Why baking soda and vinegar make a balloon blow up?

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a base, while vinegar (acetic acid) is an acid. When these two substances are combined, they undergo a chemical reaction to form carbon dioxide gas and water. The carbon dioxide gas rapidly expands, causing the balloon to inflate.

The chemical reaction can be represented as follows:

NaHCO3 (baking soda) + CH3COOH (vinegar) -> CO2 (carbon dioxide gas) + H2O (water) + CH3COONa (sodium acetate)

The sodium acetate is a salt that remains in the solution.

This reaction is a classic example of an acid-base reaction, which is a type of chemical reaction that occurs between an acid and a base. In an acid-base reaction, the acid donates a proton (H+) to the base, which accepts the proton. In the case of baking soda and vinegar, the vinegar donates a proton to the baking soda, which accepts the proton and forms carbon dioxide gas and water.

The reaction between baking soda and vinegar is a very fast reaction, which is why the balloon blows up so quickly. The amount of carbon dioxide gas that is produced depends on the amount of baking soda and vinegar that are used. The more baking soda and vinegar that are used, the more carbon dioxide gas will be produced and the bigger the balloon will blow up.