Get an adult to help you. Be safe and stay well
back when you've set it up.
You will need:
Half a soluble tablet
An empty film canister
Water
Step 1 First put a
small amount of water in the film canister (just enough to
cover the bottom).
Then drop in the half-tablet.
Step 2
Quickly put the lid on the canister
and turn it upside down so it rests on the lid. Then stand
back!!
Step 3
It’s best to do this outdoors, or at least not near anything
breakable. It might take a while but don't go back to it once
you have set it up - stay well back! What do you think will
happen?
Step 4
The flying canister moves so fast, it is just a blur in the
picture below. Check out the video to see it for real. Try doing
a whole lot of them together and seeing which ones go first.
Why does this happen?
Water-soluble indigestion tablets are made up of
powdered acid and base bound together.
The grey blurry mark is the film canister shooting into the
air. James makes sure he stays well back
When dry they don’t react, but when dissolved in
water the acid reacts violently with the base to make carbon dioxide
gas – this is what makes it fizz.
When this happens inside a film canister the gas
can’t escape like it does in a glass, so the pressure builds up
until it is enough to blow the canister violently up into the air.
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