Flying Corks

To help us understand chemical reactions our science teacher set up a lab to help us understand what a chemical reaction really is. I helped set up the lab with my friends. The lab was a shooting range where we shot corks at a window. To shoot the cork we mixed baking soda and vinegar to create a chemical reaction in the test tube and the chemical reaction made carbon dioxide, the newly formed carbon dioxide created pressure in the test tube which shot the cork. Our teacher split us up into groups and together we had to shoot the corks and find the best way to shoot them. This lab was both fun and educational. I learned a lot about chemical reactions, like how new substances are formed and how much of each substance changes the reaction. The fun part was shooting the cork, however the notes and records of past shootings took a lot of writing because all the groups made twelve shots. After each shot all of the variables had to be recorded and new ideas on how to make better shots had to be made.