Born to the world on February 21, 1931, Alka Seltzer had one purpose. The purpose was

to act as a medicine which would we better than the average aspirin. The inspiration was

sparked when the severe influenza disease struck around the late 1920’s to the early 1930’s.

Not only adding a fruit flavor, the Alka Seltzer managed to ease the minor pains and quickly

became popular. Now, Alka Seltzer is sold all around the world, but what truly causes the magic

of the drink itself?

Alka Seltzer is a combination of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid which is C9H8O4), sodium

bicarbonate (NaHCO3), and citric acid (C6H907). The aspirin has not only an acid but also a base

to react to the water. Once dropped into the water, the reaction between the aspirin and the

water is a chemical change. Chemical reactions then produce foam under controlled aeration.

The bubbles in the foam are actually formed uniformly! The chemical reaction itself has a

positive linear correlation depending on the temperature from the tested range of 4-20 degrees

Celsius. Now the reaction between the stomach and the solution is the next step.

When a stomach aches, the pain is also known as abdominal pain. The stomach acids

when reacted with Alka Seltzer turns into this: NaHCO3(aq) + HCl(aq) -> NaCl(aq) + CO2(g) +

H2O(l). When the antacid and the stomach acid combine, it produces salt and water to disperse

the overload of acid in the stomach. Therefore, all the excess acid will not affect the stomach

anymore.