In this lab we created little rockets made out of paper, table sugar, and potassium nitrate. The point of this lab was to learn about certain chemical reactions. One of them being turning a solid (in this case, the sugar/potassium nitrate) into a gas.
To make the rockets, we wrapped paper around a wooden dowel in order to create a cylinder base for the rocket. We then taped the outside in order to secure the paper. After this we put aluminum foil on the bottom of the paper rocket by shoving it down the base with a dowel, this made the cap on the rocket. We then filled it with a mixture of table sugar and potassium nitrate (about 3:7 ratio) and then drilled a hole to create a pathway for fuel to move. We put the wick into the drilled hole and taped the whole rocket to a skewer. The skewer was put into the tube that launched all of the rockets.
Looking back:
Our rocket actually didn't even get off the ground but neither did many others. I am not exactly sure why it didn't work. My guess is that there wasn't enough thrust in our rocket meaning that maybe there wasn't enough fuel or the parts weren't put together exactly correct. Overall, I am proud of our work because we worked hard to actually complete the lab, but it was disappointing that it didn't even lift off.
Looking beyond:
What occurred in this reaction was exothermic meaning that it created heat and energy to change the fuel to gas. The gases that were in the reaction: potassium carbonate, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water. These were supposedly going to lift the rocket off the ground. They would do this by creating more gas then the rocket was able to handle (because gas takes up more space then solid) and it would shoot it out, creating lift.
Looking inward:
I wouldn't say we received desirable results due to the fact that it lit up but didn't come off the ground at all. I was not sure what made this happen, but Andrew later said that it was because the caps fell off, leaving the gas to come out so quickly that there wasn't enough thrust to push it off the ground. I also think another factor was that the tube that the rocket was launched from was too tall. This means that the rocket was set on the top of the tube. I don't think this was actually a predicament, but I was wondering if this changed anything.
Looking outward:
I worked with Brianna and we worked really well together on this particular lab. I think that we used a lot of precision in order to try and create the best caps for the rocket and also fill the rocket with the powder really well. Even though it didn't work out, we did a really good job for our first time.
Looking forward:
If I could do this again, I would have made the drilled hole (the one where the wick goes into) bigger. I believe that Deryk said that this would allow the fuel to burn quicker creating even more thrust. I don't really understand/know that much about rocketry and how certain things can change certain things with the rocket. I would like to learn more about certain details of rockets and what aspects do exactly what. Overall, I did think this was a good lab and actually the most enjoyable for me.
Take aways:
I think this lab was really beneficial to my understanding of chemical reactions
To make the rockets, we wrapped paper around a wooden dowel in order to create a cylinder base for the rocket. We then taped the outside in order to secure the paper. After this we put aluminum foil on the bottom of the paper rocket by shoving it down the base with a dowel, this made the cap on the rocket. We then filled it with a mixture of table sugar and potassium nitrate (about 3:7 ratio) and then drilled a hole to create a pathway for fuel to move. We put the wick into the drilled hole and taped the whole rocket to a skewer. The skewer was put into the tube that launched all of the rockets.
Looking back:
Our rocket actually didn't even get off the ground but neither did many others. I am not exactly sure why it didn't work. My guess is that there wasn't enough thrust in our rocket meaning that maybe there wasn't enough fuel or the parts weren't put together exactly correct. Overall, I am proud of our work because we worked hard to actually complete the lab, but it was disappointing that it didn't even lift off.
Looking beyond:
What occurred in this reaction was exothermic meaning that it created heat and energy to change the fuel to gas. The gases that were in the reaction: potassium carbonate, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water. These were supposedly going to lift the rocket off the ground. They would do this by creating more gas then the rocket was able to handle (because gas takes up more space then solid) and it would shoot it out, creating lift.
Looking inward:
I wouldn't say we received desirable results due to the fact that it lit up but didn't come off the ground at all. I was not sure what made this happen, but Andrew later said that it was because the caps fell off, leaving the gas to come out so quickly that there wasn't enough thrust to push it off the ground. I also think another factor was that the tube that the rocket was launched from was too tall. This means that the rocket was set on the top of the tube. I don't think this was actually a predicament, but I was wondering if this changed anything.
Looking outward:
I worked with Brianna and we worked really well together on this particular lab. I think that we used a lot of precision in order to try and create the best caps for the rocket and also fill the rocket with the powder really well. Even though it didn't work out, we did a really good job for our first time.
Looking forward:
If I could do this again, I would have made the drilled hole (the one where the wick goes into) bigger. I believe that Deryk said that this would allow the fuel to burn quicker creating even more thrust. I don't really understand/know that much about rocketry and how certain things can change certain things with the rocket. I would like to learn more about certain details of rockets and what aspects do exactly what. Overall, I did think this was a good lab and actually the most enjoyable for me.
Take aways:
I think this lab was really beneficial to my understanding of chemical reactions