The student conducted an experiment to observe the energy transformations from a vinegar and baking soda powered rocket. In the first two attempts, the rocket either was screwed on too tightly or loosely to the launch pad and did not launch properly. However, on the third attempt when it was screwed on with the right amount of tightness, the rocket launched high into the air as hypothesized. When the vinegar and baking soda mixed, a chemical reaction produced carbon dioxide gas that provided thrust to convert the chemical energy into kinetic energy to launch the rocket upwards, until gravitational energy pulled it back down.

1. Name: Charlotte Class: 5R Date: March 26th 2012
Energy transformation: Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment
Word bank: gravity, experiment, successful, failed, improve, modify, forms of energy, chemical
energy, kinetic energy, potential energy, gravitational energy, sound energy, thermal energy, light
energy, elastic energy, chemical reaction, vinegar, baking soda, rocket, carbon dioxide, rocket
chamber, gas, thrust, launching pad, force
PURPOSE:
To see the energy transformations in the experiment with a rocket
powered by vinegar and baking soda.
HYPOTHESIS:
I think that the rocket will work on the second or third try and shoot off the
launching pad quite high.
MATERIALS: List materials used in this experiment:
Rocket
Launching Pad
Vinegar
Baking Soda
PROCEDURE:
1. Scoop (using a small spoon) approximately 4 grams of baking soda
into the launching pad.
1

2. 2. Pour vinegar into the rocket chamber up to the little triangle (about
40-50mL).
3. Put the pad and the rocket together. Do not screw them together too
tightly or too loose.
4. Shake the rocket gently a few times.
5. Place the rocket down where it is ok to shoot up into the air and
quickly run away so you do not get hit by the rocket.
6. Watch the rocket blast off into the sky.
7. Record what happened.
OBSERVATIONS: What did you see during the experiment?
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
Too tight Too loose Not too tight, not
Not enough Was shaken too too loose
vinegar or baking hard Flew up high
soda
2

3. Draw and label a diagram of the experiment.
3

4. CONCLUSION: Explain the experiment using vocabulary provided in the
word bank.
In this experiment, we were successful and my hypothesis was correct, as
the rocket was able to fly off from the launching pad (unfortunately it failed
our first and second try).
I found out that if you screw the rocket to the launch pad too tight, it is hard
for the rocket to launch; if you screw them together too loose, it will come
apart very quickly.
Each and every time, we had to modify our way of doing the experiment,
so when we made a mistake, we could improve our chance of succeeding.
When the vinegar is mixed with the baking soda in the rocket chamber
there is a chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide. The chamber is
too small to contain it all so it has to escape through the hole in the bottom
of the rocket. The force of the gas pushing against the pad as it escapes
provides the thrust which launches the rocket from the pad. So chemical
energy has been converted into kinetic energy. The rocket does not have
enough force to escape the earth’s gravity. After it reached about 15
metres in the air it turned started to fall. As it fell it got faster due to
gravitational energy.
4

5. Draw a flow chart to show Energy Transformation in this experiment.
Use the vocabulary from the word bank.
Kinetic Energy
Kinetic (Shake the
(Scooping the
rocket)
powder and vinegar)
Kinetic Energy (The Chemical (The
rocket shoots up vinegar and baking
into the air) soda make a
chemical reaction)
Sound Energy (The Gravitaional Energy
noise "pop" that it pulls the rocket
makes down
5