• Question: Why does vinegar react with baking soda?

    Asked by Keep'in It Real to Anthony, Cathal, Hannah, Jade, Sallie on 6 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Sallie Baxendale

      Sallie Baxendale answered on 6 Mar 2017:

      Baking soda and vinegar react with each other because of an acid-base reaction. Baking soda is a bicarbonate (NaHCO 3) and vinegar is an acetic acid (HCH 3 COO). One of the products this reaction creates is carbon dioxide.

    • Photo: Cathal Breen

      Cathal Breen answered on 7 Mar 2017:

      Vinegar is a form of acid. Acids cause chemical reactions by releasing hydrogen ions. Baking soda is an alkaline and neutralises acids, meaning free radical contain in baking soda soak up the hydrogen ions from acids and balance them out.

    • Photo: Jade Owen

      Jade Owen answered on 11 Mar 2017:

      Vinegar is dilute acetic acid and its chemical formula is: CH3COOH (but you can also write this as HC2H3O2). As it’s an acid it means a hydrogen (H) easily comes loose from the molecule.

      Baking soda is a type of base and its chemical formula is: NaHCO3

      When they mix the reaction is called an acid-base reaction.

      The hydrogen comes off the acetic acid molecule and swaps with the sodium (Na) from the baking soda to form sodium acetate (NaC2H3O2). What was left of the bicarbonate molecule (carbonic acid) becomes carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) as it is not stable.

      This is the reaction:
      NaHCO3 + HC2H3O2 → NaC2H3O2 + H2O + CO2

      You see lots of fizzing because that’s the carbon dioxide gas trying to escape!

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