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Chemical Reactions

Acids and Bases

Why do baking soda and vinegar fizz so much when they react?

The chemical name for baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, and its chemical formula is NaHCO3. Vinegar consists mainly of acetic acid (CH3COOH) and water. When baking soda is added to vinegar, the following reaction takes place between the sodium bicarbonate and acetic acid:

It’s the released CO2 that creates the bubbles and foaming appearance you see when the two are mixed.