Rocket Project
Introduction:
For my rocket, I used two, two liter bottles. For the top bottle, I cut the bottom part of it off and glued it on top of the bottom of the bottom bottle with a strong glue to ensure stability. On my wings, I used triangle shaped cardboard cut outs that were 9.5 inches long on the longest side. On many rockets that I have seen, triangle shaped wings were used. I figured that this would have best results for testing height. I cut a slit down the side of longest side of the cardboard so that there would be more area to glue onto the bottle. Then, I glued the wings onto the bottom bottle with the shortest end facing down. After that I used the cardboard for my cone and taped it with duct tape. I let the glue dry overnight, ready for launch off!
The variable that I decided to test was whether weight in the cone affected height of the rocket. I chose to test this variable because after building my initial design, in class we went over what affected height the most. One of these subjects discussed was whether weight in the cone affected height. I wanted to see whether center of gravity (the point at which the rocket is balancing evenly) affected height.
Original question: Does weight in the cone of a rocket affect its height?
Hypothesis: If the weight in the top of a rockets cone affects height, then when the weight in the cone is equal to weight in the bottom will get a further height because the weight distribution will allow the rocket to go further
because it is equal.
For my rocket, I used two, two liter bottles. For the top bottle, I cut the bottom part of it off and glued it on top of the bottom of the bottom bottle with a strong glue to ensure stability. On my wings, I used triangle shaped cardboard cut outs that were 9.5 inches long on the longest side. On many rockets that I have seen, triangle shaped wings were used. I figured that this would have best results for testing height. I cut a slit down the side of longest side of the cardboard so that there would be more area to glue onto the bottle. Then, I glued the wings onto the bottom bottle with the shortest end facing down. After that I used the cardboard for my cone and taped it with duct tape. I let the glue dry overnight, ready for launch off!
The variable that I decided to test was whether weight in the cone affected height of the rocket. I chose to test this variable because after building my initial design, in class we went over what affected height the most. One of these subjects discussed was whether weight in the cone affected height. I wanted to see whether center of gravity (the point at which the rocket is balancing evenly) affected height.
Original question: Does weight in the cone of a rocket affect its height?
Hypothesis: If the weight in the top of a rockets cone affects height, then when the weight in the cone is equal to weight in the bottom will get a further height because the weight distribution will allow the rocket to go further
because it is equal.
Change in weight added to cone affected the center of gravity
Center of gravity: 26 centimeters
Center of gravity: 27 centimeters
Center of gravity: 28 centimeters
Center of gravity: 33 centimeters
Procedure:
The variable that I was testing was whether weight added to the cone affected height. I tested this variable by adding some metal wire to the top to see if it would result in better height. I first step I took in collecting data was testing the original rocket with no added weight in the cone. Then I added some weight into the cone so that the weight on the top would be evenly distributed with the weight in the bottom (without water). After this, I added more weight (of the same material) to the cone so there was more weight in the top than in the bottom. I will perform one final test in which there is a significant difference in the center of gravity from the other tests to see if it would go higher than the other rockets with added weight. After each test, I collected data and created a data table and a graph (in the next section) to show height relationships.
Variables that I was able to keep constant include the following: 60 psi, shape of wings (9.5 inches long), shape and size of cone, water volume (1010 milliliters), and mass of the rocket without added weight (120.8 grams).
A variable that I was unable to keep constant was the weight I was adding to test my rocket. This was an error in my testing, but my graph still showed that with proper design, weight added to the cone does not affect height.
The variable that I was testing was whether weight added to the cone affected height. I tested this variable by adding some metal wire to the top to see if it would result in better height. I first step I took in collecting data was testing the original rocket with no added weight in the cone. Then I added some weight into the cone so that the weight on the top would be evenly distributed with the weight in the bottom (without water). After this, I added more weight (of the same material) to the cone so there was more weight in the top than in the bottom. I will perform one final test in which there is a significant difference in the center of gravity from the other tests to see if it would go higher than the other rockets with added weight. After each test, I collected data and created a data table and a graph (in the next section) to show height relationships.
Variables that I was able to keep constant include the following: 60 psi, shape of wings (9.5 inches long), shape and size of cone, water volume (1010 milliliters), and mass of the rocket without added weight (120.8 grams).
A variable that I was unable to keep constant was the weight I was adding to test my rocket. This was an error in my testing, but my graph still showed that with proper design, weight added to the cone does not affect height.
Data
Rocket graph and scatter plot:
file:///home/chronos/u-6d3718924c1fc72a7bb0bc432c73a4ba4ea08e79/Downloads/RocketGraphandScatterPlot.pdf
I collected my data by testing my rocket a total of 4 different times (not including final test) and measured both hang time and angle to find height. After collecting this data and finding the height of each test using basic trigonometry ( tan[angle of elevation]=h/d ) I discovered that my data collected was not properly executed. Not having enough time to conduct even more tests, I relied on my hang time data, which showed the relationships between weight in cone and distance traveled better.
Rocket graph and scatter plot:
file:///home/chronos/u-6d3718924c1fc72a7bb0bc432c73a4ba4ea08e79/Downloads/RocketGraphandScatterPlot.pdf
I collected my data by testing my rocket a total of 4 different times (not including final test) and measured both hang time and angle to find height. After collecting this data and finding the height of each test using basic trigonometry ( tan[angle of elevation]=h/d ) I discovered that my data collected was not properly executed. Not having enough time to conduct even more tests, I relied on my hang time data, which showed the relationships between weight in cone and distance traveled better.
Conclusion
My original hypothesis has proven to be incorrect. Throughout my testing process and my data collected, the data collected has proven that with proper design, weight added to the cone will not affect the rockets height. An error that I made in my experiment was the fact that I wasn't adding the same amount of weight to the cone each time. Instead I added random amounts of metal to the cone, resulting in varied outcomes. I would recommend to anyone who would test this variable to add specific amounts of weight each time for better results. After doing multiple tests, I discovered that the amount of weight that I was adding was not enough to show a dramatic change in height so I improved my design hoping in better results. From data collected, it proved that maybe if even more weight was added to the cone than I had already done, I would have achieved better results. My recommendations to other students would be that the longer the rocket, the better the results. Also, make sure you have a cone and perform as many tests as you can for the best results for exhibition day.
My original hypothesis has proven to be incorrect. Throughout my testing process and my data collected, the data collected has proven that with proper design, weight added to the cone will not affect the rockets height. An error that I made in my experiment was the fact that I wasn't adding the same amount of weight to the cone each time. Instead I added random amounts of metal to the cone, resulting in varied outcomes. I would recommend to anyone who would test this variable to add specific amounts of weight each time for better results. After doing multiple tests, I discovered that the amount of weight that I was adding was not enough to show a dramatic change in height so I improved my design hoping in better results. From data collected, it proved that maybe if even more weight was added to the cone than I had already done, I would have achieved better results. My recommendations to other students would be that the longer the rocket, the better the results. Also, make sure you have a cone and perform as many tests as you can for the best results for exhibition day.