Leon had previously expressed an interest in making a bottle rocket, and last Friday Jim brought the kit for him to do so. They first discussed the principles of generating thrust in rockets, and saw how this could be applied to a bottle rocket using a chemical reaction that generates a large volume of gas.
Leon conducted a simple experiment in which he investigated how many spatulas of bicarbonate of soda must be added to 50 ml of vinegar until no further reaction would take place. They focused on safety and accuracy when carrying out a scientific experiment, despite the harmlessness of these substances.
Leon then scaled up his reactants for a 2 litre bottle, and constructed the rocket. Once it was complete, Jim and Leon took the rocket to a local park and Leon greatly enjoyed launching his work, especially when the vinegar went all over Simon who was recording the event for posterity!