State the Problem: What is the effect of different proportions of vinegar and baking soda on the

eruption of a 3D printed volcano?

Research:
• https://www.angieslist.com/articles/brief-hi\story-baking-soda.htm is a timeline of baking
soda and how they used it.
• The scientific name of baking soda is Sodium bicarbonate.
• The volcanos erupt when magma is pushed to the surface. It comes out in openings in
the Earth’s crust. Then it flows out as a thing called LAVA! (hot lava)
• Baking soda is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3, sodium bicarbonate.
• Vinegar is made of any ingredient containing ethanol. This includes distilled grain
alcohol, wine, champagne, beer, cider, and more.

Rationale:
This experiment will help kids make better erupting volcanos. Some kids also might not want as
much mess to clean up, or do not like their volcanos to erupt as much. Others might like a
bigger eruption. This experiment will help kids make their volcanos the way they want them so
they can have fun. And it will look so cool and It can be a thing to entertain kids on holidays and
breaks if they have nothing to do. Also, since we are doing 2 experiments, we can see what
ingredient makes the lava erupt more.

Hypothesis,
Experiment 1:
AD: I think that the more vinegar there is, the bigger the explosion.

PG: My hypothesis is that 1 1\2 x the amount of vinegar will erupt the most, because otherwise
the vinegar will overpower the other ingredients.

AW: I predict that the more vinegar, the bigger the eruption. The less of vinegar, the smaller the
eruption.

TV: I predict that the more the vinegar the bigger the eruption.

Hypothesis,

Experiment 2:

AD: My hypothesis is that only half baking soda would work but we may need to vary the
amounts of vinegar for the biggest eruption.

PG: My hypothesis is that the regular amount of baking soda will be best, or the ingredients will
overpower each other.
AW: My hypothesis is that the baking soda eruption won’t be as big as the vinegar
eruption.

TV: My hypothesis is that baking soda will help the volcano eruption be very big.

My Supplies:
Experiment 1:
• 1 3D printed volcano
• 200 mL vinegar (start at 20, change by 20)
• 212 mL baking soda (53 per)
• Safety glasses
• Red and yellow food coloring (optional)
Experiment 2:
• 1 3D printed volcano
• 212 mL vinegar
• 200 mL baking soda
• Safety glasses
• Red and yellow food coloring (optional)

My Plan:
Experiment 1:

1. Put on safety glasses

2. Set up 3D printed volcano outside or in a tub
3. Measure out 53 mL of baking soda, and use a funnel to pour it into a volcano
4. Pour the vinegar out from the bottle to an open cup
5. Measure out 20 mL of vinegar and pour into the volcano
6. Record results (record video)
7. Repeat 4 times, changing the amount of vinegar by 20 each time

Experiment 2:

1. Put on safety glasses

2. Set up 3D printed volcano outside or in a tub
3. Measure out 20 mL of baking soda and use funnel to pour into volcano
4. Add food coloring-- 2 drops of red and 2 drops of yellow
5. Measure out 53 mL of vinegar, and pour into volcano
6. Record the results (record video)
7. Repeat 4 times, changing the amount of baking soda by 20 mL each time

The Results:
Best: 80 mL vinegar, 53 mL baking soda

This erupted over more than half of the tub!

Worst: 20 mL vinegar, 53 mL baking soda

This volcano only erupted in a small corner of the tub.

Our Conclusion:
Experiment 1
Looking at our results, our original hypothesis was correct except Pia’s. One way we know it is right is that
the volcano with the most vinegar had the biggest explosion. We think this happened because the vinegar
was the key ingredient. Another interesting thing that happen where the was that the one with barely any
vinegar actually erupted! We think this happened because the vinegar came in contact with some baking
soda causing it to erupt. If I were to do this again, two things I would change would be the amounts of
vinegar and the amounts of baking soda to make it more interesting. I would also measure the amount of
stuff that came out of the volcano for better results.

Experiment 2:
Looking at our results, our original hypothesis was correct besides Tara’s. One way we know it is right is
that we tested the experiment and the volcano with the most baking soda blew up the least. We think this
happened because too much baking soda slows the eruption. Another interesting that that happened was
that when we added red and orange food coloring the eruption looked like lava. I think this was because
lava is reddish orange. In conclusion, it turns out that if you want a good eruption, don’t use too much
baking soda. If I were to do this again, two things I would change would be to add the food coloring
sooner and to rotate the job of taking photos better. I would also measure the amount of stuff that came
out of the volcano for better results.