Part II: Survival of the Eggonaut

Q. How safely did the eggonaut land?
A. On both occasions, the parachutes of our rockets correctly deployed during their launch and the eggonauts landed safely with only minor cracks.

Egg I: Left 
Egg II: Right

Egg I: Left 

Egg II: Right

Part I: Height

Q. Did you reach the required height?
A. On both occasions, our rockets performed well in deploying the parachute for the eggonaut and reaching the required height of 50 feet or higher. While rocket I reached a height of 116.1 feet, rocket II reached a height between of 98.4 feet. 

Rocket I: practice launch day

 Rocket I: launch day (highest point)

 Rocket I: launch day (parachute)

Rocket II: launch day (highest point)

Part V: Calculations

Kinematic Formulas:

1. Calculate the height:

    a. Rocket I: 

• Acceleration: 4.9 m/s²
• Time: 3.8 seconds
• 1 meter = 3.28 feet 
• Y = Vi(t) + ½(a_v)(t²)
• Y = (0)(4.7) + ½(4.9)(3.8)²
• Y = 0 + 35.78
• Y = 35.37 ≈ 35.4 meters 
• Y = (35.4)(3.28) ≈ 116.1 feet
• Y = Vi(t) + ½(a_v)(t²)
• 116.1 = Vi(3.8) + ½(4.9)(3.8)²
• 3.8Vi = 97.18
• Vi = 11.9 ≈ 12 m/s

    b. Rocket II:

• Acceleration: 4.9 m/s²
• Time: 3.5 seconds
• 1 meter = 3.28 feet 
• Y = Vi(t) + ½(a_v)(t²)
• Y= (0)(3.5) + ½(4.9)(3.5)²
• Y = 0 + 30.0125 
• Y = 30.0125 ≈ 30 meters 
• Y = (30)(3.28) = 98.4 feet
• Y = Vi(t) + ½(a_v)(t²)
• 98.4 = Vi(3.5)  + ½(4.9)(3.5)²
• 3.5Vi = 38.37
• Vi = 10.96  ≈ 11 m/s
• For rocket I, the apex (highest point) was 115.8 feet. 
• For rocket II, the highest point was 98.4 feet.

2. Calculate the initial velocity:

    a. Rocket I: 

• Vi = 12 m/s

    b. Rocket II: 

• Vi = 11 m/s

3. Force body diagrams (free body diagrams):

    a. Rocket lifting off launch pad:

   b. Rocket at the highest point:

All Stages (ascent to descent):

Part III & IV: Report

I. Materials

• Four 2-L soda bottles (rocket chamber and ballast)
• Newspaper (inside of ballast/nose of rocket)
• Printer Paper (inside of ballast/nose of rocket)
• Styrofoam and balsa wood (fins)
• Blue and flaming duct tape 
• Garbage bags (parachute)
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• Wooden Ruler
• Marker
• Scissors 
• X-acto knife 
• Red paint spray

II. Procedures

• Procedure for rocket I:

1. Gather the materials.
2. Cut the bottom portion of one of the 2-L liter bottles to create the ballast.
3. Roll up newspaper balls and place them into the top half of the ballast as weight holders.
4. Push the bottom portion (cut piece) into the ballast on top of the newspaper balls.
5. Use small pieces of duct tape to secure the bottom portion in the ballast.
6. Connect the ballast with another 2-L soda bottle (chamber) and use small pieces of duct tape to secure the bottles.
7. Use a marker and draw 4 triangles (fin patterns) on the Styrofoam trays.
8. Cut the markings on the Styrofoam.
9. Place the 4 fins on the chamber (bottom half) of the rocket.
10. Then use the newspaper and printer paper to form the nose cone.
11. Fasten nose cone on the ballast with duct tape.
12. Launch the rocket.

• Procedure for rocket II:

1. Gather the materials.
2. Cut the bottom portion of one of the 2-L liter bottles to create the ballast.
3. Roll up newspaper balls and place them into the top half of the ballast as weight holders.
4. Push the bottom portion (cut piece) into the ballast on top of the newspaper balls.
5. Use small pieces of duct tape to secure the bottom portion in the ballast.
6. Connect the ballast with another 2-L soda bottle (chamber) and use small pieces of duct tape to secure the bottles.
7. Use a marker and draw 4 triangles (fin patterns) on the balsa wood.
8. Cut the markings on the wood.
9. Place the 4 fins on the chamber (bottom half) of the rocket.
10. Then use the newspaper and printer paper to form the nose cone.
11. Fasten nose cone on the ballast with duct tape.
12. Launch the rocket.

III. Results

• On launch day, both our rockets performed well in deploying the parachute for the eggonaut and reaching a decent height of 50 feet or higher. For rocket I, there were minor equipment malfunctions with the parachute, fins, and usage of cracked eggs. Nevertheless, the parachute of our first rocket deployed and the rocket reached around 60 feet. For rocket II, the launch was more successful with a smoother deployment of the parachute and a greater height. Despite beginning with a cracked egg, the rocket reached around 70 feet and the eggonaut safely landed on the ground. 

IV. Conclusions

• For the improvement of our rockets, we would have used a thicker and more balanced nose cone, preferably Easter eggs, which would have enabled our rocket to shoot further into the air and in a straight trajectory. Since the nose cone of rocket I was made of a light material (paper) and was not centered properly, it veered off to one side during its launch. For rocket I, we should have distributed the weight more evenly in order for it to go higher and straighter and used thicker material for the fins so that it shoots more steadily.

