Have you ever mixed baking soda with vinegar? Picture that fizzing reaction, but within an enclosed space (such as a plastic bottle); the gasses build up to create an explosive reaction strong enough to launch a small object. This process is rather similar to launching a …rocket. And that is precisely what our participants at PS/MS 37 are banking on as they enter the Arm and Hammer Baking Soda Rocket Day sweepstakes!
Through the thoughtful invitation of our partners at Arm and Hammer, students spent this week learning about the chemistry and aerodynamics at play in this classic experiment. They’ve been hard at work designing their very own rockets, and by extension, preparing to launch them in celebration of Baking Soda Rocket Day (Thursday, October 10th).
How Baking Soda Rockets Teach Chemistry and Physics Concepts
In order to understand just how smart our participants are, we think it’s worth exploring the science behind baking soda rockets. To put it succinctly, when baking soda and vinegar are mixed together, they create a chemical reaction that results in carbon dioxide (a gas) and water. If you place this mixture in a bottle with a stopper, the carbon dioxide gas accumulates and creates enough pressure to pop off the stopper and launch the entire bottle [1]. In physics, this is actually an example of Newton’s third law of motion, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction [2]. To illustrate, if Object A (in this case, the pressure caused by carbon dioxide in the bottle) exerts a force on Object B (the stopper), then Object B exerts an equal amount of force on Object A in the opposite direction (hence, the bottle launches) [2].
These are some of the fundamental concepts of rocket science, and our participants are learning with ease (and having fun along the way!).
How We Entered and The Launch:
To enter the competition, participants were required to submit a video documenting their learning/building process, as well as the ultimate launch. As we’ve mentioned before, students were waiting with baited breath for this past Thursday, which was the official wrap-up. As anyone present for the event will tell you, it was impressive to see varying grade levels gathered in the school-yard with one objective in mind: Scientific discovery. Different groups gathered round with their gear as they waited to launch their rockets with the assistance of instructors.
As the program director, Dahiana Kilroy says, “It’s heartwarming to see the kids excited over a project like this, and even more amazing to see how much they’ve learned in such a short period of time.”
[1] Kohl’s Children’s Museum. (2024). “How to make a baking soda & vinegar rocket.”
