Hello steemians! This is a post for the Steemhomework project launched by @steemiteducation. My trolls would not miss out on this one and decided to present you with a new adventure.
On a sunny Sunday morning, my three little trolls were out in the garden talking:
- Hey, guys, I'm really bored today. It's been weeks since we went on an adventure with our air-fueled car.
- You're right, X42! We should do something fun again! X54 agreed.
- I've got an idea, guys! Do you want to go on a trip to the moon? said X31.
- The moon!?
- Yes, the moon! I remember reading the other day that we can make our own space rocket with simple materials we can find in the kitchen. Come on, let's get in the house!
The three trolls ran anxiously to the kitchen and X31, the wise troll, started explaining.
- Look, it's simple, we just need a big plastic bottle, a paper napkin, some white vinegar and baking soda. @ruth-girl must have all these in here.
- There! I got the baking soda, said X54.
- And I got the vinegar and the napkin, said X42.
- We only need a big plastic bottle. Hmm... Are you thirsty? Cause there is a big bottle of soda in the fridge, X31 gave the other two trolls a foxy look.
- Now that we got everything what are we going to do? X54 asked.
- Oh! I almost forgot, X31 said, we need three froks to use as legs for our rocket and some tape to fix them in place.
- Here are the forks, replied X42.
- And here is the tape, X54 said.
- Great, troll team! Now we got everything! First we are taping the three forks around the empty bottle. Then we will pour the vinegar inside it.
- And what about the baking soda? X42 asked.
- We must fold it carefully inside the napkin. Then, we will put it in the bottle and carefully fix one edge on the cap.
- All ready! X42 and X54 said at once.
- Great! Now we are ready to take off!
- Um, X31, I know you're very clever, but how exactly is this going to fly and take us to the moon? X54 asked.
- Well, X54, the vinegar will react with the baking soda and they will produce carbon dioxide that will fill the bottle. When the amount of CO2 gas will be too much for the bottle to hold, it will explode, giving our little DIY rocket the thrust to get us into space!
- Wow! We had that in our kitchen all the time and nevertheless we never decided to use it? X42 replied in awe.
- It's never too late, X42, is it? X31 said.
- No, it's certainly not.
- Come on, you guys! Stop chatting and let's get to the moon already!! X54 shouted excitedly.
- Brace yourselves, trolls! We're going to the moon! X31 yelled.
- Yeah!! X42 and X54 cheered!
And just like that the little DIY rocket left @ruth-girl's garden and took the trolls on a new journey. What adventures are they going to find out there? Stay tuned and find out soon ;)
And a little chemistry behind the story
The vinegar (CH3COOH) is an acid that reacts with the basic baking soda powder (NaHCO3). This reaction produces CO2 gas, water (H2O), sodium ion (Na+) and acetate ion (CH3COO-).
The first step of this reaction is:
NaHCO3 + HC2H3O2 → NaC2H3O2 + H2CO3
Where the soda or sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) reacts with the vinegar (HC2H3O2) and produce sodium acetate (NaC2H3O2)and carbonic acid (H2CO3).
In the second step the carbonic acid (H2CO3) produces water and carbon dioxide through a decomposition reaction.
H2CO3 → H2O + CO2
And that's how our DIY rocket got our trolls into space!
Check this video to see how you can make one for yourselves!
References
*All images by @ruth-girl, original background images of moon, space and rocket under CC0 copyrights from pixabay-no attribution required.
Thank you for stopping by and giving this post a read. I hope you enjoyed it! If you please, feel free to pay a visit to my blog and check out my short stories along with plenty of educational posts and of course my bizarre natural phenomena series.
Until my next post,
Steem on and keep smiling, people!
