What is the strongest

homemade fuel to propel a

rocket?

QUESTION

I think that from the three

homemade fuels chosen the Diet Coke and Mentos

mixture will be the strongest.

HYPOTHESIS

6 Bottles of Diet Coke 20 oz 1 Pack of Mentos Original Candy 30oz Baking Soda 1 Bottle of Vinegar (30 oz needed)1 Large Tub (e.g. bathtub size)1 Pyrex Measuring Cup15 gallons of Water (used bathtub faucet)CameraWashcloth1 Yard Stick Ruler

MATERIALS

1. Gather all materials.2. Fill bathtub or large tub being used with 15 gallons of water.3. Take three 20 oz Diet Coke bottles for the first trial of Mentos and Diet

Coke mixture. Remove half quantity from each bottle, which leaves 10 oz in each bottle.

4. Then add two tablets of Mentos in the first half bottle of Diet Coke and IMMEDIATELY cap the bottle TIGHTLY.

5. Shake the bottle, and ease the cap slightly to allow coke to spew from the bottle. Place immediately in tub full of water beginning from one end.

6. Now, measure the distance the bottle travels during the reaction.7. After recording the distance traveled, take picture of the bottle in the

tub.8. Repeat steps 4 – 7, for the second and third half filled bottles of Diet

Coke. 9. Empty the three coke bottles from this trial run, and rinse with water.10. Fill each bottle with 10oz of baking soda.

PROCEDURE

11. Then, add 10oz of vinegar in the first bottle to fill the bottle, and IMMEDIATELY cap the bottle.

12. Loosen slightly like before to allow spewing from bottle and place in the bathtub.

13. Now, measure the distance the bottle travels during the reaction.14. After recording the distance traveled, take picture of the bottle in the

tub.15. Repeat steps 11 – 14 for the second and third bottles.16. Now experiment the final run using the remaining three bottles of Diet

Coke. 17. Shake the first bottle and loosen cap slightly to allow spewing. Place

in tub IMMEDIATELY and record distance traveled.18. Take picture of the bottle in the tub.19. Repeat steps 17 and 18 for the remaining two Diet Coke bottles.20. Drain tub. Clean using water and washcloth. 21. Gather all disposable materials, recycle plastic bottles, and throw out

other materials.

PROCEDURE

DATATrials 1 2 3

Diet Coke 15 16.5 15.5

Diet Coke and Mentos 27.5 18 22

Baking Powder and Vinegar 9 14.5 12.5

DATADistance Traveled by Bottle

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1 2 3

Trials (1 - 3)

Dis

tanc

e (in

ches

)

Diet Coke

Diet Cokeand Mentos

BakingPowder andVinegar

DATATrials Comparison

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1 2 3

Trials (1-3)

Dis

tanc

e Tr

avel

ed (i

nche

s)

Diet Coke

Diet Cokeand Mentos

BakingPowder andVinegar

During this experiment, the hypothesis chosen in this experiment was correct. There were a few things learned during this experiment. During the research,

one of the trial runs had to be thrown out. This trial run was supposed use potassium nitrate and sugar to start a fuel in the bottle. However, during the

research from books and online, the information said that sugar and potassium nitrate had to be burned in order to create a reaction. This was something that was removed from the experiment because the trials were being conducted in

water instead of air. The reason water was chosen is because it is a more dense material than air. This gave a chance to be able to measure the distance

traveled with less error. In air, distance may be affected by wind and trajectory. Diet Coke, by itself, was used as a replacement trial. This trial would not be as strong as the potassium nitrate but it was a good comparison with Diet Coke and Mentos. After performing the trials, the Diet Coke and Mentos were the strongest fuel to propel the bottle. Some things to change next time when

performing the project once more is to use clean water in the tub each time a new trial is done. During this experiment, the water was not changed between

trials and could have affected the results because the density of water changed. This was because the coke, baking soda, and vinegar spewed from the bottle

into the tub. The conclusion showed the hypothesis was correct.

CONCLUSION

7th Grade Science TextbookAffatigato, Mario. Holt Science & Technology.

Orlando: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2006. Encyclopedia“Fuel.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2008. Volume 5.

Foresman & Company, 1989.  BookRowen, Beth. Almanac . New York: Time for Kids, Inc.

