Easter Egg Rockets

Title

Easter Egg Rockets

Description

Explore chemical changes by creating a rocket using Alka Seltzer tablets and plastic Easter eggs.

Creator

Presentation Type

Subject

Vocabulary

Thrust: a force or push. When a system pushes mass in one direction, there is a thrust just as large in the opposite direction.

Rocket: devices that produce the force, or push, needed to move an object forward.

Chemical reaction: the combination of two reactants to form an entirely new product (ie Alka Seltzer contains baking soda and citric acid, when they get wet they mix, release carbon dioxide and make sodium acetate.)

Target Audience Minimum Age

Target Audience Maximum Age

Duration in Minutes

Event Type

In Person, Virtual, Take Home Kit

Objectives

By participating in this program, children will create a rocket that uses a chemical reaction to create thrust, demonstrating Newton's second and third laws.

Life Skills

Career Fields

Tech Level

Consumable Costs

Per Person

4 Alka Seltzer Tablets- $0.47

Plastic Easter Egg- $0.13

Materials/Costs in $

Materials

Alka Seltzer Tablets- $8.42

Easter Eggs- $6.50

Cardboard Tube (toilet paper)- free

Measuring Spoon

Ruler

 

Prep Time in Minutes

Prep Details

If your plastic eggs have holes in them, fill the holes with hot glue. Separate the two halves of the eggs. 

Evaluation Method

Children will fill out the data table to track their variables and measurements. 

Procedure

Position yourself or your tube so your egg rocket is launching from the same place each time.

Put 1-2 tablespoons of water in one half of the egg and place it in the cardboard tube.

Drop half of one Alka Seltzer tab in the water and QUICKLY seal the other half of the egg on top. 

Pressure will build until the top of the egg flys off.

Measure how far the top of your egg goes. Record your data in the chart and repeat the experiment with different amounts of Alka Seltzer. 

 

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