Abstract

Objective

To determine the correct ratio of baking soda to vinegar that will result in the highest launch of a plastic canister.

Introduction

Have you ever watched a space shuttle launch on television or seen one live? One question that may have crossed your mind when watching this awesome spectacle is, "How does a space shuttle lift off and get into space?" The simple answer to this question is that the space shuttle has engines that lift it into space. But all of that fire and smoke is not an explosion. All rockets depend on combustion to provide the thrust that is required for a vessel to overcome the force of gravity and climb into space.

The space shuttle is made up of the orbiter (which holds the astronauts and different kinds of payload), the dark orange-colored external fuel tank, and two solid rocket boosters. At launch, the two solid rocket boosters, along with three space shuttle main engines, power the liftoff. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't take an explosion to get a rocket ship off of the earth. Rocket engines function on the principle of combustion. Combustion is a chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidant where the fuel is burned or oxidized. An oxidant or oxidizer is a chemical that causes another chemical to burn. In the solid rocket boosters, the fuel is aluminum and the oxidant is ammonium perchlorate. The three space shuttle main engines use liquid hydrogen as the fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidant.

Combustion produces great amounts of exhaust gas at high temperatures and pressure. The hot gases are pushed out from the bottom of the rocket and thus, the rocket is thrust upward. This is an example of Isaac Newton's third law of motion, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The gases exiting from the rocket have a downward force that is equal and opposite to the force with which the rocket moves up.

Mixing the fuel and oxidant together correctly is complicated and something that real rocket scientists work hard to perfect. In this chemistry science fair project, you will become a rocket scientist, but instead of using dangerous chemicals, you will use a chemical reaction between baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar (acetic acid). This reaction produces water and carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is what makes soda fizzy and bubbly, which is why you see lots of bubbling and foaming when you mix baking soda and vinegar together. You will mix baking soda and vinegar in a capped film canister and take advantage of the pressure the carbon dioxide gas creates in the canister to launch your own small-scale rocket, experimenting with how different amounts of baking soda and vinegar affect the launch height. You might not be launching the space shuttle, but you will still have messy fun escaping the force of gravity for a few seconds with your own rocket!

Terms, Concepts, and Questions to Start Background Research

• Combustion
• Thrust
• Gravity
• Chemical reaction
• Fuel
• Oxidation
• Exhaust
• Pressure
• Newton's third law of motion
• Ion

Questions

• What is a chemical reaction?
• What is combustion?
• Can you describe Newton's third law of motion and come up with examples?
• Describe the chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar

Bibliography

• Wikipedia Contributors. (2009, September 1). Space Shuttle. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 3, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Space_Shuttle&oldid=311180564

The following NASA website has information on everything you have ever wanted to know about rockets.

• Benson, T. (ed). (2007, October 10). NASA: Rocket Index. Retrieved September 1, 2009, from http://exploration.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/shortr.html

If you would like to know more about the baking soda and vinegar reaction, take a look at this website.

• Apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com. (n.d.). Baking Soda and Vinegar Reaction and Demonstrations. Retrieved September 1, 2009, from http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/baking-soda-and-vinegar.html

For help creating graphs, try this website:

• National Center for Education Statistics. (n.d.). Create a Graph. Retrieved June 2, 2009, from http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/CreateAGraph/default.aspx

Materials and Equipment

• Plastic Fuji® film canisters with the tops (at least 3)
• Construction paper, any color, 9 inches (in.) X 12 in. (1 pack)
• Scotch® tape (1 roll)
• Scissors
• Permanent marker
• Ruler, in inches
• Optional: Ladder
• Baking soda (1 box)
• White vinegar (1/2 gallon bottle or jug)
• Measuring spoon, 1/8 teaspoon (tsp.)
• Measuring spoon, 1 tsp.
• Bowl
• Water
• Spoon
• Safety goggles
• Adult volunteer
• Lab notebook

Experimental Procedure

Note: Since this science fair project can be messy, you should perform all tests outside. Your location should be along a tall wall and free from debris.

Preparing Your Test Area

1. Start building the body of the rocket. Take a piece of construction paper and wrap it around the film canister. Make sure to wrap along the short side of the paper, about 2 millimeters below the lip of edge of the canister, and make sure that the lid is not enclosed or covered by the tube of paper. Wrap the paper neatly and evenly along the canister and use the scissors to remove the excess paper from the bottom. Secure the paper with a few pieces of Scotch tape.
2. Now tape several pieces of construction paper together to make a very large piece of construction paper. Make the large piece of construction paper three paper pieces wide and as tall as your wall.
3. Starting from the bottom of the large paper, use the ruler and permanent marker to mark off every 6 inches. Next to each mark, write down the length, in feet (such as ½ foot, 1 foot, etc.). Tape the paper to the wall, making sure that the bottom of the paper should be even with the bottom of the wall and the ground. You can ask your adult volunteer to the climb the ladder and help tape the paper to the wall.
4. Create a data table in your lab notebook so that you can keep track of the data that you collect. It should look like the one shown below.

