Rocket+Lab+Report

=Physics 30- Rocket Lab = Purpose:

=
Our Physics class is to design a homemade rocket, made out of household items. We will design our own rocket, using a rocket engine, observe and record our data. The purpose of this experiment is to gain knowledge on vector's and dynamics, using the concepts we learned in class.=====

Hypothesis:
Our hypothesis is that our rocket will launch, and the time up will be approximately five seconds up and five seconds down at a 90 degree angle if there was no breeze.

We were given a timeline of three class periods (three hours), plus the extended time outside of school. In this time we were expected to complete a homemade rocket, a wiki, and a typed lab report.
__**October 22nd, 2010**__
 * planned out materials that would be needed
 * bought and collected materials


 * __October 24th, 2010__**
 * shaved paint roller

__**October 25th, 2010**__
 * traced and cut out fins
 * __October 26th, 2010__**
 * cut garbage bag to diameter of rocket


 * __October 27th, 2010__**
 * spray painted rocket tube and fins
 * shaped nose cone


 * __October 29th, 2010__**
 * painted nose cone and straws
 * made parachute attachments (sewing string)
 * glued fins to rocket
 * glued paper and waist-band together
 * connected waist-band to nose cone and rocket tube
 * glued painted straws to rocket tube


 * __November 3rd, 2010__**
 * painted glitter on rocket
 * attached parachute to waist-band string
 * put stickers and design on rocket
 * made rocket engine holder


 * __November 5th, 2010__**
 * made rocket sleeve
 * adjusted parachute
 * named rocket JACK


 * __November 10th, 2010__**
 * re-adjusted engine holder
 * taped straws

-oak plywood
-Sewing string -Grocery bag -Plastic straw -Elastic waist-band -Insulation -Paint (black & silver with glitter overtop) -tape -ruler -sandpaper -band saw -glue gun & sticks -pencil & paper

Modifications:
Originally our group planned to glue our straws to the rocket, however due to the type of paint we used on the straws the glue couldn't stay on, so we taped the pieces together instead to reassure that the straws wouldn't fall off.

**Procedure:**
Step One: We gathered our materials, and began to plan our project and structure, using examples from class, off the internet, and from other resources.

Step Two: We shaved the paint roller so only the hard cardboard underneath was left. Step Three: Using our rocket tube we calculated what 1/3 of the length would be (7 cm). We then took this measurement and designed our fins on a piece of oak plywood approximately (4x4).

Step Four: We took our oak plywood into the wood shop and cut out the wings using the band saw. We then took them to the sander and sanded them until they were the desired design.

Step Five: Next we took our insulation and cut and sculpted a nose cone that would fit into our tube but was also lose enough that it could come out on its own.



Step Six: We painted the tube, fins, nose cone and added sparkles and glitter



Step Seven: Next we made our parachute by cutting out a garbage bag the diameter of the tube of the rocket



Step Eight: We cut out five double threaded strings, and attached them to our parachute using a needle, then we tape over the hole where we attached the garbage bag and strings to prevent ripping.

Step Nine: Next we cut our waist-band string to the length of our rocket. We hot glued approximately 3 inches of paper to each end to prevent it coming apart when the explosion occurred inside. Then we glued each end to the tube and the nose cone.



Step Ten: Using foam and cardboard we cut out our rocket engine holder. We drew a circle on the foam using our rocket base as a tracer; we then cut it out. Next we traced a dime roller on the foam and cut that piece out. We repeated this process once more to get two circular pieces of foam. Then we repeated the process using the cardboard. Once we had two pieces of foam and two pieces of cardboard we glued one foam and one cardboard piece together (to help reinforce). We did this with both pieces of foam and cardboard.

Step Eleven: After we finished making the engine holder we proceeded to make the engine sleeve. To make the engine sleeve we took a dime roller and a unfolded paperclip. We stuck the paperclip through the top of the dime roller and bent a small piece of the end over using pliers. We then took the remaining part of the paperclip and ran it down the side of the dime roller until it reached the bottom. We then folded the paperclip over to help seal the engine in (when it was put in) and we cut off the excess material.

Step Twelve: After we finished making our engine holder and engine sleeve,we glued them into the bottom of our rocket. First we glued the rings into place then we put the dime roller in the hole and glued it into place.

Step Thirteen: We added the glitter and stickers to make our rocket complete.



Step Fourteen: Now it's time to test our rocket. We put our rocket engine in the engine sleeve and folded the paper clip overtop to secure it. Then we put the ignition in and a plug to hold it in place. Then we placed our rocket on a launch pad and our teacher hooked up the wires and blast off!

Observations/Results:
Trial One

Trial Two

Analysis:
We had no calculations for this lab, however we had some observations. Between trial one and trial two we observed that our rocket was successful in its launch. However, we found that our rocket didn't have a controlled take off or a proper deploy in trial one or two. Despite the fact that there was no proper recovery, our rocket remained undamaged.

Conclusion:
We applied the concepts we have been learning in class an expanded our learning to outside the classroom. Although our hypothesis was incorrect, we still managed to learn about vectors and dynamics and how weight and placement of parts can affect the results.

Source Of Error:
We had a slight wind on the day we blasted our rocket off, affecting the angle at which our rocket projected. Although human errors are not part of the source of error, please note that we were missing a magnet to test the angle of the rocket, and that there was no one recording the down time.