film canister experiment

Science Fun

Easy Film Canister Rocket

• Plastic film canister with lid
• Alka-Seltzer tablet
• Tray or flat bottom container
• Safety Glasses

Instructions:

• Fill the film canister about one-third of the way full with water.
• Make sure you are wearing your safety glasses.
• Break one Alka-Seltzer tablet in half. 
• Drop the half of the Alka-Seltzer tablet in the water and quickly put the lid on the film canister.
• While still moving quickly, flip your Film Canister Rocket over and set it on its lid in the tray.
• Step away and watch.
• Your Film Canister Rocket should launch in a few seconds. 

WATCH THE QUICK AND EASY VIDEO TUTORIAL

How it Works:

The water dissolves the Alka-Seltzer tablet causing carbon dioxide gas to be released. The gas creates pressure in the film canister and will eventually create enough pressure that your Film Canister Rocket will launch.  

Make This A Science Project:

Try different amounts of Alka-Selzer to see if it causes the Film Canister Rocket to launch higher or quicker. Try different liquids other than water. Try hot and cold water. 

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How to Make a Film Canister Rocket

May 18, 2015 By Emma Vanstone 3 Comments

Along with erupting volcanoes , magic milk, and a lava lamp , film canister rockets are a must do science experiment for kids of all ages. they are also perfect for learning about Newton’s Laws of Motion .

Why make a film canister rocket?

• Film canister rockets are perfect for demonstrating Newton’s Laws of Motion . First the rocket lifts off because it is acted upon by an external force ( Newton’s First Law ) caused by the buildup of gas produced inside the canister. This causes the lid to blow off, launching the film canister into the air.
• The rocket travels upward with a force that is equal and opposite to the downward force propelling the water, gas and lid ( Newton’s Third Law ).
• The amount of force is directly proportional to the amount of water and gas released from the canister and how fast it accelerates ( Newton’s Second Law ).
• They are great fun!

How to make a film canister rocket

What you need for a film canister rocket.

Film canister or effervescent vitamin tablet container.

Alka seltzer or effervescent vitamin tablet

How to set up your alka seltzer film canister rocket

Fill your canister about a third full with water.

Drop in one tablet.

Place the lid on firmly.

Stand well back!

We managed to get three rockets from one tablet, so have some water standing by to replenish quickly before the tablet disintegrates.

Make it an investigation

The rockets are great fun just to set up and watch but you could turn the activity into a full investigation.

What happens if you add more or less water?

Does alka seltzer work better than a vitamin tablet?

Can you think of way to measure the  height reached?

How many launches can you get from one tablet, by adding more water after the each launch?

What would happen if you added a weight to the canister?

Would this work with baking soda and vinegar?

Don’t forget that for your experiment to be a fair test you need to change just one condition and keep the rest constant, for example if you’re investigating whether a vitamin tablet works better than alka seltzer, you’ll need to keep the amount of water in the canisters the same, and shake each the same amount ( or not shake at all ).

Why does the film canister fly?

When the alka seltzer or vitamin tablet reacts with the water it releases carbon dioxide ( a gas ). The carbon dioxide builds up inside the canister, increasing the air pressure so much that when the canister can take no more it pops off and shoots up into the air.

Image taken from This IS Rocket Science

You can see in this photo where we trapped the gas in a balloon just how much gas is released, it’s no wonder the canister flies with such a bang.

More rocket science for kids

The creative opportunities with film canister rockets are almost endless. Try theming them like our Minion Rocket or The Science Kiddo did some painting with their rockets .

Another awesome rocket experiment to try is a water powered bottle rocket , these shoot very high into the air so make sure you have a lot of space.

I’ve also got a list of 10 science experiments every child should try at least once with a FREE printable checklist you might like!

Did you know we have a book available? This Is Rocket Science is full of easy and exciting space themed activities perfect for kids of all ages.

Post contains affiliate links

Last Updated on May 3, 2021 by Emma Vanstone

Safety Notice

Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

Reader Interactions

May 18, 2015 at 8:32 pm

We love to do this experiment. We break the tablets into 3 or 4 pieces and use only 1/3 of the tablet in the canister. It works just as well as a full one. The only problem is- where can I get more film canisters now that everyone uses digital pictures?

August 22, 2015 at 5:02 am

I have seen similar canisters at the dollar tree.

September 26, 2015 at 1:21 pm

you can use the small yogurt drink bottles which are to balance out your bacteria ie yakult or actimel

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more in Experiments

Build a film canister rocket.

WATCH THE HOME EXPERIMENT

WATCH A WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT!

