Title: Intro to Water Bottle Rockets

LT: I will be able to design a water bottle rocket that uses force

generated by air pressure and water to

make vertical flight.

Read and Record the Following…

Project Outline• You will work as a group of FOUR to design a water

bottle rocket.• You will have to research the function and basic

design of water bottle rockets.• You will consider the affects of friction and forces,

Newton’s Three Laws of Motion, rocket stability and the rocket’s ability to accelerate in your design.

• You will build a water bottle rocket.• YOUR MISSION: Design, build and test a water bottle

rocket that will gain maximum altitude when fired.

Project Timeline:

• 11/4: Project Guidelines and Intro Notes to Rocketry• 11/5: Research Day – How Rockets Function• 11/6: Research Day – Individual Parts Function and

Design• 11/7: Design Rocket, Write Launch Plan• 11/10: Build Rocket, Test Rocket, Adjustments• 11/11: Launch Rocket #1• 11/12: Launch Rocket #2• 11/13: Data Analysis and Reteach• 11/14: Unit Final

Intro to Rocketry

• Read and Record Notes in your Science Notebook.

• Include diagrams!• Make note of VOCABULARY and REVIEWED

concepts.

Basic Design and Function of Water Bottle Rockets

Basic Design and Function of Water Bottle Rockets

Parts of a Water Bottle Rocket

• BODY: Holds water and pressurized air; Shape, size, length etc… will affect drag on rocket

• NOSE CONE: affects drag on rocket• FINS: location and size affect stability of

rocket’s path• PARACHUTE: *optional; affects deceleration of

rocket on return• NOZZLE: water in, pressure in, water out

The Science Behind it…

Rocket Motion - THRUST

• Rocket motors generate push, or “thrust,” by expelling a propellant out of the nozzle.

• NEWTON’S 3rd LAW explains the motion created by thrust.– Exhaust pushes

downward, thrust is the opposite push upward!

Thrust and Acceleration

• The greater the “thrust,” the faster your rocket will accelerate.

• NEWTON’S 2ND LAW supports this statement.– When a net, or excess, force is applied to an

object, it will accelerate in the direction of the force.

– Force (thrust) = Mass x AccelerationOr we can write it as:Acceleration = Force ÷ Mass

Rockets and Acceleration

• Will the rocket accelerate faster at the beginning of flight or later? Why?

Forces Acting on Water Rockets

• Aerodynamics– Lift and Drag (Air Resistance)

• Thrust Force– upward push– CONCEPT: How much pressure and water

needed? MAX pressure?• Weight Force:– Overall mass of the rocket parts– Acts through the center of gravity on

rocket– Affects the stability

Drag

• Two advantages of having a rocket with low air drag are:

• Your rocket achieves faster speeds and higher altitudes.

• Fuel consumption decreases. In the case of your rocket, all the fuel (water) will be used anyway. But with low air drag, the fuel will be used more efficiently (less water per meter of altitude).

Tomorrow:

• You will continue your research and understanding of rocketry concepts using an online forum.

• Be prepared to compare notes with online tasks and to include ADDITIONAL information.