Rosie Labs: Film Canister Rockets
Grade - Our STEM projects are designed so that participants get it wrong before they get it right. You will observe your students struggling as they attempt to create their own STEM projects. This process is an empowering experience, building perseverance, frustration tolerance and growing overall confidence! With your support, students will step out of their comfort zones to think, build and problem-solve for themselves.
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Productive Struggle Opportunities:
- Achieving the chemical reaction correctly
- Making sure the cap is secured on the canister
In this Rosie Labs guide you will find:
- Productive struggle opportunities for students during their project build,
- Lesson objectives and concept overview,
- Optional STEM topic video to share with participants,
- Step-by-step instructions and video of the Rosie Riveters’ Film Canister Rocket project,
- Optional STEM activities to further explore the objectives and concepts used in the project build.
Objective
Participants will explore Newton’s Laws of Motion through chemical reactions by creating and
launching their own film canister rockets.
Concept Overview and Experiment Inspiration
Isaac Newton was a physicist in the 1600s who noticed that there is a phenomenon in our world called force. Force is a push or pull on an object resulting from its interaction with another object. From his observations and scientific evidence, Newton developed three laws of motion to illustrate how force works in our world.
Propulsion is a force that pushes or drives an object forward. It is dictated by Newton’s Third Law of Motion, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, the “action” that Newton is referring to is the applied force, and propulsion is simply a type of force that moves objects forwards or upwards. A great example of something that uses a propulsion system is an airplane! The jets of an airplane produce a gas known as exhaust which, when forced out the back of the plane by the engine, propels (pushes) the airplane forward.
In this project you will create a chemical reaction using an antacid tablet. When the antacid tablet and water are mixed, a chemical reaction occurs that creates carbon dioxide, a gas. The chemical reaction will act as the applied force that will create the propulsion of the canister. The fact that the reaction is happening in a tightly-sealed container means that the gas expands rapidly, creating enough pressure to pop the lid off and push the canister up!
Science Goals
- Newton’s Three Laws of motion are three distinct and observed naturally occurring phenomenon that describe the relationship between the movement of an object and the forces acting on the object.
- Newton’s Third Law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
- A force is the push or pull of an object resulting from its interaction with another object.
- Propulsion, is a force that is created by another person or an object.
Vocabulary
propulsion- an applied force that pushes an object forward
force – the push or pull of an object resulting from its interaction with another object.
Required Materials
- film canister
- antacid tablet (no aspirin)
- foam or other light weight decorations
- water
- protective eyewear
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1
Decorate your rocket using the foam sheets. Be sure not to decorate the cap as this will be the bottom of your rocket.
Step 2
Put on those safety goggles or protective eyewear (sunglasses or glasses) and head outside.
Step 3
Break the antacid tablet in half and set aside.
Step 4
Remove the lid from the film canister and put a teaspoon of water into the canister. About a half and inch.
Step 5
Working quickly, drop the tablet half into the canister and snap the cap onto the canister (make sure that it snaps on tightly.)
Step 6
Put the canister on the ground CAP SIDE DOWN and STEP BACK!
Step 7
About 5-10 seconds later, you will hear a POP! and the film canister will launch into the air!
Optional STEM Activities
Resource 1
Advanced Exploration of Newton’s Laws of Motion
Newton’s first law states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight
line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. This is normally
taken as the definition of inertia. The key point here is that if there is no net force acting on an
object (if all the external forces cancel each other out) then the object will maintain a constant
velocity. If that velocity is zero, then the object remains at rest. If an external force is applied, the
velocity will change because of the force.
The second law explains how the velocity of an object changes when it is subjected to an
external force. The law defines a force to be equal to change in momentum (mass times
velocity) per change in time. Newton also developed the calculus of mathematics, and the
“changes” expressed in the second law are most accurately defined in differential forms.
(Calculus can also be used to determine the velocity and location variations experienced by an
object subjected to an external force.) For an object with a constant mass m, the second law
states that the force F is the product of an object’s mass and its acceleration a:
F = m * a
For an external applied force, the change in velocity depends on the mass of the object. A force
will cause a change in velocity; and likewise, a change in velocity will generate a force. The
equation works both ways.
The third law states that for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite
reaction. In other words, if object A exerts a force on object B, then object B also exerts an
equal force on object A. Notice that the forces are exerted on different objects. The third law can
be used to explain the generation of lift by a wing and the production of thrust by a jet engine.
