How to Launch a Toy Rocket Off the Ground
A rocket must use a propellant to enable it to fly. You can make a ground-based rocket launcher from a few household supplies that will launch a toy rocket up and away. You will also need a few tools commonly found around the house and experience in using a handsaw. Your toy rocket will be powered by the chemical reaction of two matches being ignited, with the resulting compressed gas shooting the toy rocket from the ground-based launcher into the sky.
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Things You'll Need
- Disposable plastic pen
- Wooden matches
- Cellophane tape
- Hand saw
- Needle-nosed pliers
- Disposable cigarette lighter
- Paper cup
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Dollhouse toy rocket
Instructions
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1
Place a sheet of newspaper on a table. Unscrew the barrel from a disposable plastic pen. Remove the ink cartridge from inside of the pen. Pull the spring off the ink cartridge. Dispose of the ink cartridge and the barrel in the trash.
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2
Tape two wooden matches together with cellophane tape. Place the pen horizontally on the newspaper.
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Place the taped together matches on top of the pen at one end with the match heads facing toward the other end. Tape the matches to the pen with a strip of cellophane tape.
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4
Cut through the pen just above the match heads with the hand saw. Dispose of the cut off piece of pen. Insert the needle-nosed pliers into the open hole of the just cut piece of pen that has the match heads on it. Swivel the needle-nosed pliers around inside of the hole.
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Remove the strip of cellophane tape from the matches. Remove the matches from on top of the pen. Place the matches aside.
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Hold the pen by one end in one hand. Hold the disposable cigarette lighter in the other hand. Light the flame of the lighter. Hold the flame against the end of the pen away from your hand. Remove the flame after five seconds have passed. Turn off the flame.
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Clamp the jaws of the needle-nosed pliers around the just burned end of the pen. Twist the jaws of the needle-nosed pliers to make the hole one third as wide as it was. Let the pen cool for five minutes.
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8
Insert the spring into the burned end of the pen. Clamp the jaws of the needle-nosed pliers around the end of the pen. Squeeze down on the jaws of the needle-nosed pliers
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Push the two matches into the spring, match heads first. Stop pushing when the two matches are completely inside of the pen.
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Put a paper cup face down on the newspaper. Cut a hole in the center of the top of the paper cup with the scissors.
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Draw a line three inches up from the bottom of the paper cup. Make a dot at the three-inch mark with the pencil. Draw a line two inches across from the dot. Make another dot. Draw a line down to the bottom of the paper cup from the dot. Cut out the lines in the paper cup with the scissors.
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12
Go outside in your backyard. Place the paper cup face down on the ground.
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Place the pen inside of the hole at the top of the paper cup, with the end of the pen that has the spring in it facing up. Place the dollhouse toy rocket into the hole with the point of the rocket facing up.
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Hold the lighter next to the cut out section of the paper cup. Light the lighter.
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Hold the flame of the lighter against the bottom of the pen inside of the paper cup. Watch as the match heads ignite and the spring launches your toy rocket into the air from your ground-based rocket launcher.
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Tips & Warnings
Wear protective eye gear when firing your toy rocket.
Adult supervision is required when making and firing the toy rocket from the ground-based rocket launcher.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit rocket image by ivan gusev from Fotolia.com
