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Experiment No. 8

Balloon Rocket

Experiment: To make a balloon rocket.

Countdown 5..4..3..2..1.....

You will need:

Balloon
Straw
String or thread
Sellotape

Method:

What you have to do:

1) Get a balloon, blow it up and hold the end.

Blast off!

2) Get your straw and sellotape it on top of the balloon.

3) Put your string through the straw and hold it tight.

Result: The balloon went from one end of the string to the other.

Conclusion: "For every action there must be an equal and opposite reaction."

Yes, Isaac Newton's theory as quoted above is the basic principle behind rockets. What does this really mean? It does seem a bit complicated - this action and reaction! To put it more simply, if you turn on a hose in your garden, the action is the water coming out of the end. However, the reaction to this is when the hose pulls back (unless it is being held). A fire hose with huge amounts of water coming from the end can take two and sometimes three men to hold, the reaction is so strong. So when air comes shootng out of a balloon, the reaction is the balloon flying through the air. We attempted to give it a guidance system by attaching it to a straw and forcing it to go in a straight line.

To find out more about rockets, click on "How Stuff Works". This is a great web site!

Fourth Class Experiments