Rocket Lab

Introduction When Henry Cavendish discovered hydrogen in 1774 and Joseph Priestley found oxygen in 1776, neither man would expect the effect these elements could have on modern science, namely rockets. But creating a rocket is just combining these two gases in a closed environment, and one spark. This lab exemplifies just that what happens when the gases H2 and O2 are chemically combined with a spark. In this lab, the objective was to see how far a pipette filled H2 and O2 could travel. One half a centimeter of H2O was added to keep the gases inside, and make sure that only these H2 and O2 where included in the pipettes. Different ratios of each of these gasses where tested: ½ O2 and ½ H2; ⅓ H2, ⅔ O2; ⅓ O2, ⅔H2; ¼ H2, ¾ O2; ¼ O2, ¾H2; all O2; and all H2. Each ratio was tested five times to help provide accurate data. Gases differ greatly from their liquid and solid forms, being affected by temperature, volume, and pressure in unique ways when in this state of matter. Four important laws help in the understanding of the behaviors of gases. According to Charles's Law, the temperature of a gas increases; the volume also increases as long as the pressure and moles are kept constant. To allow for an increase in volume of the gas, as well as temperature, molecules spread out moving faster. Boyle's law states that when the volume of a gas decreases, the pressure increases as long as the temperature and the number of moles is kept constant. As the temperature of a gas increases, so does its pressure, as long as the moles and volume are kept constant According to Gay-Lussac's Law. When gas is sealed in a container, and its molecules are heated, they will move faster and try to spread but stay confined by the container. The push against the container in an attempt to spread out increases the pressure of the gas. Avagadro's Law, states that as the number of moles of a gas increase, so does its volume. According to Avagadro’s Law, it can be said that one mole of a one