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Why do baking soda and vinegar FIZZ?

You drop a spoon of white powder into some sour liquid and… whoooosh! Bubbles climb up like a tiny volcano!

Today you'll find out the real secret:

the fizz is a brand-new GAS being made right in front of you. 🫧

Tap Next to start exploring →

Meet the two ingredients

This trick needs two things. Tap each card to peek inside!

🧂
Baking soda
A white powder. Scientists call it a base (the opposite of sour).
🍶
Vinegar
A sour liquid. Scientists call it an acid. It's what makes some food taste tangy!

👆 Tap both cards to reveal their secret names.

An acid and a base are like two puzzle pieces that LOVE to react when they meet.

When they meet, something NEW is born

When acid meets base, they don't just mix — they react and swap pieces. This makes brand-new stuff, including an invisible gas called carbon dioxide (say: CAR-bon dye-OX-ide). 🫧

🍶 + 🧂 🫧

Acid + BaseGas (+ a little water & salt)

So which gas makes the bubbles? Have a guess!

Your turn — make it fizz! 🧪

Tap the button to pour the vinegar onto the baking soda. Watch the gas bubble up!

baking soda

Ready when you are!

Why do the bubbles climb UP?

Each bubble is a tiny bag of carbon dioxide gas. Gas is much lighter than liquid, so the bubbles float up and pop at the top — that's the fizzing sound you hear! 🔊

Quick check: Why does a gas bubble rise to the top of the liquid?

Fun fact: the same gas, carbon dioxide, is what makes fizzy drinks bubbly and helps bread and cakes puff up in the oven! 🍞

Match the labels 🏷️

Drag each name into the right box. (You can also tap a label, then tap a box.)

🍶 Vinegar
🧂 Baking soda
🫧 Carbon dioxide
Acid (sour)
Base (opposite of sour)
The fizzy gas

3 labels to place.

🎉🧪

You did it — fizz, explained!

Here's the whole secret in three steps:

Now you can explain a real science reaction to your family.

Great work, fizz scientist! ⭐

acid + basecarbon dioxidea real reaction