Project report

Rocket project

TO
Ms. Susan Alulod

BY
Green Man

Atitaya Jaroenpattanamongkol
Kaewkawee Pleumcharoen
Phu-fah Nontamongkoltorn
Pattranith Pattanaanunsuk
Warit Phakratchatanon
 Objective
The objectives of doing this experiment are to create a rocket that can be able to
launch to at least 20 meters and tried to hit the target.
To demonstrate how physics concepts is related to the launch of the rocket.

Materials

- 2 Litres bottle - Tape

- Poster colour - Corks
- Colour paper - Weight balance
- Crepe paper - Graduated cylinder
- Glue stick - Vinegar
- Scissor - Baking soda
- Paper cup - Tissue
- Decoration things : Glitter, plastic eyes - Paint brush
- Pipe - Card board
- Wood
Set-Up
 Introduction
Physics concepts are basically surrounding in everything around us. There are many
physics concepts that we can usually observed in our daily life. In this experiment, we
observed lots of physics concepts. For instance, aerodynamics, Newtons first-third laws of
motion, free fall, energy, measurements and etc. This experiment is called the rocket
experiment.We create, design the rocket and make a plan by ourselves. The rocket is in an
aerodynamic design. Aerodynamic the study of the motion of air, particularly it interaction
with a solid object, such as an airplane wing. So we adapt it to use in our rocket design by
creating wings and the head for the rocket. To make the rocket be able to launch, we use the
chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda.

Discussion of Physics concepts

1. Measurement : By creating a rocket and a laucher, the term measurement has
been used. We need to measure the accurate size of the bottles, wings and the head of the
rocket. The reason is because it will help to make a rocket balance and so on it will be able to
launch and hit the target.
2. Newtons laws of motion
a. Newtons first laws of motion, state that every object continues in a state of rest
unless acted by a nonzero net force. Before the rocket is going to launch, it remains at rest,
meaning that there is no force exerts on the rocket. But after, putting the baking soda into the
rocket, the chemical reaction begins to start and then the rocket start to rising. We observed
that the rocket is acted by a nonzero net force, in this case; the chemical reaction between
baking soda and vinegar.
b. Newtons second laws of motion state that the acceleration produced by a net force
on an object is directly proportional to the net force, is in the same direction as the net force,
and is inversely proportional to the mass of the object. It means that if the mass of the rocket
is double, the acceleration will be halved. if the net force acting on the rocket is double, the
acceleration will be double. By looking at the results, it is true. Comparing between the 1st
trial and 2nd trial, the one with more force (chemical reaction of baking soda and vinegar)
will has more acceleration than the one that has less, thus it makes the rocket launch farther.
c. Newtons third laws of motion state that, whenever one object exerts a force on a
second object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite force on the first, or in the
simple way is; To every action there is always an opposed equal reaction. In this experiment,
the reaction occurred is the chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda. The
chemical reaction(gas) inside the rocket wants to escape, so it creates a force that push the
rocket go straight forward and upward. Reaction is when the corks push the rocket backward
and it is an opposed equal reaction to the action.
 3. Linear motion : Things fall because of the force of the gravity. When a falling
object is free of all friction, air and falls under the influence of gravity, the object is
considered to be in a state of free fall. Free fall is observed in this experiment, as the rocket
launch, it goes straight forward and upward, and then comes back down. After that it falls
under the influence of gravity, it experience none of friction, the air resistance is negligible,
so we conclude that it is in the state of free fall.
4. Projectile: Projectile is the movement of an object in a curved path. In this
experiment, the rocket is launching in a curved path.
5. Impulse and momentum: Momentum is a vector quantity, means it has magnitude
and direction. Momentum is equal to mass x velocity. In this experiment, if the mass of the
rocket is huge, it will make the rocket go to the far distance, but if the mass of the rocket is
less, it wont go the far distance. It may falls before reaching the target. Impulse is the
product of force and time. It say that, the greater the impulse exerted on an object, the greater
change on momentum. In this experiment, if the force is huge, it will cause the change on
momentum, which affect the distance of the rocket.
6. Energy (work, power, KE, PE) These relate Energy is the property of a system that
enables it to do work. Work usually described as force x distance. In this experiment, the
reaction between baking soda and vinegar is described as a force. When the work is done, we
see that the rocket is launching and falling on the ground. How fast the work is done is
described by power. We can know how fast each work is done by divided work done with
time interval. In this experiment, the energy that stored inside the rocket and ready to
launched is a potential energy. The kinetic energy in this experiment is when the speed of the
rocket is increased and it is in a state of motion (launching straight forward and upward)
 Discussion of design

