Class Response- Cork Popping Experiment

*Note: This picture shows the reaction between baking soda and vinegar in an uncorked test tube. In our experiment, the test tube was corked.

As you can imagine, class was quite interesting when our teacher announced that our experiment was to shoot a cork across the classroom. The method was actually quite simple- we had to find the correct ratio of baking soda to vinegar to make the cork hit the window on the other side of the classroom, which was 675 cm away. The combination of baking soda and vinegar causes a chemical reaction, creating carbon dioxide, or CO2. The CO2 then expands, creating pressure behind the cork. This is what causes the cork to pop out of the test tube.

1. In our first attempt, we used 10 mL of baking soda, and 15 mL of vinegar. We first added the baking soda to the test tube. Once we were on the firing range, we added the vinegar. The cork went 605 cm out of the total 675 cm.


2. My lab partners and I decided to increase the quantities of both the baking soda and vinegar for our second attempt. When we were on the firing range, the test tube was pointed too low. As a result, the vinegar spilled directly onto the floor, only a little bit getting into the test tube. The cork only popped 40 cm.


3. Since we made a silly mistake on our second attempt, we decided to try the same thing again. This time, our cork popped 655 cm out of the total 675 cm.


4. We decided to increase the amount of baking soda to 20 mL, and decrease the amount of vinegar to 10 mL. This time, the cork popped 589 cm, 156 cm less than the time before.


5. This time, we decided to add the vinegar first, as in our tries 1-4 we had added baking soda first. When the baking soda was added, there was not much initial reaction. Because of this, my lab partner, who was holding the test tube, shook it. Unfortunately, he shook it vertically. The cork shot up, hit the ceiling, and fell behind us.


6. We decided to try the same method as Trial 5. The cork went 401 cm before falling down. My lab partners and I agreed that adding baking soda first doesn't work as well.


7. For our 7th try, we decided to use equal amounts of baking soda and vinegar, using 15 mL of both. We also went back to adding the baking soda before the vinegar. This proved to be our best method so far- it went the full 675 cm, hitting the vent at the back of the class. However, we did not hit the window.


8. We decided to use the same method again, but aim more toward the window. The cork went 675 cm again, hitting the windowsill, but again, not the window.


9. Our group decided to increase both the quantities of baking soda and vinegar to 20 mL. This time, the cork hit the last tile, so again, it went 675 cm.


10. Once again, we tried the same thing, and got the same result. We kept getting so close to hitting the window, but that's all we got- close.


11. For our 11th attempt, we used 10 mL of baking soda, and 20 mL of vinegar. This time, the cork popped out, hit the light, and fell, at 510 cm.


12. We used the same method as above, and got the result that we had been getting-the cork went 675 cm, and hit the vent at the back of the class.


13. Our 13th try was our last. We decided to try the same thing as our 12th try, hoping that our problem was with our angle. We tried it again, and got the same result.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this experiment. Though our group's cork never hit the window, we had fun trying to figure out how to get the result we want. I think that out of all the experiments we've done so far, this was my favorite.