Bottle Rocket
In this short project we broken into partners of our choise. We could make anything as long as it was scientific and had some interesting physics behind it. My partner and I decided that we wanted to make a bottle rocket. We made our rockets with a water bottle, Then attached about four inches off the top of another bottle, to make our rocket more aerodynamic. The last thing that we did was attach small wings to our rockets to keep them in line up in the sky. We tested three bottle sizes and concluded that the middle size worked the best. The big 2liter bottle was too heavy, but our 8oz bottle just was taken by a small breeze. instead of using a bike pump our group decided to use an air cannon for maximum velocity and height.
Parts:
-Water Bottles
-Ducktape
-Hot glue
-Electrical tape
-Assorted pieces of pipe
-10 gallon air tank
-Air valve
-Wire
-Switch
-Power supply
How it works:
1.The air compressor fills the 10 gallon air tank with air, we installed this air tank so we have "on demand air"
2. The switch is flipped activating the magnet in the air valve which allows air to flow through the valve.
3. The air travels through the pipes and into the bottle where it has no where else to go so it propels the bottle outward.
Physics:
Height rocket traveled: y=0.5 x 9.8 x 3^2=44.1 feet= 13.441
Rocket speed: y=13.441/3=4.480 m/s
Rocket drag:
-No cone: 100% drag, 0% friction
-Cone: 90% drag, 10% friction
Mechanical advantage of air tank: We don't know the exact number but we know that it gives a faster burst of air which fills the rocket with more air faster= more velocity
-Water Bottles
-Ducktape
-Hot glue
-Electrical tape
-Assorted pieces of pipe
-10 gallon air tank
-Air valve
-Wire
-Switch
-Power supply
How it works:
1.The air compressor fills the 10 gallon air tank with air, we installed this air tank so we have "on demand air"
2. The switch is flipped activating the magnet in the air valve which allows air to flow through the valve.
3. The air travels through the pipes and into the bottle where it has no where else to go so it propels the bottle outward.
Physics:
Height rocket traveled: y=0.5 x 9.8 x 3^2=44.1 feet= 13.441
Rocket speed: y=13.441/3=4.480 m/s
Rocket drag:
-No cone: 100% drag, 0% friction
-Cone: 90% drag, 10% friction
Mechanical advantage of air tank: We don't know the exact number but we know that it gives a faster burst of air which fills the rocket with more air faster= more velocity
Reflection
Overall, this was a very successful project. I really enjoyed this project, because we were not being guided by anyone else. We where set free to do what we wanted with our rockets. The only downside to that freedom, is that we did not manage our time well at the beginning, but it all worked out great in the end!