Rocket Lab Report

by
Claire Hillard
Written for Doug Hendrickss B2 Honors Physics Class
Academy for Math Engineering and Science

Hillard 2
Abstract
The height of multiple rockets was predicted mathematically, then the rockets were shot
and the actual height was calculated. These two results were compared. To accurately predict the
height, the thrust of the different engines was calculated as well as the drag coefficient. The final
height in the actual experiment was measured using a protractor and trigonometry. The heights
that were calculated mathematically, were very similar to the heights found in the real world
experiment. One rockets predicted height and actual height were exactly the same; they both
were found to be 63 meters high. The largest gap between the predicted and actual height was a
difference of 79meters; the predicted height was 184 meters and the actual height was 105
meters.
Introduction
The purpose of this lab was to give students a hands-on experience in Kinematics and
Dynamics; the topics theyd been studying up to now in their physics class. Kinematics and
Dynamics are two very important concepts in physics. Kinematics is the study of motion and
Dynamics is the study of forces and how they affect motion. The objective of this lab was to
fully understand and review these concepts. To do this, model rockets were shot and the
maximum heights the rockets were predicted, then calculated. There were many steps that went
into being able to accurately find these heights.
There are multiple types of model rocket engines, each with a different force and
impulse. These engines are labeled with a letter and a number, for example, C6 is one engine
type. The letter represents the impulse of the engine and the number represents the force. The
most common engine types are A, B, and C engines. An A engine has the lowest impulse of 2.5,
a B engine has an impulse of 5, and a C engine has an impulse of 10. The rockets that were shot
could have any of these types of engines, so the thrust of each needs to be calculated. The first
part of this lab involved shooting an unidentified engine and finding the force and impulse of it,
then determining the engine type. Impulse is equal to force multiplied by time. Momentum,
shortened as P, is the tendency for a moving object to continue moving. Momentum can be found
with the equation Momentum= Mass*Velocity. The impulse momentum theorem states that
FT=P. This equation will be derived later on in the lab.
When shooting rockets in the real world, it is necessary to account for the air resistance,
also known as drag. This makes a huge difference on how high a rocket will shoot. The drag
force is exactly what it sounds like; the amount of force that is acting on an object due to drag.
The equation for drag force that will be shown later is written as FdV2. To make this
proportionality into an equality, a constant is needed. This constant is known as the drag
coefficient and is written as kd. This constant is very important and was calculated for all of
the rockets in this experiment. The drag coefficient can only be found experimentally.
Before the rockets were shot, the heights were predicted mathematically. To do this,
an excel sheet was used to calculate the math that would take too long to do by hand. There
were too many things changing like the thrust and force to allow students to use one single
equation that would give an accurate prediction of the height of the rocket. To be more

Hillard 3
accurate the time was broken down into smaller chunks; this is called numerical iteration.
It was assumed that the forces during these smaller times was constant. This is not an
accurate assumption but it makes the math do able and does not have a huge impact on the
final results. The smaller the intervals are made, the more accurate the results become.
Once the heights were predicted, the rockets were shot and the heights were measured, and then
compared to the predicted ones.
Engine Thrust
The goal of this portion of the lab was to calculate how much thrust an engine puts out
every 0.1 second, because this will be used later on to find the height of the rocket. While doing
this, the unknown engine was identified by finding its impulse and average force. For this lab, a
car with a motor strapped to the top was sitting on a rail. Also on the railing, was a digital force
gauge that was connected to a calculator. On the calculator, the program data mate was used.
Having the gauge linked to a calculator made it easy to see and use the results. When they were
first connected, the calculator said there was some force in place when it shouldnt have, so the
gauge was zeroed.
Before the rocket engine could be shot, the calculator had to be set up to record the data.
To get the most accurate reading, a trigger was used. The trigger would make it so the calculator
would start recording the instant the numbers started to change. This removed the chance of error
due to human delay. The trigger was set to start when the gauge felt a force and to record data
every one-tenth of a second. Then it needed to be told how many points to record. These rocket
engines can shoot for anywhere between a half of a second and two seconds. Because the engine
type was not known, the calculator had to be ready to record for any amount of time. To make
sure it would cover any type of rocket, it was set to record for a total of three seconds. This
means there would be a total of thirty data points recorded. The trigger threshold was set to be
0.5 Newtons. To make sure no data was lost, a pre-store was set that recorded 10% of the data
before the start. Once all of this was set up, the test was done.
Doing the Test:

