Straw Rockets Shaw STEM Lab 2015

What You’ll Learn The SI system of measurement Accuracy vs. Precision How to calculate speed Basics about rocketry

SI Base Units SI is an abbreviation for Système International or International System The base units of SI are Meter for Length Kilogram for Mass Second for Time Kelvin for Temperature

Accuracy & Precision Precision is how close two or more measurements are to each other Accuracy is how close you are to a standard or measurement Precision is independent of accuracy

Questions Cite the SI base units for length, volume, mass, and time. Compare and Contrast accuracy and precision.

Do It & Research Gather your materials Two (2) drinking straws each Index card(s) Clay (don’t let it dry out!) Tape Ruler Scissors Pencil

Do It & Research Build your rockets All of your rockets should be different. Determine what fin shape, number of fins, rocket length and nose cone shape you want to use. Draw your chosen fin shape on an index card, drawing as many fins as you wish to have on your rocket. Cut out the fins.

Do It & Research Build your rockets Cut the straws to the desired length with scissors; the straw serves as the rocket body. Cut a piece of tape the length of the edge of the fin that is to be connected to the rocket body. Place the tape on the edge of one fin. Repeat this for all fins. Attach the fins so they are evenly spaced around the straw. Carefully trim off any excess tape.

Do It & Research Build your rockets Knead the clay to soften it, and carefully shape the clay to match your nose cone design. Don’t let excess clay dry out! Press the nose cone on top of the straw rocket body. Some of the clay should go inside the straw rocket body. The outside edge between the straw and the nose cone should be sealed carefully with the clay.

Do It & Research Build your rockets After all of your rockets are assembled, find the mass of each of the rockets. Be sure to record this information.

Time for lift off! Check out the Straw Rocket Launcher, stop watch and a meter tape.

Caution! When caring the straw rocket launcher, carry it from the base with two hands!

Time for lift off! Ask to go into the hallway to test your rockets Be sure to be respectful while in the hallway Stretch the meter tape out (you don’t need to stretch it all the way), place the end of the meter tape at the end of the launcher.

Time for lift off! Place one rocket on the launcher. Adjust the launch angle to 15 degrees. Raise the white plunger to 30 centimeters and release. Measure, in seconds, how long the rocket is in the air. Measure in meters how far your rocket traveled (no rounding, two decimal places!) Record your information in a table (example shown on the next slide).

Plunger Height (centimeters) Speed (Distance/Time) Time for lift off! Launch Angle Plunger Height (centimeters) Distance (meters) Time (seconds) Speed (Distance/Time) 15 30 45 50 65

Time for lift off! Repeat the procedure from slide 12 with the rest of your rockets. Be sure to fill in a new data table for each rocket!

Time for lift off! Repeat the procedure from slide 12 with a plunger height of 45 centimeters. Be sure to fill in a data table for each rocket you launch.

Questions & Research Summarize in at least five (5) sentences the results of your rockets. Describe in another five (5) sentences which rocket performed the best and why.