Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

While conducting the experiment and testing the small explosion I used the "clicker" to set off the spark and make the explosion, repeated 6 times. I noticed that the little film canister was only going 3-8 inches and it didn't look like that in the video so I was wondering how far does the film canister go on average? (inches or feet) And when i did the balloon part it only blew up a tiny bit? how much pressure is usually in the balloon and how much does it blow up on average?

PLEASE ANSWER SOON BY TOMORROW ITS 11:00 AND I DON'T HAVE TIME TO DO THIS ANYMORE I'VE BEEN DOING THIS ALL DAY AND THIS IS DUE TOMORROW! I JUST WANT TO KNOW HOW FAR THE FILM CANISTER GOES ON AVERAGE AND THE PRESSURE AND BALLOON STUFF! YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE THAT SPECIFIC JUST PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SOMEONE HELP ME I CAN'T AFFORD ANOTHER 0 I HAVE AN F IN THE CLASS PLEASE ANYONE!!! ANYONE!!!

Hi Shin_mai,

I'm assuming that you're working on the project described here:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... #procedure

Sorry, but I don't know the averages for canister distance and balloon diameter. The canister distance and balloon size depend on the pressure that develops inside the canister after the explosion. The internal pressure depends on how much fuel (breath spray) you added and whether there were any leaks around the canister. From your description it seems that your experiment worked but with a less dramatic launch than might be possible. My suggestion is to use the data that you have to complete the project procedure.

I hope this helps. Please ask again if you have more questions.

A. Norman