The setup of this lab is shown above. This lab was done outside for safety reasons and
because of the smell. To make sure everyone was safe and no one accidently lost any hands, the
engine was set up to be lit from a distance. To do this, an igniter that looked like a small wire,
bent into a V shape was place in the end of the engine. On the tip of the wire was a dot of

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phosphorus. Alligator clips were connected to the two ends of the igniter which made it possible
to send an electric current into the igniter from a battery. The electricity sparked the phosphorus
and lit the rocket engine. The first time the experiment was done, the rocket car derailed and fell
to the side which made our results unusable. The experiment was re-done and to prevent it from
going off course again, a string was tied around the car and engine. Unfortunately, the car still
twisted slightly but the results were close enough that they were kept. However, it should be
noted that this likely skewed the numbers and could be an area for slightly inaccurate results. It is
very likely that the numbers the come out will be slightly smaller than what is expected.
The Results:
Once the information was collected, the data was transferred onto everyones calculators.
Stat Plot was turned on so the graph would come up, then the Stat Fit feature was used to
adjust the graph window. The gauge that measured the force records pulling force as positive and
pushing force as negative. Because of this, the data came up as negative. The graph could be
used this way, it can be easier to understand if it is flipped it be positive in the Y direction. The
data was put into two lists; L1 and L2. To make the graph positive a new list was made, L3, and
made L3= -L2. This created the inverse of L2 and made the graph positive in the Y direction.

0.1
0.3
0.5
0.7
0.9
1.1
1.3
1.5
1.7

Force

Engine Thrust
15
10
5
0
-5

Time

Students were asked to identify the rocket engine based on the measured forces. Rockets
like this have a special labeling system in which the engines are named with a letter and a
number, for example, B8. The letter in the name represents the impulse of the engine, while the
number is the average force exerted by the engine. First, the impulse of the engine must be
found. Impulse= Force*Time. Notice that force and time are the axis of the graph. If
Area=Base*Height, then the area under the line is equal to the impulse. Unfortunately, finding
the area may not be as easy as it sounds; the graph isnt exactly an easy shape to find the area of.
However, an approximation can get very close by breaking up the shape into small rectangles as
shown.

Engine Thrust

12
10

Force

8
6
4
2
0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
-2

Time

1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7

Hillard 5
By breaking the shape into small rectangles, it becomes easy to find the area of the
rectangles and get an area very close to that of the odd shape. The approximate area under the
curve was 4.68Newton seconds. This number is the impulse, which means the letter of rocket
engine can be found. The average A engines impulse is 2.5NS, a B engines impulse is 5NS and
a C engines impulse is 10NS. The impulse found, 4.68NS, is closest to a B engine. The impulse
calculated is a little smaller than the average five, which is to be expected since the rocket did
not hit the gauge directly, after it twisted. To identify which type of B engine it was, the average
force must be found. The equation Impulse=FT can be used to find this force. The impulse and
the change in time are both known. Delta means the final minus the initial. The initial time is 0.3
seconds, because this is when the force starts increasing. The final time is 1.4 seconds. Now the
average force can be calculated. Impulse= FT can be rearranged to solve for F so the equation
reads:
F=Impulse/T
F= 4.68/ (1.4- 0.3)
F= 4.2545455
If this is rounded, it becomes 4 Newtons which is the number in the label. This means it
was a B4 rocket engine. Unfortunately the engine was actually a B6 engine. The numbers that
were calculated were smaller than they should have been. This is most likely because the rocket
car hit the gauge at an angle. It was expected that the number would be smaller, and this was
indeed the outcome.
Drag Force and Drag Coefficient
When a rocket is shot on earth, there is a large amount of air resistance, also known as
drag. In this experiment, the final goal is to estimate the height that a model rocket will reach
when shot. In order to find an accurate estimation of how high the rocket will shoot, the drag
force must be taken into consideration. Not accounting for drag, especially when the object
moves as fast as a rocket, can lead to very inaccurate results. To make sure the results are
realistic, it is necessary to find the drag force and the drag coefficient. These can be found by
placing the rocket that will be shot, into a wind tunnel and doing some calculations. There were
two rockets in this experiment. One rocket was slightly bigger than the other so it could not be
put into the wind tunnel and had to be calculated mathematically.
Finding the Drag Force and Drag Coefficient of the First Rocket:
An easy way to find the equation for drag force is to do an example. If a ball is hung from
a string and has wind blowing on it as shown below, it will be blown to some angle away from
the vertical. If the free body diagram is drawn, it is easy to see all of the forces acting on the ball.
If the drag force (Fd) is what is being looked for, Newtons Second Law can be used to solve for
it. Start in the X direction.

