Abstract

The project of rocket which use vinegar and baking soda as fuel
need to be built and launched 20 meter far. This purpose is mainly
built on the knowledge of physic and chemistry which we learned in
11th grade. By conduct this project, we can practice and improve our
knowledge of physic and chemistry. To build a rocket based chemistry
knowledge such as calculate the outbreak amount of CO2 is our main
problem. So, on chemistry part, we mainly focus on the amount of
vinegar and baking soda and the tightness of our seal which can
controlled the maximum storage amount of gas. We calculated the
right amount of Baking soda which is 20 gram and Vinegar is 350
(due to vinegar is food grade, the percentage of pure CH3COOH is
5%). The amount of CO2 is 9.6024 gram, which is calculated by this
formula:
CH3COOH + NaHCO3 > CO2 + H2O + CH3COONA
(0.29 mol) (0.24 mol) (0.24 mol)
grams
CO2 mol=
molar mass
grams
0.24=
40.01

Overall, the amount of output CO2 are affected by amount of Vinegar

and baking soda, also their dissolution rate.

1
 Introduction
To begin this report, I want to introduce some basic chemical
knowledge such as equations which we used in the rocket project. Our
basic chemicals are baking soda (NaHCO7) and vinegar(C2H4O2),
when they mixed, the product is carbon dioxide(CO2). The chemical
formula of this reaction is:
NaHCO3 ( BakkingSoda )+C 2 H 4 O2 ( Vinegar )=H 2 O ( Water )+ CO2 ( Carbon Dioxide ) + Na H 2 C3 O2 (Sodium Ac

(aq)
Na HCO3 ( s ) +CH 3 COOH ( l ) CO 2 ( g ) + H 2 O ( l ) + Na ( aq ) +CH 3 COO

What we need, and used for energy, is CO2 which is carbon dioxide,
this is commonly known as gas. We store gas and release it after it
outbreak the seal, then, it can push our rocket forward.

Objective
To understand how chemical reaction work as engine of the rocket

Material
Plastic bottle Tape
2
 Plasticine Vinegar

Wine Cork Packing box

Tissue paper Baking Soda

3
 PVC Iron

Result and data table

Grou No. No Rock Vinega Bakin Total Radio= Decorati Angl Distanc
p # on et r g (g) rocket/chemic on e e
Tria targ (g) soda al (m)
l et

1 0 176.5 250 15 270 g 0.93 2 30 8

0

2 0 139.0 350 20 370 g 0.38 2 30 18

9

3 0 139.0 400 25.03 425.0 0.33 3 40 18

9 3g

4 0 139.0 400 28.13 428.1 0.32 3 40 More

9 3g than 30
M

5 1 139.0 350 25 375g 0.37 3 45 20

9

4
 Discussion
CH 3 COOH
Vinegar ( )
5% = 5 g of 100 ml H 2 O
grams 5
Mol= = =0.083 mol
molar mass 60.05

100 ml of CH 3 COOH = 0.083 mol

350 ml of CH 3 COOH = 0.29 mol

NaH CO 3
Baking soda ( )
grams 20
Mol= = =0.24 mol
molar mass 84.01

Baking soda is limiting reagent.

CH 3 COOH + Na HCO3 >CO 2+ H 2 O+CH 3 COONA

5
(0.29 mol) (0.24 mol) (0.24 mol)
grams
CO2
mol = molar mass
grams
0.24 = 40.01

During the reaction, the vinegar and baking soda which is

limiting reagent produce carbon dioxide gas that propel the rocket
forward and water/ CH 3 COONA as byproduct.

We suggest that using smaller rocket will be more efficient

because it will have less mass. Therefore it will use less vinegar and
baking soda. Another advise is to launch the rocket while absent of
wind oppose it because it will use less vinegar and baking soda to fly
it and there will be less interference with the accuracy.

There are some flaw to the experiment, which are human error,
cork tightness, and weight of the rocket. Cork tightness play major
role to our experiment. First few time we put the cork too loose which
make the reaction incomplete, lead to the failure to lunch and short of
range. We manage to fix at last attempt, making it fly too far that we
expected. Weight of the rocket also play important role to our rocket
because if it is too light it will not be able to push through the wind, if
it is too heavy it will shorten the distance of actual rocket. First we put
too much weight to the rocket making it too heavy and fail to launch.
We fix it after the first trial and it significantly improve our distance.

A suggestion for accuracy is to launch with absent of wind and

balance the rocket to have enough momentum to push through air, but
not too heavy.

Conclusion
Vinegar and baking soda create CO2 which will push the
rocket. The amount of CO2 depend on the amount of reactants that
insert for reaction. It means the best accuracy must have perfect
amount of chemical. Aerodynamic design will affect the distance and
accuracy because the design will help rocket pass through rocket. The
weight of rocket should not be light because wind can move rocket to
6
the other ways. It shows that accuracy depends on the other object not
just chemical.
Reference
1) Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Chemistry Expert. (2017,
February 09). Equation for the Baking Soda and Vinegar
Reaction. Retrieved February 26, 2017, from
http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemicalreactions/f/What-Is-The-
Equation-For-The-Reaction-Between-Baking-Soda-And-
Vinegar.htm

2) Chapter 6, Lesson 2 Multimedia. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26,

2017, from
http://www.middleschoolchemistry.com/multimedia/chapter6/les
son2