2004 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Introduction……………………………………………......3Materials and Methods……………………………..…….3Results……………………………………………………....4Discussion………………………………………………….5Conclusions……………………………………….…….....5Acknowledgements……………………………………….6References/Bibliography…………………………………6 

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION:This experiment will be performed to find out which of the

three fuels is the strongest. What is the strongest homemade fuel to propel a rocket, I think that from the three homemade fuels chosen the Diet Coke and Mentos mixture will be the strongest. Originally, the three fuels were Diet Coke and Mentos, potassium nitrate, and baking soda and vinegar. After research, the potassium nitrate was not used, because it had to be ignited. This was different from the other fuels which did not need to be burned, so the potassium nitrate was not used. The last variable was picked to be Diet Coke by itself.

ABSTRACT

3

MATERIALS AND METHODS:In this project, we used the following materials. There were

six bottles of Diet Coke, 1 pack of Mentos, 30 oz of baking soda, 30 oz of Vinegar, a 15 – 30 gallon tub, Pyrex measuring cup, a camera, and ruler. In the experiment, the coke bottles were half emptied into glasses (that could be used for drinking), because it was extra. The Diet Coke and Mentos mixture was performed first. The bottle should be placed in the tub after putting two Mentos tablets in the half bottle of Coke. The cap is loose for the bottle to release the foam. A picture is taken and the distance that the bottle moved is recorded in a table. This is done three times to give good data. Then this whole process is repeated for the Diet Coke only mixture and the baking soda and vinegar mixture. The methodology we used to collect data was by measuring the distance in inches, to make observations we could see by the materials that the Mentos and Diet Coke were going to go far.

ABSTRACT

3

RESULTS:ABSTRACT

Trials 1 2 3

Diet Coke 15 16.5 15.5

Diet Coke and Mentos 27.5 18 22

Baking Powder and Vinegar 9 14.5 12.5

4

Results:The data from the experiment came

out to be in the same range for each fuel. The Diet Coke and Mentos mixture won all three trials. This is shown in the graphs at the right and at the bottom.

ABSTRACTDistance Traveled by Bottle

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1 2 3

Trials (1 - 3)D

ista

nce

(inch

es)

Diet Coke

Diet Cokeand Mentos

BakingPowder andVinegar

Trials Comparison

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1 2 3

Trials (1-3)

Dis

tanc

e Tr

avel

ed (i

nche

s)

Diet Coke

Diet Cokeand Mentos

BakingPowder andVinegar

4

DISCUSSION:The data proved that the Diet Coke and Mentos fuel is

the stronger one of all three. It also matched the prediction of the hypothesis. The data varied for the three trials, but were special in each form. They could easily be separated from best fuel to worst. The results may have been affected by the temperature of the water, the tightness of the cap on the bottle, and where the bottle was placed in the tub. Next time, these factors could be improved for better data. Next time, it would be interested to experiment outdoor with fuels such as potassium nitrate.

ABSTRACT

5

CONCLUSION:During this experiment, the hypothesis chosen in this experiment was correct. There

were a few things learned during this experiment. During the research, one of the trial runs had to be thrown out. This trial run was supposed use potassium nitrate and sugar to start a fuel in the bottle. However, during the research from books and online, the information said that sugar and potassium nitrate had to be burned in order to create a reaction. This was something that was removed from the experiment because the trials were being conducted in water instead of air. The reason water was chosen is because it is a more dense material than air. This gave a chance to be able to measure the distance traveled with less error. In air, distance may be affected by wind and trajectory. Diet Coke, by itself, was used as a replacement trial. This trial would not be as strong as the potassium nitrate but it was a good comparison with Diet Coke and Mentos. After performing the trials, the Diet Coke and Mentos were the strongest fuel to propel the bottle. Some things to change next time when performing the project once more is to use clean water in the tub each time a new trial is done. During this experiment, the water was not changed between trials and could have affected the results because the density of water changed. This was because the coke, baking soda, and vinegar spewed from the bottle into the tub.

ABSTRACT

5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I would like to mention the

people who helped me in this experiment. They are my own Parents (Kumud & Paresh).

ABSTRACT

6

REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY:7th Grade Science TextbookAffatigato, Mario. Holt Science & Technology.

Orlando: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2006.Encyclopedia“Fuel.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2008. Volume 5.

Foresman & Company, 1989. BookRowen, Beth. Almanac . New York: Time for Kids, Inc.

2004

ABSTRACT

6