Last Updated 5/20/13
ROcket Project
Newton's Laws and Rockets!
1st Law: When a rocket is lifting off from the launch pad, it is because the thrust exceeds the force that is keeping the rocket in place (weight of the rocket and payload caused by Earth's gravity). The thrust of the rocket engine (the combination of pressure and water) is greater than the weight of the rocket and the net force accelerates the rocket away from the pad. This reflects Newton's First Law of Motion, which states that an object at rest will stay at rest as long as no unbalanced force is applied.
2nd Law: When a rocket is being launched, there are two forces acting on it. One is the weight of the rocket, the force generated by the gravitational attraction of Earth on the rocket. The second is thrust, the force that moves the rocket. In general, the heavier the rocket, the more thrust needed to get if off the ground. The amount of thrust is determined by the mass of rocket propellant (water) that is combusted, creating exhaust, and the speed at which the exhaust is vented from the rocket. Newton's Second Law of Motion comes into play here, as force (thrust) = mass x acceleration. Tins formula can also be used to determine the rate at which a rocket accelerates, because acceleration = force/mass. 3rd Law: The movement of the high-speed exhaust in one direction propels the rocket in the opposite direction. This is Newton's Third Law of Motion in action; for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. |
Rocket Project Reflection
The “Rocket Project” has deepened our understanding of physics and has added to our knowledge base in general. Our rocket was built on a solid foundation of logic. However, the exhibition did take away from the overall performance of the rocket and could have gone a little more smoothly. It also appears that everyone had some form of setback or flaw that took away from their launch.
The Sexy Love Flower was originally built with a parachute idea to work like a whirlybird and spin back to the earth from the heavens. However, after the first test launch, it was concluded that the idea was to complicated to be carried out with only plastic bottles and Plexiglas. After re-examining our design, the Sexy Love Flower 2 was born. This rocket had fins for stabilization at both the top and bottom, with a parachute that uses air resistance as a launching mechanism. This rocket was also smaller in diameter, which helps with distance (longer the rocket, the farther it goes). Although the design was originally flawed, the result was a piece of beauty to its developers. Due to some unforeseen conditions, the exhibition had some flaws and could have gone smoother. The main factor was the wind; however, that particular variable can not be controlled. The other problem was the organization. Most people didn’t know when it was their turn, and if they did, the parachutes or water weren't prepared. A way to fix this problem would be to fill up the rockets with water, cap off the bottom, and fold up the parachutes before observers even started to appear. We could also line the rockets up in consecutive order as well. The final factor that took away from the exhibition was the human error of loading the rockets. During the process, the rockets were dented, water was spilled, and parachutes came undone. A very advanced solution would be to build a self-loading robot that will preform this function without fault. This idea is rather far-fetched, but is still a nice concept. If these problems are eliminated, then the rocket launch would be almost as eventful as those done by NASA. Both during and after the launch, I have observed that there are some designs that have great potential, but need some work. The best design idea for the parachute was the umbrella. The only problem is that there wasn't enough friction to deploy the umbrella. A fix for this might be when the rocket runs out of propellant, it jettisons its fuselage, which has a string attached. When this string is pulled tight by the weight of the chamber, it releases a latch that then opens the umbrella. Another outstanding design idea was to use the fins to act as a parachute, so the rocket floats to the earth horizontally. However, the fins should be on both the top and bottom of the rocket, not just the bottom. In general, the overall thought-process of rocket creation and how rockets work adds to our knowledge base. During the after-match of the exhibition, I believe that our winning rocket still has room for improvement. The major aspect of the rocket that would be changed would be the parachute deployment. The nose cone needs to be more top heavy to keep from deploying early. Another part that would be changed is the fin design for better equilibrium. Currently, even the slightest breeze will tilt the rocket. This is one of the main contributing factors to why the rocket didn't go higher. Stronger fins could solve this problem. However, the use of stronger bottles would have improved the integrity of the rocket, but would also have added additional weight, which would have compromised the height and speed of the rocket. Finally, after some reflection, we believe that The Sexy Love Flower 2 was well built and designed because of its outstanding flight in below-par weather and launching conditions. We believe that all of the rockets in the experiment have great potential, but there is always some kind of flaw or setback that should have been fixed before launch (including ours). |