You will need

• One empty 35mm plastic film canister and lid. These are getting harder to find, but stores that develop film should have some. (The white canisters work much better than the black ones do, and Fuji film canisters work the best!) If you have trouble finding canisters, you can get them HERE .
• One fizzing antacid tablet (such as Alka-Seltzer – Get this from your parents)
• Safety goggles
• Put on those safety goggles and head outside – no really, when this works, that film canister really flies! If you want to try the indoor version, do not turn the canister upside down in step 5.
• Break the antacid tablet in half.
• Remove the lid from the film canister and put a teaspoon (5 ml) of water into the canister. Do the next 2 steps quickly
• Drop the tablet half into the canister and snap the cap onto the canister (make sure that it snaps on tightly.)
• Quickly put the canister on the ground CAP SIDE DOWN and STEP BACK at least 2 meters.
• About 10 seconds later, you will hear a POP! and the film canister will launch into the air!

Caution: If it does not launch, wait at least 30 second before examining the canister. Usually the cap is not on tight enough and the build up of gas leaked out.

How does it work?

There’s nothing like a little rocket science to add some excitement to the day. When you add the water it starts to dissolve the alka-seltzer tablet. This creates a gas call carbon dioxide. As the carbon dioxide is being released, it creates pressure inside the film canister. The more gas that is made, the more pressure builds up until the cap it blasted down and the rocket is blasted up. This system of thrust is how a real rocket works whether it is in outer space or here in the earth’s atmosphere. Of course, real rockets use rocket fuel. You can experiment controlling the rocket’s path by adding fins and a nose cone that you can make out of paper. If you like this experiment, try the Exploding Lunch Bag. Be safe and have fun!

MAKE IT AN EXPERIMENT

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:

• Does water temperature affect how fast the rocket launches?
• Does the size of the tablet piece affect how long it takes for the rocket to launch?
• Can the flight path be controlled by adding fins or a nosecone to the canister?
• How much water in the canister will give the highest flight?
• How much water will give the quickest launch?

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Alka-Seltzer Rockets

Film Canister Rockets are a favorite experiment at Imagination Station.

One of the best things about this activity is that you can do it at home and you can design some pretty sophisticated experiments around it. We start with the materials and how to make them fly, then we go on to explore the science behind Film Canister Rockets and finally we link it to how real rockets work.

Here's what you need:

Paper or index cards

Film canister (Fuji film canisters work the best, see picture)

Paper Towels

Effervescing antacid tablet (Alka-Seltzer)

Watch or timer

What to do:

Wrap and tape a tube of paper around the film canister. Invert the canister so that the lid lies flat on the table.

Cut fins from the index cards and tape them to the rocket.

Make a nose by cutting a circle out of paper. Cut out a pie shape from the circle and twist the paper into a cone. Tape the cone together then tape it on the open end of the paper tube.

Turn the rocket upside down and fill the canister 1/3 full with water.

Drop in a 1/2 tablet of Alka-Seltzer and snap the lid on tight.

Quickly stand the rocket upright (lid on the table) and stand back! CAUTION: Be careful when launching your rocket. Stand back and don’t point it at anyone.

Make sure you time how long it takes for your rocket to return to earth! This can help you a lot especially if you decide to try an experiment (See the ‘What would happen if’ ideas below).

What’s going on?

As the antacid tablet fizzes, carbon dioxide is released inside the canister. Pressure from the gas builds and eventually pops the lid off. The thrust, or push, of your rocket is related to how much pressure built up inside the canister before the top popped off.

What would happen if…

You change the design of your rocket?

You use more or less fuel (effervescing tablets and water)?

You use hot or cold water?

Remember that when you are conducting experiments you only want to change one thing at a time. Keep everything else the same in order to see how the thing you changed (or the variable) affects the outcome. In this case your rocket going up into the air.

If you try some of these experiments or others with the Film Canister Rocket activity please let us know! Post a comment to our  Facebook page  about which variable (water temperature, fuel or design) you changed and how it affected your rocket!

What is happening inside that film canister?

First of all, we all know that the most common effervescing tablet used in a film canister rocket is Alka-Seltzer. In fact, the company that makes Alka-Seltzer is so proud of the fact that it can be used in science experiments they have a whole page on their  website  dedicated to it! Not to rain on the Alka-Seltzer science parade but, just between us, the generic brands also work perfectly well for this activity and it saves some moolah!

