Name ____________________________________
Date ___________________
Rocket Launch
READ ME FIRST (I’m An Introduction)
During the next two days, you will be constructing a rocket and launching it in order
to investigate projectile motion. The lab will be divided into two days. During the
first day, you and your group will construct your rocket. We will be talking about
different aspects of engineering design that you can use in the creation of your rocket. On
the second day, we will be going outside and launching each group’s rocket. You will take
data on the launch, and then there will be several calculations to complete at the end of the
lab. Finally, you will draw conclusions about your overall design based on the success of
your launch.
SUPPLIES
The following is a list of supplies that you and your group will need to construct and
launch your rocket.
Day 1 (Rocket Construction)
• One (1) 2-liter bottle
• Cardboard
• Duct tape
• Clear packing tape
• Scissors
• Other material(s) you choose to use in your rocket construction
Day 2 (Rocket Launch)
• Your rocket
• Launching device
• Angle measuring device
• Tape measure
• Stopwatch
Caution: The launching device creates a pressure of 75psi in the rocket. It could explode,
so it’s important to stand clear (20-30 feet back) of the launching device at all times.
YOUR GROUP
Record the names of the other members in your group.
2) ________________________________________________________
3) ________________________________________________________
4) ________________________________________________________
1
Day 1 Activities
Rocket Construction
ENGINEERING DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Before you begin rocket construction, let’s talk about some different engineering
design principles that you’ll need to think about when constructing your rocket.
Wings and Fins
Most of the time, wings and fins are used for stabilization during
the flight of an object. Think about a hand glider. What would
happen to it if it didn’t have the wings?
Rounded Corners
What makes something more aerodynamic?
Do sharp, boxy edges make something more
aerodynamic, or do sleek, curved lines help
reduce wind resistance on an object? Think
about how new cars compare to older models.
Given that we know more about drag and
aerodynamic design now, how will you
incorporate this into your rocket?
Nose Cone
On every rocket, plane, and space shuttle you see, you’ll find a nose cone. This
cone is basically just a point on the top of the rocket. Like rounded corners, the
nose cone reduces wind resistance. Since it’s at the top of the rocket, this helps
the rocket fly higher and straighter than it would with a flat nose. Think about
how you could design a nose cone for your rocket.
Aesthetics
In the real world, aesthetics of an object matter. It’s hard to get funding for something that
looks like it will fail, and you should keep this in mind when designing your rocket. Pretend
that you’re making a scale model of something that could be in production for NASA. You
want the money, so you had better make it look nice.
Weight
If an object is too heavy, it will never leave the ground. It’s a simple concept, but pay
attention to the weight you’re adding to your rocket when you attach materials. Also, pay
2
Day 1 Activities
Rocket Construction
Now you’re ready to begin your rocket design and construction! Use the blank space on this
page to draw a rough sketch (it doesn’t have to be anything fancy) before you begin construction.
Make sure to pay attention to the grading rubric while you’re designing and constructing your
rocket. You will be grading yourself against this rubric when you finish.
ROCKET DESIGN
3
Day 1 Activities
Rocket Construction
After you and your team have finished the construction of your rocket, you need to grade
yourself against the grading rubric (found on the next-to-last page of this packet). Look at the
sections for Participation and Design, and assign yourself a value from 4 (the highest) to 0 (the
lowest). Use the grading rubric to determine what value you should get. Also, write a brief explanation of why you deserve that particular grade. You should only have grades (values)
from 0 to 4 - no other numbers.
I will also be grading you on this rubric, and I will take the grade you gave yourself into consideration when grading your labs.
(Leave the Rocket Launch section blank for now. We’ll do that tomorrow.)
Section
Grade (Value)
Why?
Participation
Design
Rocket Launch
4
Day 2 Activities
Rocket Launch
It’s time to launch your rocket! The launch pad will already be set-up for you, but when it’s time
for you to launch your rocket, you will need the following items:
•
•
•
•
Your rocket
Angle measurement device
Stopwatch
Tape measure
For groups of four, each member will have a job. If you have a smaller group, some members
will have to do two jobs. Record which members of your group are assigned to which job.
JOB
DESCRIPTION
GROUP MEMBER
Launcher
Responsible for operating the air pump and launching
the rocket
Distance
Measurer
Use the tape measure to measure how far the rocket
traveled from the launch pad
Angle
Measurer
Use the angle measurement device to read the angle
of the rocket when it reaches the apex (highest point)
of its flight
Timer
Use the stopwatch to time the length of the entire
flight
5
Day 2 Activities
Rocket Launch
Use the diagram below to record your measurements during the rocket launch. The table tells
you what each variable means, and it tells you if it’s a measured quantity or a calculated quantity.
VARIABLE
WHAT IT IS
MEASURED / CALCULATED
hp
Height of the person using the angle measuring
device
Measured
hm
Height of the triangle shown in the diagram
Calculated
θ
Angle from person using the angle measuring device to the rocket at its apex
Measured
dp
Distance from the person using the angle measuring device to the rocket launch pad
Measured
dx
Total horizontal distance of the rockets flight
Measured
dy
Vertical height achieved by the rocket
Calculated
θL
Angle at which the rocket was launched
Calculated
t
Total time the rocket was in flight
Measured
Apex of flight
t = _________
hm = _________
dy = _________
θ = _________
hp = _________
θL = _________
dp = _________
dx = _________
Launch pad
6
Day 2 Activities
Calculations (Basic)
Now that you have your data, let’s work on the calculations. Make sure to go back to Page 4
and grade yourself on the launch of your rocket! Do that now.
