Kids Science Experiments
Rubber Band Shoot Out
In these kids science experiments you will be testing how far rubber bands will fly through the air. These fun experiments can be conducted indoors or outside. This is an easy experiment for all kids to try.
Materials
- Rubber bands (variety)
- Ruler (inches and centimeters)
- Yard stick with metric measurement
- Markers
Directions
- Decide the location you will shoot your rubber bands from. Mark this
location as your starting point. Make a guess how far your rubber band
will fly if it is pulled back 6 inches.
- Place the rubber band over the end of the ruler and pull it back so it stretches to the 6 inch mark.
- Hold the ruler so the front just reaches the location you marked
as your starting point. Let the rubber band fly.
- Place a marker on the ground where you rubber band lit when it first touched the ground.
- Often rubber bands will bounce along the ground before they come
to rest. You want to mark the original spot that the rubber band hit the
ground.
- Measure the distance your rubber band flew. Determine how close your guess was to the actual distance the rubber band flew.
- Now guess how far your rubber band will fly if stretched 10 inches. Give it a try. Were you close with your guess?
More experiments with rubber bands
- Use
different lengths and thicknesses of rubber bands to see how far the
rubber bands will fly.
- Get a friend to do the experiments and use metric
measurements for the distance instead of feet and inches.
- Find out if the color of a rubber band affects how far it will fly.
- How far will a rubber band that has been put in the freezer for an hour fly?
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Science behind the experiment
The rubber in rubber bands is bound together by thousands of long chains of molecules that are coiled together something like a net. When you pull a rubber band the molecules uncoil and align themselves closer together as they straighten out.
When you release the rubber band the molecules that have been straightened recoil back into their original position. The molecules returning to their original position causes the rubber band to fly through the air.
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Kids Science Experiments, Rubber Band Shoot Out Invite your friends when you try these kids science experiments.
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