How to Build a Teabag Rocket – Teach Convection
I engage the students by asking the students how I could build a rocket out of nothing more than a teabag and a match. You’re going to get some wild responses, but that’s what you’re looking for! Thinking!!
Materials
I show my students this demo when I’m discussing heat transfers. Convection is the flow of heat. What makes the tea bag rocket take flight is rising heat or convection currents. When you first light the tea bag the heat is trapped inside bag. As the molecules expand, the bag becomes less dense than air. It isn’t until the very end of the burn that the bag is light enough to “take-off”. The pocket of heated air is able to lift the the remaining portion of the tea bag. This is really no different than how a hot air balloon rises. Heated air will flow up in a convection current.
Higher-Level Questioning
How do hot air balloons get back down?
Why does the “rocket” not take off until the very end?
I engage the students by asking the students how I could build a rocket out of nothing more than a teabag and a match. You’re going to get some wild responses, but that’s what you’re looking for! Thinking!!
Materials
- 1 standard tea bag (remove tea and staple)
- match or a lighter
- scissors (optional)
- paper plate
I show my students this demo when I’m discussing heat transfers. Convection is the flow of heat. What makes the tea bag rocket take flight is rising heat or convection currents. When you first light the tea bag the heat is trapped inside bag. As the molecules expand, the bag becomes less dense than air. It isn’t until the very end of the burn that the bag is light enough to “take-off”. The pocket of heated air is able to lift the the remaining portion of the tea bag. This is really no different than how a hot air balloon rises. Heated air will flow up in a convection current.
Higher-Level Questioning
How do hot air balloons get back down?
Why does the “rocket” not take off until the very end?