wise to have a fire extinguisher in
extinguisher?
the kitchen and other areas where an flame is
used. A home fire extinguisher is inexpensive,
but a large one can cost more than $300 dollars.
You can create a simple, effective fire
extinguisher on your own, using nothing more
than baking soda and white vinegar.
Date of publication
WHAT MATERIALS I
WILL NEED?
To make this fun, simple, and useful experiment
you’ll need:
-white vinegar(weak acetic acid)
- 2 spoons (same size)
-baking soda(sodium bicarbonate)
-an empty water bottle
.
SCIENCE FAIR
2012
FIRE EXTINGUISHERS
GO GREEN!

2. SCIENTIFIC PROCEDURE
EXPLANATION 1.-open the bottle and pour vinegar
WHAT IS GOING TO
There's a lot of chemistry behind the simple
lighting of a candle. Oxygen is needed for the
2.-add 2 spoons of baking soda
HAPPEN?
candle to burn, the melting (vaporizing) wax 3.-light the candle
provides the fuel and, of course, you need heat. The flame will stay without oxygen so if you
Remove any of the three (oxygen, heat, 4.-make a hole in the water bottle’s cap interfere in the fire triangle obviously the fire will
or fuel) in the fire triangle and the flame goes out. turn off because the mixture of baking soda and
Yet another way to extinguish the fire is to 5.-Slowly push the water bottle so the gas can go vinegar is going to make carbon dioxide
smother it with carbon dioxidegas. to the flame.
Let's start with the process of making the carbon
dioxide gas. Baking soda is actually called 6.- the fire should be off by now.
sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO3. Vinegar is the
household name for weak acetic acid, CH3CO2H,
in water. Sodium bicarbonate reacts with an acid,
such as vinegar, to produce carbon dioxide gas. CONCLUSIONS
As you observed firsthand, carbon dioxide gas
can extinguish a fire. It does this by reducing the
amount of oxygen in the air around the burning THE POWER OF CARBON DIOXIDE
object. Oxygen in the air is necessary for a fire, CO2 IS BIGGER THAN THE POWER
and when this oxygen isremoved, the fire goes OF OXYGEN O2
out.
Names:
Mariana Arellano #3
Isabella Abramo #1
Mariana Mtz-Celis #18
Ana Sofia Armenta #4
Regina Perez #19
SCIENCE FAIR 2012