CALCULATION OF hm
Since you know the triangle is a right triangle, use your trig rules to calculate hm. Since you
know θ and can calculate the base of the triangle, you can find hm. Show you work below,
then record the value on your picture.
Hint: To find the length of the base of the triangle, you need to add dp to something...maybe
half of something you measured...
CALCULATION OF dy
You can now find dy (the maximum height reached by the rocket). Show you work below,
then record the value on your picture.
7
Day 2 Activities
Calculations (Vectors)
Remember vectors? Well, they’re back!
vy
vx
THE HORIZONTAL COMPONENT (vx)
The formula for the horizontal vector component is below. Use it to calculate vx.
vx =
dx
t
THE VERTICAL COMPONENT (vy)
The formula for the vertical vector component is below. Use it to calculate vy.
Remember that g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s2 or 32.0 ft/s2).
dy −
vy =
1 ⎛1 ⎞
g ⋅⎜ t⎟
2 ⎝2 ⎠
⎛1 ⎞
⎜ t⎟
⎝2 ⎠
8
2
Day 2 Activities
Calculations (Vectors)
vy
vx
Now use vector addition (and the picture below) to find v (the launch vector of the rocket).
Notice how vy has been moved to the head of vx (allowing you to do head-to-tail vector analysis).
Hint: It’s a right triangle, so you know what to do to find v...
v
vy
θL
vx
Now calculate the launch angle, θL, using the formula below.
⎛
⎜ v
θ L = tan −1 ⎜ y
⎜1v
⎜ x
⎝2
9
⎞
⎟
⎟
⎟
⎟
⎠
Day 2 Activities
Think About Some Things
In order to use the formulas you used to calculate dy and dx, you had to make some assumptions about the experiment. List some (two or more) of the assumptions that you made.
Hint: Think about how the flight path looks. What shape is it?
Your rocket design contributed heavily to how well your rocket flew. List some good things
about your design (things that helped your rocket fly well).
List some things about your design you would improve if you were to do this experiment again.
10
• Incorporated all engineering design
principles (wings, nose cone, rounded
edges, etc.) into the rocket design
• Paid attention to aesthetics
• High creativity (used materials in
unique ways or used uncommon
materials)
• Incorporated all engineering design
principles (wings, nose cone, rounded
edges, etc.) into the rocket design
• Some attention to aesthetics
• Some creativity
• Some engineering design
principles used in the rocket
design
• No attention to aesthetics
• Some creativity
• Little to no engineering design
principles used in the rocket
design
• No attention to aesthetics
• No attempt at creativity
• Successful launch (displays parabolic
trajectory)
• Successful launch (no parabolic
trajectory)
• Unsuccessful launch due to
unforeseeable events (not due to poor
design)
• Unsuccessful launch due to poor
construction (rocket stuck to
launcher or blew-up on launch
pad)
• Unsuccessful launch due to poor
design (rocket stuck to launcher or
blew-up on launch pad)
•
•
•
•
• All work shown
• Correct equations used
• Some incorrect answers due to math
mistakes
• Proper significant digits
• Some work shown
• Some incorrect equations used or
equations used incorrectly
• Incorrect answers
• Some answers are not to proper
significant digits
•
•
•
•
All work shown
Correct equations used
Correct answers
Proper significant digits
• Able to correctly identify and use
physics concepts
• Able to correctly interpret results of
launch
• Able to correctly draw conclusions
based on the rocket design
Little to no work shown
Many incorrect equations used
Many incorrect answers
Little to no answers are to proper
significant digits
• Able to correctly identify and use
• Able to correctly identify and use • Able to identify and use little or
physics concepts
some physics concepts
no physics concepts
• Able to correctly interpret most results • Able to correctly interpret some
• Not able to correctly interpret the
of the launch
results of the launch
results of the launch
• Able to correctly draw conclusions
• Able to draw some conclusions
• Not able to draw conclusions
based on the rocket design
based on the rocket design
based on the rocket design
ROCKET LAUNCH GRADING RUBRIC
Incomplete
• Actively involved in the construction • Participated in the construction of the • Participated in some of the
• Didn’t actively participate in the
of the rocket
rocket some
construction of the rocket, but was construction of the rocket and was
off-task
often off-task
• Worked with the rest of the group as a • Worked with the rest of the group as a
• Worked with the rest of the group • Didn’t work well with the rest of
team
team
some
the group
0
Incomplete
1
Poor (2 pts)
Incomplete
2
Mediocre (4 pts)
Incomplete
3
Good (7 pts)
Incomplete
Physics
Concepts
Calculations
Rocket
Launch
Design
Participation
4
Excellent (10 pts)
GRADE SHEET
Below is a breakdown of your grade for this lab. Notice that I have included the grade you assigned to yourself for comparison. Don’t write anything on this sheet!
Section
Grade You
Gave Yourself
Participation
Design
Rocket Launch
Calculations
Physics Concepts
Final Grade (out of 50)
11
Your Actual
Grade
Activity Feedback
Please complete the following questions.
Do not write your name anywhere on this sheet. Your answers to these questions do
not affect your grade and will not be associated with your name in any way.
What did you like the most about today’s activity?
What did you like the least about today’s activity?
How interested are you in engineering? (circle one)
Very Interested
Somewhat Interested
No Interest At All
Not Sure
How has this activity affected your interest in engineering? (circle one)
Increased
No Change
Decreased
How much did you learn today? (circle one)
A Lot
Some (Little)
Nothing New
Did this activity make you feel more confident about learning science? (circle one)
Definitely
Some
No
Not Sure
How do you feel about the following statement: “The STEP Fellow helped me to
understand the lesson in a positive and meaningful way.”
Strongly Agree
Agree
Not Sure
12
Disagree
Strongly Disagree