Source: Newton’s Laws of Motion – Glenn Research Center | NASA
Rosie Recommends Rocket Activities!
https://handsonstem.rosieriveters.com/resources/rosie-recommends-rocket-activities/
Resource 2
For more experimenting, check out this Propulsion Experiment!
Pre-Built Lesson: Rockets
https://handsonstem.rosieriveters.com/resources/pre-built-lesson-rockets/
Resource 3
Pre-Built Lesson: Chemical Reactions
https://handsonstem.rosieriveters.com/resources/pre-built-lesson-chemical-reactions/
It’s all about energy – potential and kinetic, to be exact – as we create rockets in this lesson plan featuring a range of projects that are perfect for preschoolers to high school students! We’re also reading about real woman in STEM Katherine Johnson, whose mathematical calculations on rocket trajectory saved Apollo 13.
Resources in This Lesson
Resource 1
Learn all about the differences between potential and kinetic energy with this fun series of hands-on experiments!
Rosie Explores Potential and Kinetic Energy
https://handsonstem.rosieriveters.com/resources/rosie-explores-potential-vs-kinetic-energy/
Resource 2
NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson was a master of rocket science. Read all about her in Counting on Katherine!
Rosie Reads Counting on Katherine
https://handsonstem.rosieriveters.com/resources/rosie-reads-counting-on-katherine/
Resource 3
Put all your knowledge of kinetic and potential energy from Rosie Explores to good use and build these awesome slingshot rockets!
Rosie Makes Slingshot Rockets
https://handsonstem.rosieriveters.com/resources/rosie-makes-slingshot-rockets/
Resource 4
Continue learning and exploring with some of these tried and tested Rosie Recommends activities from other STEM educational resources.
Rosie Recommends Rocket Activities!
https://handsonstem.rosieriveters.com/resources/rosie-recommends-rocket-activities/
Check out these tried and tested rocket-building activities from other STEM educational resources!
Recommended Resources
Resource 1
Our littlest friends ages two and up will love this rocket robot! Bonus: it’s super easy and affordable to do. The most important part is a battery-operated tooth brush from the dollar store!
Resource 2
Perfect for kids in elementary school, this rocket-building project shifts the focus from physics to chemistry. The rocket is propelled into the air via a chemical reaction!
Resource 3
Build a DIY version of the always-popular stomp rockets using air pressure and propulsion! This project requires a few non-household items (PVC elbows and pipes), but the payoff is worth it – “rockets” that propel into the sky via air pressure and the force of your feet!
Resource 4
Older kids will love making these hybrid rocket engines with yeast, pasta, and hydrogen peroxide! They’ll learn about chemical reactions and pure oxygen gas, and it’s just plain cool to think of pasta fueling a rocket! Note: this does require budding scientists to light the fuel source, so make sure you are in a clear area with adult supervision.
Pre-Built Lesson: Chemical Reactions
From digestion to photosynthesis, cooking to washing the dishes, chemical reactions make the world go round. You experience hundreds of thousands of them while you go about your day, and and we’re so excited to share these fun ways to play and learn from chemical change!
Resources in This Lesson
Resource 1
We did four – yes that’s right, four! – demonstrations and experiments in this super fun video that covers the differences between physical and chemical change, and delves even further into the science of chemical reactions!
Rosie Explores Chemical and Physical Change
https://handsonstem.rosieriveters.com/resources/rosie-explores-chemical-and-physical-change/
Resource 2
This episode of Rosie Reads features special guest reader Veronica, who helps read Marie Curie, a kid-friendly biography about the chemist and physicist that many regard as the first lady of STEM!
Rosie Reads Marie Curie
https://handsonstem.rosieriveters.com/resources/rosie-reads-marie-curie/
Resource 3
Two fun facts: you can make your own bath bombs with a few simple ingredients and they’re an excellent way to learn about chemical reactions! Watch this fun Rosie Makes video to see how.
Rosie Makes Bath Bombs
https://handsonstem.rosieriveters.com/resources/rosie-makes-bath-bombs/
Resource 4
Continue learning and exploring with some of these tried and tested Rosie Recommends activities from other STEM educational resources
Rosie Recommends Chemistry Activities!
https://handsonstem.rosieriveters.com/resources/rosie-recommends-chemistry-activities/