Exothermic Reactions Lab

Objective: The purpose of this lab is to show the relationship between chemical decomposition and exothermic reactions, as well as applying the scientific method. This is shown through the construction and launching of popper rockets.

Introduction: Crucial things to know are exothermic reactions, Scientific method and chemical decomposition.
The scientific method is a series of steps used by scientists to solve a problem. First they analyze what the problem is and gather information by what they already know. They then make a hypothesis based on what they know about their project. Next, they conduct the experiment and gather data. Lastley the analyze and discuss their results. Another major topic you should know is what an exothermic reaction

The first step was to figure out the problem. The problem is what kind of rocket would make it to the 15 meter mark when launched. From here a hypothesis was made that states a half cut 16oz Jumex can will reach the height of 15 meters. Afterwards the hypothesis was tested by launching the rockets. The final step is analysing the data and discussing it as it is being shown up above. The entire experiment is based on exothermic reactions and chemical decomposition. In the experiment, heat is introduced to the gunpowder inside the firecracker. When this happened the molecules of the gunpowder break down into simpler compounds, but at the same time release energy in the form of heat. The release of heat makes it an exothermic reaction. The new and smaller compounds are mostly in gas form. Once these gases build up in the can, it then eventually escapes through the bottom of the can to propel the rocket upwards. As you can see the data table above shows the qualitative data about what material the rockets were made out of, as well as if they succeeded in reaching the height that was needed in order to succeed. Some quantitative data is missing due to the fact that they did not shoot the rocket the first trial not giving us a number for that