1. 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.

2. Read and Record the Following…

3. 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.

4. 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

5. Intro to Rocketry Read and Record Notes in your Science Notebook.
Include diagrams!
Make note of VOCABULARY and REVIEWED concepts.

6. Basic Design and Function of Water Bottle Rockets

7. Basic Design and Function of Water Bottle Rockets

8. 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

9. The Science Behind it…

10. 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!

11. 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 Acceleration

Or we can write it as:

Acceleration = Force ÷ Mass

13. Rockets and Acceleration
Will the rocket accelerate faster at the beginning of flight or later? Why?

14. 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

15. 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).

16. 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.