Vinegar Rocket
Launch a rocket with kitchen chemistry!
🛒 Supply List
Check off supplies as you gather them!
📋 Step-by-Step
Step 1: Build Your Rocket (Optional)
Tape cardboard fins and a paper nose cone to your canister to make it look like a real rocket! The lid end should be the BOTTOM.
Step 2: Add the Vinegar
Step 3: Wrap the Baking Soda
Step 4: Drop, Seal, Flip!
Step 5: 🚀 3... 2... 1... LIFTOFF!
🔬 Why It Booms!
Same acid-base reaction as the volcano, but in a sealed container! The CO₂ gas builds up pressure inside with nowhere to go. When the pressure gets too strong — POP! The lid flies off and the gas pushes the rocket UP. This is Newton's Third Law: for every action (gas pushing down), there's an equal and opposite reaction (rocket going UP)!
⚠️ Safety Tips
- 🛡️Stand at least 6 feet back after flipping the rocket
- 🛡️NEVER lean over the rocket — it launches fast!
- 🛡️Do this outside on a flat surface
- 🛡️Adult supervision recommended for younger scientists
🤯 Fun Facts
Real rockets use the same principle — they push exhaust gas DOWN to go UP!
Newton's Third Law is how astronauts move in space — push off one way, float the other!
The first rockets were invented in China over 1,000 years ago!