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Acetate Sodium

 acetate de sodium

step 1Preparation
We'll be making approximately 330 mL (or 11 fl oz) of supersaturated solution.

You will need the following items:

- One 16 oz box of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
- One gallon jug of distilled white vinegar (acetic acid)
- Clean pot for boiling (5.5 Qt or larger)
- Another clean pot for filtering (4 Qt or larger)
- Pack of coffee filters (basket style, not funnel shaped)
- Small wire mesh strainer (big enough to hold a coffee filter)
- One cup measuring cup for pouring hot solution through filter
- Large clean cooking spoon for removing samples while boiling
- Small clean dark dish (e.g. custard cup) for holding samples
- Clean jar to hold final solution
- Distilled water (in case you over-boil the final solution - see step 14)

Optional Items - this is for a purification step that I found I needed (see step 6 for an explanation). If you decide to do this too, you'll need:

- Two cups granulated activated charcoal (from drug store or pet supply)
- Lab stand with burette clamp (if you have this)
- Funnel (if you have a lab stand; should be big enough to hold folded coffee filters - see step 10)

step 2Combining baking soda with vinegar
The first step is the fun part!

Start by pouring all but one cup of the white vinegar into the boiling container (5.5 Qt or larger). (See note about acids below...)

Then, carefully add baking soda to the vinegar, small amounts at a time (no more than a tablespoon). Sprinkle it over the vinegar - don't just dump it in. If you add too much baking soda too quickly, the foam from the reaction may overflow your container.

Stir gently after each addition of baking soda to ensure no unreacted bicarbonate remains.

After adding about a half box of baking soda, you should notice the reaction starting to slow down. At this point you may want to reduce the amount of soda you're adding each time to a teaspoon. When a teaspoon (or less) of baking soda sprinkled...