You have at your disposal a variety of supplies including antacid tablets, water and film canisters.When you mix these effervescing tablets with water, a chemical reaction takes place between the citric acid and sodium bicarbonate contained in the tablet and the water. This chemical reaction creates many, many bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. Citric acid is a weak acid and is in the juice of most citrus fruits like lemons or limes. Sodium bicarbonate is, well, basically baking soda. That's right, baking soda and vinegar [acetic acid] produce the same reaction when mixed together. Pressure from the gas builds and eventually pops the lid off. The thrust, or push, of your rocket is related to how much pressure built up inside the canister before the top popped off.

What would happen if...

a) You change the design of your rocket?

b) You use more or less fuel (effervescing tablets and water)?

c) You use hot or cold water?

Remember that when you are conducting experiments you only want to change one thing at a time. Keep everything else the same in order to see how the thing you changed (or the variable) affects the outcome. In this case your rocket going up into the air.

List several control variables:

What is the dependent variable (DV)?

What specifically are you measuring (be sure to give units)?

When will you measure?

What is the independent variable (IV)?

What specifically are you measuring (be sure to give units)?

When will you measure?

What is your prediction?