Rocket experiments demonstrating conservation of momentum will never fail to generate enthusiasm in undergraduate physics laboratories. In this paper, we describe tests on rockets from two vendors1,2 that combine baking soda and vinegar for propulsion. The experiment compared two analytical approximations for the maximum rocket height to the experimentally measured rocket height. Baking soda and vinegar rockets present fewer safety concerns and require a smaller launch area than rapid combustion chemical rockets. Both kits were of nearly identical design, costing ∼$20. The rockets required roughly 30 minutes of assembly time consisting of mostly taping the soft plastic fuselage to the Styrofoam nose cone.
REFERENCES
1.
Discovery “Sky Rocket Kit” available at the Discovery Channel Store.
2.
Scientific Explorer “Star Rocket” available at Toys “R” Us.
3.
D.
Kagan
, L.
Buchholtz
, and Linda
Klein
“Soda-bottle water rockets
,” Phys. Teach.
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Serway & Jewett, Principles of Physics, 4th ed. (Brooks/Cole-Thomson Learning, Belmont CA, 2006), Section 8.7.
5.
See Ref. 4, Section 5.4.
6.
R. A.
Nelson
and M. E.
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8.
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/shaped.html.
9.
R.L. Zimmerman and F.I. Olness, Mathematica for Physics, 2nd ed. (Addison-Wesley, New York, 2002), p. 62.
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© 2009 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2009
American Association of Physics Teachers
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