Launch Day: Rocket I & Rocket II

Before the launch:

Launch videos:

After the launch:

Newton's Third Law of Motion

   Written in 1686, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy was the work of Sir Isaac Newton's three basic laws of motion.
   In his first law, Newton states that every object remains at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force, which is commonly known as inertia. In other words, if there is no net force acting on an object, or all the external forces cancel each other out, then the object maintains a constant velocity and if that velocity is zero, then the object remains at rest. However, if the velocity is not zero, then the object maintains the same velocity and travels in a straight path. 
   While in motion, if a net external force is applied on the rocket, its velocity changes because of this force. For example, the liftoff of the rocket from the launch pad represents this principle because before its launch, the velocity of the rocket is zero and the rocket remains at rest, but as pressure builds up from the external force, the rocket begins to rise. As a result, the velocity (speed) of rocket increases under the acceleration produced by the external force. 

   Through the principles of Newton's third law of motion, the bottle rocket gets its lift from the built-up air pressure and the water pushing out of its tail (chamber), and the action force pushes the rocket up in the opposite direction (against the force of gravity), creating the reaction force and sending it into flight. 

The Building Process

General Procedure:

1. Gather the materials.
2. Cut the bottom portion of one of the 2-L liter bottles to create the ballast.
3. Roll up newspaper balls and place them into the top half of the ballast as weight holders.
4. Push the bottom portion (cut piece) into the ballast on top of the newspaper balls.
5. Use small pieces of duct tape to secure the bottom portion in the ballast.
6. Connect the ballast with another 2-L soda bottle (chamber) and use small pieces of duct tape to secure the bottles.
7. Use a marker and draw 4 triangles (fin patterns) on the material for the fins.
8. Cut the markings on the material.
9. Place the 4 fins on the chamber of the rocket.
10. Then use the newspaper and printer paper to form the nose cone.
11. Fasten nose cone on the ballast with duct tape.
12. Launch the rocket.

Slideshow:

  

Basic Information

Objective: 

• Design and build a rocket that will be launched into the air from the ground and bring an eggonaut back to Earth.

Directions:

• Choose your partners to work with (4 members in our group)
• You will have three weeks to complete this project

Tips:

• Lengthen the rocket to add stability during flight
• Experiment with various fin shapes 
• Create different body shapes
• Create a smooth body
• Do not use a hot glue gun
• Use small pieces of tape 
• Google "2-L rocket balloon egg" to get samples, ideas, and additional guidance

Materials:

• Four 2-L soda bottles (rocket chamber and ballast)
• Newspaper (inside of ballast/nose of rocket)
• Printer Paper (inside of ballast/nose of rocket)
• Styrofoam and balsa wood (fins)
• Blue and flaming duct tape 
• Garbage bags (parachute)
• 2 hard-boiled eggs 
• Exacto knife 
• Scissors
• Red paint spray

Rocket II: El Fuego

Description:

• 2-L liter soda bottle body 
• String and garbage bag parachute 
• 4 balsa wood fins
• Red spray paint over body (designed by Nate)

 

Alec preparing the rocket for launch.

Rocket I: Sharknado

Description:

• 2-L liter soda bottle body 
• String and garbage bag parachute 
• 4 Styrofoam fins 
• Chinese characters on the ballast and chamber of the rocket (designed by Robbie)

Basic Concepts

Diagram of bottle rocket: 

• Newton’s 1st Law - Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it. 
• This we recognize as Galileo’s concept of inertia, and this is often termed simply the "Law of Inertia."
• Newton’s 2nd Law – If an unbalanced (net) force acts on an object, that object will accelerate or decelerate in the direction of the force
• Newton’s 3rd Law – For every action force, there is an equal and opposite reaction force. A body at rest is considered to have zero speed (a constant speed).
• Any force that causes a body to move is an unbalanced force. Any force, such as friction, or gravity, that causes a body to low down or speed up, is an unbalanced force. This law can be shown by the following formula:
• Force = mass x acceleration 
• F = ma
• F is the unbalanced force (vector)
• m is the object’s mass (scalar)
• a is the acceleration that the force causes (vector)
• Force and acceleration are both vector quantities. In this law, the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector, thus the force and direction of the rocket are the same in two directions: when ascending into the air and descending to the ground.
• Vector Quantity: In accordance with Newton’s Second Law, a vector is a quantity that has two aspects. It has a size, or magnitude, and a direction. Force, acceleration, velocity, displacement, gravitational field, torque, electric, and magnetic fields are all examples of vectors.
• Scalar Quantity: This is a quantity that has only size and if a quantity has only a size, it is called a scalar. Mass, distance, speed, time, and temperature are all examples of scalars. 
• Visit this NASA website for more information:  http://exploration.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/newton1r.html

A Day in the Lab: III

Nate adjusting the parachute for rocket I.

Bottom half of rocket I.

Bottom half of rocket II.

A Day in the Lab: II

Test Run I

A Day in the Lab: I

Nate cutting the Styrofoam fins for rocket I.

Go...Go...Rocket Project

Purpose: Our objective is to demonstrate how various forces affect rocket projectiles in free-fall motion and to verify our results using applied physics formula and conceptual understanding.