Our rocket is in a realistic, creative and aerodynamic style. The design was inspired
fromGreen Manin the Toy story movie. We create the wings to help the rocket go straight
forward to hit the target. The head of the rocket is made from paper cups, we also add clay
dough inside of it to make the head heavy enough to hit the target. For the launcher, we use
woods to create a 45 degrees angles and use pipes for carrying the rocket before its going to
launch.

To create the rocket, there are 7 steps which are :

1. Clean the 2 litres bottle neatly.

2. Use a poster colour to paint all over all the bottle.
3. Create the wings of the rocket by cutting the cardboard into the wing shape.
Use the poster colour to paint all over the wings.
4. Cut a crepe paper into a long-thin size, then attach it to the wings of the rocket
5. Use 4-5 paper cups to make a head of the rocket, by overlapping it together.
6. Add a play dough inside the head of the rocket.
7. Decorates the rocket beautifully.

To launch the rocket, there are 9 steps which are :

1. Prepare a rocket and a launcher.

2. Weight the vinegar and put it into the rocket.
3. Weight the baking soda, put it on the tissue and use tape to wrapped it
together.
4. Tape the cork with the tissue that contain baking soda.
5. Place a launcher on the ground.
6. Put baking soda into the rocket.
7. Press the cork tightly to the bottlenose.
8. Place the rocket on the launcher.
9. Wait for the chemical reaction begin to working.
 Data : mass of rocket :angle of propulsion :
distance covered

Design Accuracy Rocket Mass Baking Soda Vinegar Angle

Volume

3 0 65.99 g 67.16 g 500 mL 45

Analysis of data

From the data, our result is not as we hope for, because we didnt hit the target so our
score for accuracy is zero. This is our second trial, we hit the target nearest at 18 meters. The
reason why it didnt hit the target is because the amount of baking soda and vinegar is not
proper. Baking soda also leaking out of the tissue, thus it cause an error in the chemical
reaction. At that time, we didnt add the dough into the head of the rocket yet, so it might not
be heavy enough to launch the rocket to hit the target. Moreover, it is because of the direction
of the wind blow too.The direction of the wind blow makes our rocket falling outside of the
target. The angle of the launcher is 45 degrees which is considered as the best degree for
launching the rocket. If we use 90 degrees, our rocket will go straight upward instead of
going forward in a curved path. The mass of the rocket is 65.99 grams, which kinda heavy
but it is good because it can help the rocket go far without falling, but its still not heavy
enough even though, we add the play dough inside the head of the rocket.The amount of
baking soda and vinegar is 67.16 g and 500 ml respectively. We use a huge amount of
vinegar because our bottle is big (2 litres).
 Conclusion

From the experiment, we see that our result is not what we want, we didnt hit the
target at 20 metres. There are many error occurred in the experiment which are the chemical
are leaking out, the direction of the wind blow and also the air resistance.We observed that
many physics concepts is directly related to this experiment, as described in the discussion
part. By doing this experiment, it helps us to understand how physics can relate to almost of
everything around us. It helps us to use more critical thinking to creating a plan, find the way
to fix the errors and thinking how to find the best way to achieve our goal.

Recommendation

Next time, we should place the launcher in the right place, to make it hit the target.
Watching the direction of the wind blow, to find the best place to put the launcher. Calculate
the appropriate amount of baking soda and vinegar used to launch the rocket. Roll up and
stick the tissue tightly, to prevent the baking soda from leaking out. Make sure to press the
corks tightly with the bottle, to make a good chemical reaction between baking soda and
vinegar.
 References

https://recipes.sainsburys.co.uk/articles/fun-stuff/transform-a-bottle-into-a-rocket-in-6-easy-st
eps
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerodynamics