Welcome to the Optimum Climates Kids Corner! Our way to reach out and teach kids some of the basic principles of Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC). Learn about chemical reactions and Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion with our Bottle Rocket experiment. (Please note, this experiment should be supervised by an adult).
Step 1: Gather supplies
A 2L soda bottle
3 pencils (unsharpened is best)
Duct tape
A cork that fits the soda bottle
Paper towels
Baking soda
Vinegar – we went through an entire large bottle, so get a lot!
Step 2: Build your rocket
Equally space each pencil on the bottle to create “feet” with the eraser side towards the ground. Use duct tape to secure the pencils in place. Be sure not to apply too much duct tape adding extra weight to your rocket.
Step 3: Prep your rocket
Cut a square of paper towel, approximately 4” x 4” and fill it with 2 TBSP of baking soda. Fold the corners together to make a pouch that will fit inside your rocket. Fill the rocket with approximately 2 cups of vinegar. Be sure not to put too much vinegar as it will weigh down your rocket.
Step 4: Ready for liftoff:
Have an adult push the baking soda paper towel into the end of the bottle, put in the cork, stand the bottle upright, and RUN! You will have approximately 30 seconds before the rocket will launch. Be sure to loosely push the cork into the opening. If it’s too tight, it will not work. It took a few attempts to get a solid flight, but the learning process was a lot of fun!
What did we learn?
The baking soda and vinegar that we used in this bottle rocket create an acid/base reaction. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, and the chemical formula is NaHCO3. Vinegar, or acetic acid, is HCH3COO. A baking soda and vinegar reaction is actually two parts. It happens so fast that we don’t realize that it’s actually two reactions. First, carbonic acid is formed. This quickly breaks down into water and carbon dioxide gas. The other product of the reaction is sodium acetate. All the CO2 gas that is formed by the reaction creates pressure inside the bottle. The pressure builds up until it pushes the cork out of the opening of the bottle and WHOOOOSH! We have liftoff!
The rocket flies high because of Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The CO2 gas and liquid push out of the bottom of the rocket, which pushes the rocket upwards with great force!