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Although this equation was derived from the ball example, it can be used in any case, for
example, the rocket. To find how high the smaller rocket will shoot, the drag coefficient must be
found. The drag coefficient, Kd has to be found experimentally. To do this the rocket was tied to
a string in a wind tunnel as shown below.

This wind tunnel blew at 34m/s when the rocket was inside it. One end of the tunnel had
a fan that created the wind. On either side of the tunnel that the rocket was in, was a honeycomb
pattern. This honeycomb design dispersed the wind so it blew as evenly as possible, preventing a
rough and uneven flow, known as turbulent flow. The smooth stream of air that was preferred is

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called laminar flow. If it werent for the honeycomb pattern, the flow would be very trubulant
and the rocket would shake a lot, making it difficult to get accurate results.
In this set up, the 0.061kg rocket was hung from a string so it was being suspended.
Inside the chamber with the rocket was a protractor. The rockets string hung straight up and
down in front of the protractor at 90 degrees. When the wind tunnel was turned on, the rocket,
just like the ball, moved to the side so the string pointed at a new angle.

The angle of the string when the wind was blowing was 30 degrees to the side of the
vertical. This angle was recorded with the human eye and may not be exact. This can only be
recorded with one significant figure. With this information, the drag coefficient of the rocket can
be found.
To find the drag coefficient, the drag force has to be found. The numbers that were
gathered in the wind tunnel can be put into the equation for drag force that was just derived.
Fd= mgtan
Fd= (0.061)(9.8)(tan(30))
Fd= 0.345N

This is only accurate to one significant figure, but it will not be rounded until the final

results are found.

To be able to find the drag coefficient, an equation that has been mathematically proven,
must be used. The original equation is written as a proportionality instead of an equality. To
make the equation an equality, a constant must be added. This constant is written as Kd, and is
known as the drag coefficient. This equation is then:

Fd= KdV2
Since all the numbers in this equation are known, except the coefficient, the equation needs to be
solved for the coefficient. This then becomes:

Fd
Kd= Kd2V2
V
It is now very easy to find the coefficient. Simply 2plug in the numbers.

Hillard 8
0.345
342
Kd= 0.00029
Kd=

Drag Coefficient of the small rocket = 0.0003

Finding the Drag Coefficient of a Larger Rocket:
The drag coefficient of this rocket was 0.0003. In the final experiment shooting the
rocket, a slightly larger rocket was also used. This rocket was too large to fit in the wind tunnel
but its drag coefficient can still be approximated. To find a ball park of what the drag coefficient
of the larger rocket will be, the upper and lower limits must be found. Two objects, one that has a
lower drag coefficient and one that has a larger drag coefficient, are needed. These two objects
can be the smaller rocket, whose drag coefficient was just found, and a ping pong ball. If a ping
pong ball and the larger rocket are viewed head on so they both look like circles, these circles
have almost the same diameter. The pointed shape of a rocket helps reduce its air resistance. A
ping pong ball is rounded, which makes its drag higher. Thus, the drag coefficient of the larger
rocket will be greater than the small rocket, but less than the ping pong ball. The ping pong ball
was tied to a string in a wind tunnel just like the rocket. The drag force was calculated the same
way as it was for the rocket. The ball weighed 0.0023kg and was pushed to an angle of 73
degrees when put in the wind tunnel. If these numbers are plugged into the drag force equation,
the result is a force of 0.0737N. The wind speed in the wind tunnel was not the same as it was
when the rocket was inside the tunnel, because 34m/s would overpower the ping-pong ball.
Instead, the wind speed was lowered and measured to be 12m/s. These numbers can be put into
the drag coefficient equation to find the coefficient.
Fd
V22
0.0737
Kd=
122
Kd=

