October Sky
Be a Rocket Scientist
Experiment with the basic rocket principals of thrust.
This experiment investigates how rockets work through the
application of Newton's Laws of Motion: Action &
Reaction.
Try building, launching, and experimenting with
non-explosive water rockets. Most toy stores sell them,
complete with launchers.
Experiment with the water rocket by varying the amount of
pressure (number of pumps) or by varying the amount of water
(thrust propellant) and find the optimal amount.
Another non-explosive water rocket alternative is to build
your own 2-liter bottle water rocket and launcher. Plans are
available from the NASA website, http://adc.gsfc.nasa.gov/adc/education/space_ex/rockets.html
.
NASA's site also includes construction of a good rocket
altitude tracker at http://www.quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/teachers/rockets/act9.html
Experiment #1: Varying Pressure
While keeping the mass (volume) of the water constant vary
the number of pumps and measure the final height that your
rocket acheives.
Start with the lowest number of pumps that it takes to have
at least some lift off.
Graph your data:
Experiment #2: Varying Mass
Using the best number discovered in Experiment #1 as the
constant for the number of pumps, vary the amout of water in
your rocket.
Start with no water (just air mass) and continue to increase
the water amounts until your rocket is no longer gaining in
elevation.
Graph your data
Experiment
#1 |
|
Experiment
#2 |
Mass of Water |
Number of Pumps |
Acheived Height |
|
Mass of Water |
Acheived Height |
Number of Pumps |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Return to the Learning Science With
Science Fiction Main Page