Can you make pieces of spaghetti rise and sink on their own? Spaghetti is denser than water, so it normally sinks to the bottom. Adding baking soda and vinegar changes everything.
You fill a container with water and dissolve baking soda in it. Then you drop in small pieces of vermicelli and add vinegar. The two ingredients react to produce carbon dioxide gas. Bubbles stick to the spaghetti and lift it to the surface.
Once the spaghetti reaches the top, the bubbles pop. The spaghetti sinks and the cycle starts again.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that the carbon dioxide gas produced by the reaction of baking soda and vinegar will cause the spaghetti to rise to the surface.
Spaghetti is denser than water, so it sinks — until baking soda and vinegar change the situation. You dissolve baking soda in water, drop in small pieces of vermicelli, and add vinegar. The two ingredients react and release carbon dioxide gas. Bubbles cling to the spaghetti and lift it to the surface. When the bubbles pop at the top, the spaghetti sinks and the cycle starts again.
When baking soda and vinegar react in a container of water, they produce carbon dioxide gas. Bubbles stick to small pieces of spaghetti and lift them to the surface. Once a piece reaches the top, the bubbles pop, the spaghetti sinks, and the cycle starts again.
Spaghetti is denser than water, so it normally sinks. Adding baking soda and vinegar to the water changes things. The two ingredients react to produce carbon dioxide gas, and those bubbles stick to the spaghetti. Once enough collect, the upward push from the water — helped along by the bubbles — lifts the spaghetti to the surface. When the bubbles pop at the top, the spaghetti sinks again and the cycle starts over.
Method & Materials
You will fill a container with water, add baking soda and vinegar, and then add the spaghetti.
You will need a container, baking soda, vinegar, and spaghetti.
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The experiment showed that when vinegar and baking soda are added to water and spaghetti, the carbon dioxide gas produced by the reaction sticks to the spaghetti to lift it to the surface. This is similar to how water wings work, as they add to the volume of the person without increasing the mass. When the carbon dioxide escapes at the top, the spaghetti drops back to the bottom because it's denser than water.
Why do this project?
This science project is unique because it shows how the density of the spaghetti is affected by the lighter carbon dioxide gas bubbles attached to it.
Also Consider
Experiment variations to consider include using raisins instead of spaghetti, and using club soda, Sprite/7-up or an Alka-Seltzer tablet (see the 2nd video) instead of baking soda and vinegar.
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.
These videos explain the science behind this project and demonstrate key concepts used in the experiment.
Why does the spaghetti sink and rise again? Any ideas?
Try this variation of the experiment using an Alka-Seltzer tablet! Also, it's so fun to see that just pounding the table once will make all the spaghetti noodles that are on the top drop to the bottom all together!
