Lab 04 · Volcano
How big will the eruption be?
READY WHEN YOU ARE
DISCOVER
What just happened?
Vinegar and baking soda react to make something new: carbon dioxide gas. The gas was not there before. As it forms, it puffs the liquid into foam and pushes it up and out. Making a new substance is a chemical change.
ABOUT THIS MODEL
This is a chemistry model, not a model of how real volcanoes work. Real eruptions are driven by hot magma and by gas that was already dissolved in it, which is actually more like the Pop + Mentos lab! See how USGS scientists explain real eruptions with a soda bottle (opens in a new tab) ↗
NEXT CHALLENGE
You doubled the vinegar from ½ cup to 1 cup. Did the foam height double?
Read the foam height where the dashed line meets the ruler. Then start a new trial and change only the vinegar.
This is an on-screen model. Trying the real thing? Work on a tray with a grown-up and keep the foam away from your eyes.
MY EVIDENCE
Lab notebook
Wonderlabs · Volcano
Every trial you finish is written down here, so you can compare what you changed with what happened.
Your notebook stays on this device and is erased when you close this tab. Nothing is sent anywhere.