1. Section 1: The Science of Rockets How were rockets developed? How does a rocket work? What is the main advantage of a multistage rocket?

2. History of Rockets Rocket technology originated in China hundreds of years ago (the 1100’s) and gradually spread to other parts of the world.

3. Development of Modern Rockets Modern rockets were first developed in the early 1900’s and made major advances in WWII. The military used them to carry explosives.

4. How Do Rockets Work? A rocket moves forward when gases shooting out the back of the rocket push it in the opposite direction.

5. Thrust- the amount of reaction force that propels a rocket forward. Velocity-speed in a given direction

6. Velocity Orbital velocity- the velocity a rocket must achieve in order to establish and orbit around Earth Escape velocity-the velocity a rocket must reach to fly beyond a planet’s gravitational pull

7. Types of Rocket Fuel Solid-dry explosive material mixed with O2 Liquid-liquid form and more easily controlled Ionic-weaker and don’t burn fuel. They expel ion at high speeds

8. Rocket Altitude A rocket’s altitude is how high it is above the ground. Use the graph to answer the following questions about how a model rocket’s altitude changes over time.

9. Rocket Altitude – Altitude and time, meters and seconds Reading Graphs: – What two variables are being graphed? In what unit is each measured?

10. Rocket Altitude – About 65 meters; about 128 meters Reading Graphs: – What was the rocket’s altitude after 2 seconds? After 4 seconds?

11. Rocket Altitude – 6 seconds Reading Graphs: – At what time did the rocket reach its greatest altitude?

12. Rocket Altitude – The rocket’s inertia caused it to continue to rise after its fuel ran out. Eventually friction caused the rocket to slow down and gravity caused it to fall Inferring: – Why do you think the rocket continued to rise after it ran out of fuel?

13. A Multistage Rocket A typical multistage rocket has three stages. Each of the first two stages burns all of its fuel and then drops off. The next stage then takes over.

14. Saturn V

15. End of Section: The Science of Rockets