“Elephant Toothpaste” Bottle Rocket
This bottle rocket demonstrates the three laws that Isaac Newton discovered. If you use non-toxic soap, the foam that is produced is perfectly safe, as it is just bubbles filled with oxygen.
Warning: Lean back when launching, or you will be drenched in foam!
Supplies:
Yeast
Hydrogen Peroxide (3%)
Dish Soap
Water Bottle, small mouth
Cork
Scrap wood
Nail
Duct Tape (if necessary)
Funnel
1. Launching Pad:
Take a Cork and test-fit it in the mouth of the water bottle. If it is too small, wrap duct-tape around it until it fits perfectly. Nail the bottom of the cork to a long piece of scrap wood. This is your launching platform.
2. Yeast:
Measure 1 Packet (1 Tbs) of Yeast into a cup. Add 3 Tbs of warm water, and stir thoroughly. This will act as a catalyst to speed up the decomposition of the hydrogen peroxide. Set aside.
3. Bottle Rocket:
Using the funnel, pour 1 tbs of Dish Soap into the water bottle. Then pour ½ cup of Hydrogen Peroxide into the bottle.
4. Blastoff!:
Take the bottle, with soap/peroxide solution inside and put a funnel in it. This part of the experiment must be done as quickly as possible. Pour the yeast/water mixture into the funnel, and quickly take the funnel out, take the cork, attached to the launch stand and plug the bottle. Flip the launch stand over and stand back, or else you will be covered with foam. The rocket will shoot high, streaming out foam behind it.
What Happened?
The yest acted as a catalyst and separated the oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide. This oxygen bubbled up as a gas, and was encapsulated by the soap creating millions of tiny bubbles. This foam expanded fast. This foam pressurized the inside of the bottle, until it shot off the cork and propelled the rocket in the sky.
How does this apply to Newton's laws?
The Rocket was in a state of rest, but when a force acts upon the rocket (the propellant), the rocket is now in a state of motion (Newton's law #1). How much force is put in the rocket determines how high it goes. The force depends upon the mass(weight) of the rocket and how much it is accelerating (Newton's Law #2). Because the propellant pushed downward, the rocket shot upwards, with the same amount of Force pushing downwards (Newton's law #3)
Enjoy!, Space Cadet