Amount of Baking Soda	Amount of Vinegar	Trial	Launch Height (Feet)

Preparing the Rocket

1. Now prepare the fuel for the rocket. Place 1 tsp. of baking soda in the bowl. Carefully add 1/8 tsp. of water to the baking soda and mix it in. This should wet the baking soda enough so that you can pack it into the depression on the inside of the canister lid. Turn the film canister lid over and pack the inside of the depression. Turn the lid upside-down and make sure that the baking soda doesn't fall out. If the baking soda falls, out then add a little bit more water to the baking soda and mix it in. Try to add only a minimal amount of water to the baking soda in order to make it stick together inside the lid. Record the amount of baking soda that you used in your lab notebook.
2. Have your volunteer hold the wrapped film canister and add 1 tsp. of vinegar to the wrapped canister at a time, filling it almost to the top. You need to add as much vinegar to the canister as possible without the vinegar and the baking soda coming into contact when you eventually snap the lid onto the canister. This might take a little trial and error, but be patient and keep trying. Keep careful track of and record the amount of vinegar in your lab notebook.
3. Go over to the area where you have taped your paper to the wall. Have your volunteer hold the baking soda-packed lid in one hand and the wrapped canister in the other. Put on you safety goggles. Stoop down near the bottom of the paper and quickly snap the lid onto the canister. Turn the canister over so the lid is on the ground, and quickly move away. Wait for the chemical reaction to occur (the time depends on the amount of baking soda and vinegar you are using).
4. When the lid finally pops off, the rocket should overcome gravity and launch. You and your volunteer should watch to see how high it goes and record the launch height in your lab notebook.
5. Carefully rinse out the lid and canister with water. Make sure that the construction paper doesn't get too wet.
6. Repeat steps 1–5 two more times, always recording the launch height in your lab notebook. It is a good idea to perform at least three trials of each experiment so that you know your results are accurate and reproducible.
7. Decrease the amount of vinegar in the canister by 1 tsp. and repeat steps 1–5 three times. Record all of the data in your lab notebook.
8. Once again, reduce the amount of vinegar by 1 more tsp. and repeat steps 1–5 three times. Always record all of the data in your lab notebook.
9. Now that you have investigated the effect of the amount of vinegar on launch height, investigate the amount of baking soda required. Reduce the amount of baking soda to ½ tsp. and repeat steps 1–5 three times, with the original amount of vinegar used for your first vinegar trial. Adjust and use just enough water for the baking soda to stick to the depression in the lid. Record all of your data in your lab notebook.
10. Repeat steps 1–5 three times using a ¼ tsp. of baking soda, with the original amount of vinegar used for your first vinegar trial. Adjust and use just enough water for the baking soda to stick to the depression in the lid. Record all of your data in your lab notebook.

Analyzing the Data

1. Average the launch height data for each row of baking soda and vinegar that you recorded in the first table. Record the average data into a data table like the one shown below.

Amount of Baking Soda	Amount of Vinegar	Average Launch Height

2. Plot the data. You can make your plots by hand on graph paper, or if you would like to make your plots online, try the following website: Create a Graph. Label the x-axis Amount of Vinegar and the y-axis Average Launch Height. Plot the average launch height for the varying amounts of baking soda on the same graph. You should now have a set of plots that will allow you to determine the ideal amount of baking soda and vinegar. Which variable affects the launch height the most, vinegar or baking soda?

Variations

• Do you think that adding a cone and fins to your rocket will help it have a greater launch height? Add a cone and see how that affects the launch height using the amount of baking soda and vinegar that previously produced the highest launch. Then design and make fins for your rocket out of construction paper and repeat the experiment using the amount of baking soda and vinegar that previously produced the highest launch. Tape the cone on the opposite end from the canister and the fins on the same end. Do the cone and fins help increase the launch height?
• Try using different containers instead of Fuji film canisters.

• For more science project ideas in this area of science, see Chemistry Project Ideas.

Credits

Michelle Maranowski, PhD, Science Buddies

This science fair project is based on the following:

• Fuji® is a registered trademark of Fuji Photo Film, Inc.
• Scotch® is a registered trademark of 3M.

Last edit date: 2009-11-11 12:00:00