Westford Youth : Kids and Teen News (Video)

For this experiment you will need:

Antacid Rocket Grenades

• Safety goggles
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• Small empty water bottle
• 3 antacid tables – break them in half (Alka Seltzer or store brand)
• Food coloring

Step 1. Put on goggles. Pour vinegar into empty bottle.

Step 2. Add a few drops of red food coloring.

Step 3. Go outdoors. Add the 3 antacid tables quickly to the bottle of vinegar. Put the cap on. Make sure it’s closed tightly.

Step 4. Wait for the antacid and vinegar to react. You will feel the bottle getting firmer as the gas inside the bottle expands. Wait to the point where you may see the sides of the bottle bulge a bit.

Step 5. Go to an open area where there is a hard surface, like pavement or driveway. Throw the bottle as high as possible. When it lands, you should see an explosion and/or propulsion of the bottle. Make sure you keep a distance as the bottle may bounce back and hit your head!

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What happens?

The vinegar (acid) and antacid tablets (sodium bicarbonate) reacts to form a gas. The gas that is formed is carbon dioxide. There is not enough volume or space for the gas in the bottle so that’s why you will see the sides of the bottle bulging. When the bottle hits the ground and breaks, the gas bursts out, the cap usually breaks and the bottle propels like a rocket.

More research

Try to experiment with different amounts of vinegar and antacid tablets to see how the reaction changes.

Watch the remake of our slime video! The recipe for the Slime, Flubber or Goop is posted here. If anyone has any easy science experiments please send it to us! Or if you have your own videos and would like to see it posted, let us know! Let’s see what you have been concocting in your kitchen!

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Ingredients for Slime, Flubber or Goop:

This is ingredients for goop for 1 person, we divided the original recipe into 4.

• 2 oz. household glue
• 1/4 cup of water
• Large cup
• poster paint in desired color
• 1/4 cup of warm water
• 1/4 to 3/8 tsp. Borax powder
• small cup
• 2 stirring sticks

Instructions:

1. Squeeze the glue into the big cup. Add the water and stir until mixed.

Add several drops of paint. Combine several colors if you want or just stick to one color. The more color you add, the more intense your slime will be.

2. Mix the Borax powder and the warm water in the other smaller cup. Don’t worry if you can’t get all of the little clumps to dissappear.

3. Stirring constantly, slowly pour the Borax mixture into the glue mixture. Stir and swirl the results with the stirring stick until you can no longer stir and the goop is fairly firm.

4. Take the goop out of the cup and use your hands to squeeze the excess water out of the goop until it becomes firm and flubbery. Your goob is done when it’s firm. Have fun playing with your goob!

Tip: Borax can be found in the detergent section of your local grocery store.

Tip: If gooey goop gets on clothing, wash it out quickly with soap and water.

Age: This is a fun activity for kids ages 5 and up. Parents should handle mixing and squeezing goob for the younger kids.