2-Liter Bottle Rockets

The procedure of making bottle rockets at home is quite easy. One can make a nice bottle rocket by using easily available materials such as bottle, duct tapes, straws, etc. The activity of bottle rocket making can be used as one of the team games for schools.

What is a Bottle Rocket?
Bottle rocket is a toy which works by the application of air pressure. Such rockets are made by children for school competitions or just as a pastime activity. One can experiment a lot in the designing and functioning of such rockets. Functioning of such rockets can be experimented with, by varying the air pressure and quantity of water to be filled in the bottle.

How to Make a 2-Liter Bottle Rocket?
To make a proper bottle rocket, one need not buy expensive materials and could use items that are found easily. The simple process of making bottle rockets is given below.

Materials Needed
The materials needed for making 2-liter bottle rockets are as follows: a 2-liter bottle, duct tape, paper, straws, bicycle tire pump, rubber stopper, needle, a metal rod (¼ inches) and decorative items (crayons, scissors, etc.). Needle, bicycle pump and stopper form the components of the propulsion system.

Procedure
The rubber stopper should be drilled to form a tiny hole for the needle to pass through. The hole should be around 1/16th inches in diameter. The needle should then be inserted through the stopper into the bottle. Duct tape needs to be used in order to tape straw piece to the bottle. Care should be taken to see that the straw pieces are taped properly, i.e. in a straight line. Children like to add more decorations to the rocket, apart from the pieces of straw. The bottle rockets design includes fins to be attached at the base and nose at the top of the bottle. A cardboard/poster board can be used to make the fins. Triangle-shaped pieces cut from the cardboard should be taped at the base of the rocket. The nose of rocket can be made by cutting the cardboard in a circular shape. The circular piece need to be rolled into a cone and taped at the top of the bottle. The nose and fins can be colored to make them look attractive.

Launching the Rocket
The bottle rockets should be filled up to ¼-¾ of their capacities. Mouth of the bottle need to be corked tightly with the help of a stopper. Needle should be connected to the pump and then the bottle placed over the metal rod. Once the bottle is properly mounted, the process of pumping should be started. Pressure in the bottle starts increasing and at one point, the bottle rocket takes off, leaving a trail of water behind it. The height which can be attained by such type of bottle rockets is around 60 feet. One should stay back at the time when rockets are launched. Given the pressure with which they take off, one can get injured.

Children can add fun to rocket launching by using various tricks. One could arrange a night rocket launch party. The rocket can be taped with chemical light sticks. As the rocket rises above in the sky, one can enjoy the sight of light sticks attached to the bottle. A parachute can be attached to the rocket which opens on its way back to the ground.

Bottle rockets preparation and launching is a fun-filled activity. One can easily make 2-liter bottle rockets, which have a good quality and a satisfactory flight.