Tia Nguyen prepares to burn a cotton string that triggers the series of events that will eventually pour the necessary water into a shotglass. Nguyen two required chemical reactions were the burning of a cotton string and mixing baking soda and vinegar that made a balloon inflate and push down a water container. All students had two attempts to present their project to Mr. Hall with as many test trials as needed in between. Nguyen was one of the lucky students whose machine worked on the first presentation.