Hooked on Science: Exploding baby bottle

Materials

• Hard plastic 8-ounce baby bottle
• Rubber nipple without hole
• Alka-Seltzer

Instructions

• STEP 1: Fill the hard plastic baby bottle halfway with water.
• STEP 2: Add two Alka-Seltzer to the baby bottle and securely attached the rubber nipple to the top of the bottle. Shake the bottle and observe. Describe and classify the contents of the bottle by its observable properties.
• STEP 3: Carefully and slowly remove the rubber nipple from the top of the bottle. What happens? Did adding the Alka-Seltzer to the water result in a new substance?

Explanation

When the Alka-Seltzer is added to the water, in the baby bottle, a chemical reaction happens, which creates carbon dioxide gas. The carbon dioxide gas fills the rubber nipple, without a hole, causing the nipple to expand. When the nipple is carefully and slowly removed, some of the gas quickly escapes, forcing the nipple off the bottle and into the air.