October 13, 2021
Advanced Placement Chemistry students created and launched bottle rockets as an educational lab Oct. 8.
In this lab, students filled an empty soda bottle with water and placed it upside in a trough. A glass flask was filled with hydrochloric acid and zinc — this reaction produces nitrogen gas. The gas is pushed into the bottle and displaces the water, creating a pressure difference between the inside of the bottle and the outside of the bottle. After draining the water out of the bottle and capping it, the rocket was ready to launch.
“The setup was easy,” senior Sebastian Hwang said. “I think the funniest part was seeing multiple groups spill a lot of water because they didn’t know how the trough was balanced.”
Students launched the rockets outside the student entrance. One student from each lab group stood with AP Chemistry teacher Alyson Levine and held the bottle as she uncapped it and lit a flame underneath it. The rocket made a loud banging sound when it launched. Some rockets flew 10-15 feet in the air, others barely left the ground.
“Our bottle went above the average height of the other high-flying ones,” junior Brendan Raskin said. “However, our group was the only one to catch the bottle [as it was coming back down].”
The bottle rocket lab was designed to show students how to collect gas from a reaction utilizing water. It also allowed students to apply theoretical math done in class to a real-life experiment. Students were able to engage with the educational material in a hands-on manner.
“Launching the bottle rocket was a really cool experience because we got to apply the calculations we did in class,” senior Varsha Arun said. “I had a fun time holding the rocket while Mrs. Levine lit it, and it was very relieving when it launched really high.”
Click here to view Arun’s rocket launch
Rhea Patney is a senior at Ladue. She is editor-in-chief of the Panorama and of the Melodrama this year. Patney enjoys reading, making friendship bracelets,...
Mika Kipnis is a senior at Ladue. This is her second year on the Panorama staff and her first year as the Features Editor. Kipnis enjoys playing the piano...
