When deciding whether to blow up a bomb or send a rocket into the air, two sophomores in a Laguna Beach High School science class decided they’d to go for the bigger bang.

“The reaction is bigger,” said Brighton Blees, 16. Rita Capano, 15, added, “The rocket is anticlimactic because it doesn’t go that high. The bomb has more reaction and is more fun to watch.”

Their project produced one of the many explosive sounds that can be heard going off at Guyer Field this week – city leaders pushed out alerts to residents not to be concerned. The propelled devices are part of the Integrated Science 2 class at the school that’s teaching students the importance of balancing chemicals. The class is in its third year and has been popular among students, especially because of the hands-on learning.

Alonda Hartford, one of several science teachers at LBHS, said the project is based on an experiment that former teacher, Steve Sogo, developed for students and teaches fundamentals of proportional reasoning, chemical reactions and mathematical analysis. And the lesson has far-reaching applications.

“The importance of balanced chemistry will eventually apply to the body and determine how we use chemicals as fuel,” Hartford said. “They will eventually understand why they get diseases. If the chemistry in the body isn’t broken, you’re healthy and feeling well. If not, maybe it’s a disease.”

Not all the students were out on the field on Tuesday. Maddie Rootlieb, 15, was working with her team inside the classroom, still getting the basics. Hartford had just gone over the proportion of hydrogen to oxygen and was helping them with creating the propulsion that would send a rocket into the air.

So, Rootlieb was busy with her team figuring out how to build the ignition system, “So when we have our rocket set up, it will make it launch off the stand.”

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First, the team worked on building the stand from aluminum foil, which they then planned to ignite somehow, Tootlieb  said. “It will create a spark between the foil and react with the hydrogen and magnesium.”

For her, being hands-on with the lesson was making all the difference. Their in-the-field project is scheduled for launch later this week.

“It’s much more beneficial than being on a computer,” she said. “I like how (the teacher) puts it into real-world experiences. It makes you think it could actually happen.”

Out on the field, Blees and her team tried out their plan.

“We made a gas in class before we came here,” Blees said. “We filled the bottle with magnesium and HCL and filled it up two-thirds, then we filled the rest of the bottle with a catalyst that was mixed with hydrogen peroxide.”

They connected the aluminum foil at two points for electricity and created a spark that created a chemical reaction.

And boom.

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