STAR TREK LIVE! - Ontario Science Centre

Teachers Resource Manual
Experiment: Rocket Launch
Explanation
Newton’s third law of motion states that for every
action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In
this activity, the water pours out of the can in one
direction and the can spins in the opposite
direction. This action-reaction event is similar to
what happens during a rocket launch. A rocket
exerts a force in the opposite direction to
overcome the force of gravity and achieve liftoff.
The action in this case is the engine at the bottom
of the rocket pushing out gas. The reaction is the
gas pushing back on the rocket. This leads to the
rocket’s movement in the opposite direction. In
Star Trek, starships use a fictional technology called
warp drive to achieve high speeds in space. Warp
drives are capable of traveling faster than the speed
of light!
Rocket Launch
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