Julie Franzak

ELED 305-42

6/12/2007

Science Area: Space Science

Concept: Newton’s Third Law

Match Rocket

WOW #5

Materials:

Matches (Paper works best)

Aluminum foil

Paper clip

Procedures:

1. Cut a 1 inch by 6 inch piece of aluminum foil.

2. Lay a match head up on the foil.

3. Wrap the match tightly with the foil

*foil should extend slightly beyond the head of the match.

4. Twist foil (at the head of the match) to a point.

5. Bend paper clip to your desired angle.

6. Lay the match head on the paper clip.

7. Hold a lighter or another match under the head of the wrapped match until it lights and takes off like a rocket.

Safety Precautions:

Be careful because the match rocket can fly up to 30 feet or more (if properly built).

Questions:

1. What role did wrapping the match in aluminum foil play?

2. What caused the match rocket to take off?

Explanation:

Matches only need heat to ignite at its head, however once the matched was wrapped and lit, the heat and exhaust it created could not escape due to the twisted head portion. Therefore, the force had to make its way down the shaft between the match and the foil and displays Newton’s third law: “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. In this case, the force of the exhaust gas has no choice but to move downwards and it creates an opposite force upwards.

Source:

Olive, Dale and Scoville, Randy. “Match Rocket”. http://www.spacegrant.hawaii.edu/ScienceDemos/matchrocket.html. obtained on June 6, 2007.