When you mix these effervescing tablets with water, a chemical reaction takes place between the citric acid and sodium bicarbonate contained in the tablet and the water. This chemical reaction creates many, many bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. Citric acid is a weak acid and is in the juice of most citrus fruits like lemons or limes. Sodium bicarbonate is, well, basically baking soda. (Has this reminded anyone of another great science experiment that uses a weak acid and baking soda? That’s right, baking soda and vinegar [acetic acid] produce the same reaction when mixed together. Lot of bubbles of carbon dioxide gas!)

You already know what happens when you combine this chemical reaction with a film canister, when it pops, it goes up!

Why does your rocket go up?

It goes up because gas is building and building in the closed film canister and since the lid is the weakest point of the canister, the lid pops off and all that gas comes rushing out of the end of the canister. This action can be explained using  Newton’s Laws of Motion , more specifically it is an example of Newton’s Third Law of Motion – “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. The gas rushing out of one end of the canister (the action) causes your rocket to move in the opposite direction (the reaction). This is exactly how all rockets work whether you use an effervescing tablet as your fuel or a chemical rocket propellant like they do at NASA.

How do the NASA rockets work?

Quite simply, rockets are how NASA can get all those amazing missions off the ground. These rockets use a pressurized fuel and an oxidizer. The oxidizer is something that allows the fuel to burn without using outside air. (Can you think of a reason why this might be important? Write your answer in the comment box below!) The fuel, in a gaseous state, is pressurized because this forces it out the end of the rocket just like our Film Canister Rocket! However, there are a few more parts to an actual rocket.

The fuel used in the rockets like the ones that help the space shuttles enter space use liquid hydrogen as the fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidizer. You may be saying to yourself, “I thought they just said that the fuel is in the gaseous state not liquid?”. You are right, the fuel and oxidizer are only in these liquid states when they are in the holding tanks and they can only stay in this liquid state at extremely low temperatures. The fuel and oxidizer are allowed to combine within the combustion chamber and as the burn they turn into a gas (gases take up about 1,000 times more space than a liquid) this causes the intense pressure. It is exactly like our Film Canister Rocket, the carbon dioxide builds up and puts intense pressure on the canister so the lid pops off. In the case of our shuttle rocket the fuel and oxidizer burn, are put under intense pressure and are released not by the popping off of a lid but through a tiny hole on the bottom of the combustion chamber called a nozzle. If you want to watch a mind bending video that is connected to the Film Canister Rocket activity watch  Alka-Seltzer added to Spherical Water Drop in Microgravity .

We hope we were able to answer your questions about rockets but if not stop into Imagination Station and we would be happy to talk more about them!

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Film canister rockets

Follow FizzicsEd 150 Science Experiments:

You will need:

• A small film canister, you can get these on Amazon or eBay or you can get these for free from a photography store Often the clear styled film canister’s work better, as you can place the bicarbonate paste into the small well that already exists. The other bonus is that the lid tends to be tighter, thereby the rocket flies higher. Alternatively, a mini M&Ms canister with the strap between the lid and canister cut off will work too!
• Bicarbonate Soda
• Small mixing bowl and spoon
• Water and safety goggles

• Instruction
• Video Instruction

Take one teaspoon of bicarbonate soda and place it into the dish. Add 5 drops of water and mix into a thick paste.

The paste should stick to the bottom of your finger without falling off.

Use the spoon to pack the bicarbonate soda paste onto the underside of the film canister lid.

Fill your film canister halfway with vinegar. You’re ready for launch!

Gently clip the lid onto the canister, making sure that the whole lid is secure.

Double-check that the children are at least 5 meters back and that you are away from anything that can break above your head.

Making sure your safety goggles are over your eyes, turn the entire film canister upside down onto its lid on a flat surface outside.  Stand back and watch it fly!

Get the Unit of Work on Forces here!

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How to create a film cannister rocket from Fizzics Education on Vimeo .

Why Does This Happen?

This is really is just another variation on the standard volcano experiment run in classrooms around the world. The reaction is as follows:

Vinegar + Bicarbonate Soda —> Carbonic Acid + Sodium Acetate

The carbonic acid is unstable though, so it breaks down into liquid water (H20) and carbon dioxide (CO2) as a gas, causing the massive ‘build-up’ of pressure you saw in the experiment. Eventually the gas pressure inside needed to be released; so the lid popped off the canister, pushing against the supporting surface to send the rocket in the air.

Notice the rocket has to push down to go up?

This is yet another simple demonstration of Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion:

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Variables to test

More about variables here

• Different amounts of vinegar
• Different amounts of bicarbonate soda
• Does temperature make a difference?

Canister rockets are always fun, but it’s the fair test you can create where the learning happens #BEEINS19 #BeInspirational @FizzicsEd pic.twitter.com/7fsKGJr1tl — Ash (@ashsix4) March 30, 2019

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