Go to my saved resources
  • 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.
  • 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

Rocket Activities girl with a old fashion pilots helmet and a homemade soda bottle jet pack reaches her arm to the sky
Space, Propulsion

Rosie Recommends Rocket Activities!

This curated list has rocket-building activities for all ages to explore!

Resource 2

For more experimenting, check out this Propulsion Experiment!

 

 

Rocket Lesson
Physics, Space

Pre-Built Lesson: Rockets

In this lesson we're exploring kinetic and potential energy and making rockets!

Resource 3

Chemical Reactions four science flasks lined up one filled with a bubbling blue liquid from a chemical reaction
Chemical Reaction, Chemistry

Pre-Built Lesson: Chemical Reactions

Get reactive with these hands-on and interactive STEM activities that explore chemical change!