Flinging Turtles Lab Report

By Nate Wilhelm

In this lab, the goal of the experiment set by the testers was to launch an origami “turtle”
into the air as high as possible, preferably great than one meter. This was accomplished by
mixing a paste of water and sodium bicarbonate, commonly referred to as baking soda, with a
ratio to acetic acid, the main ingredient in white vinegar. During this experiment, with the
variables considered, the independent variable was decided to be the amount of acetic acid, the
dependent variable was the height of the “turtle”, and the controlled variable was the amount of
water. The hypothesis for this experiment was that the amount of vinegar would control the
height of the “turtle”, the more vinegar equalling a greater height.
The materials used per experiment were as follows:
- 3 graduated cylinders
- 1-meter stick
- 2 beakers
- 3.2g of the baking soda and water mixture
- 1 small black container with a cap
- 1 glass plate
- 1 origami turtle
and
- A total amount of 50ml of vinegar split among 4 experiments, starting with 5ml in the
first experiment and increasing by 5ml for each experiment

The experiment was started with the mixture of the water and baking soda to make the paste.
Then, the paste was smeared onto the cap of the small black container, and the amount of vinegar
as per the experiment was put into the container itself. The cap was then put on the container,
and as the paste was adhesive due to its nature, the paste stayed on the cap and the experiment
was not conducted prematurely. The container was then placed in the sink and as was the meter
stick. The container was then flipped on its cap so the vinegar and the paste were mixed,
beginning the reaction. The turtle was then placed on top, and when the container exploded and
launched the turtle in the air, the container was washed and the process was repeated with a
different amount of vinegar.

Test # Amount of Vinegar (mL) Height of Turtle (cm)

1 5 22

2 10 17

3 15 13
 4 20 10

When reviewing the table, it is noticed that the height of the turtle, and technically the power of
the explosion, decreases with the added amount of vinegar per test. One can theorize that the
more room for the gases created and pressurized by the reaction, the more power that an
explosion shall have.
(See handwritten copy for continuation)