Kd= 0.0005
Because the drag coefficient for the larger rocket is going to be somewhere between 0.0003 and
0.0005, it is reasonable to assume it will be close to 0.0004. It should be noted, this is an
estimation. This may not be the actual drag coefficient of the larger rocket and could lead to
inaccurate numbers. The coefficient can be anywhere between 0.0003 and 0.0005
Numerical Rocket Model
Now that the thrust and drag force of the rockets are known, it is time to calculate how
high the rockets will fly. This is done with a series of equations. Too many things change very
quickly so one equation cannot be used. The amount of time the rocket was up in the air was
broken into smaller pieces. It was assumed that during this shorter amount of time, things
remained constant; this is called numerical iteration. It is not an accurate assumption but it helps
give a close answer and the more the time is broken up, the more accurate the results will be. The
estimated height will be calculated for three different rockets with three different engines. There
will be a total of nine different estimated heights.

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Calculating the Height of the Rockets:
Calculating the height for all nine combinations of rockets and engines would be very
long and tedious. However, thanks to technology, it can be easy! The equations needed to find
the height and be put into an excel spread sheet and the computer will do the math. An example
of this is shown below. The chart below is done for the red and yellow rocket, which is smallest
of the three. The rocket weighed 34g by itself but the weight of the engine must also be
accounted for. The rocket had a C6 engine which weighed 24g. The total weight of the rocket is
then 63g, or 0.063kg. As the rocket burns off fuel, the weight of the rocket will go down. To
make the math easier, this is ignored. The weight lost should not make a big impact but could
cause a slight change in the results.

Time and Thrust:

The first column, time, would be the same for all of the rockets and rocket engines. The
thrust in the second column will change based on the type of engine used; a type B engine will
have a higher thrust than a type A engine. The thrust can be measured for each rocket engine but
this would take a long time. The company that makes the engines measured the thrust using the
same method as was used to calculate thrust in the earlier experiment. They did this experiment
multiple times and found the average thrust for each type of engine. These average thrusts are
available on their website, creating an easy way to get all of this data.
Average Thrust:
The next column is shifted down slightly; this makes it easy to tell which numbers are
used to find the average thrust. Averages are found by adding up the numbers and dividing that
by the number of inputs that were added together. In this case, the average thrust is the average
between two points of time. For example, the first average thrust is the average thrust between
Time= 0 and Time=0.1. Thrust at t=0 is 0 Newtons and at t=0.1 thrust is 6 Newtons. The average
is then (6+0)/2= 3N. The average thrust on the next row would be (14+6)/2= 10N.

Hillard 10
Drag Force:
Next is the drag force. This is found by multiplying the drag coefficient and the squared
velocity. This is represented by the equation:

Fd= KdV2
The drag coefficients of all the rockets used in this experiment were calculated
previously. For the small red and yellow rocket used in this chart, the drag coefficient was
0.0003. The velocity in this equation is the initial velocity of the rocket at that point in time. For
the first entry, since the rocket is not moving, the initial velocity is zero. Anything multiplied by
zero is zero, so there is no drag force. However, the drag force between 0.1sec and 0.2sec will
have a number since the rocket has a velocity. The velocity that will be used should be the final
velocity calculated in the previous row. Calculating the final velocity is shown later, but the drag
force for the second row is done as shown.
Fd= (0.0004)(2.21)2
Fd= 0.002
Average Net Force:
The next column, the average net force, is found by adding together all the forces acting
on the rocket. A free body diagram can show all the forces. Adding all the forces in the positive
and negative Y directions gives the net force.
Fnet= Thravg -mg -Fd
For the example above, the average thrust was just calculated and
found to be 3.0N. In the equation, mg is equal to the mass of the
rocket multiplied by gravity. So mg= (0.063)(9.8)= 0.617N. Drag
force, Fd, was also just calculated. These can all be plugged into
the equation:
Fnet= 3.0-0.62= 2.4N
This method can be used for any rocket, with any thrust.

Average Net Impulse:

The average net impulse is found using numbers that have already been calculated in the
chart. Impulse is defined as net force multiplied by the change in time: Impulse= Fnett. The net
force that was calculated in the column before is multiplied by the change in time. Time was
measured every 0.1 seconds. The change in time will always be 0.1 seconds no matter the rocket
or the point in time. For the first row in the example above:
(2.38)(0.1)= 0.238
Initial Velocity:
The initial velocity is equal to the final velocity of the rocket on the row before it. When
the time for the last row ended, the new one immediately started. For the first row of any rocket,
the initial velocity will be zero since it hasnt started moving yet. After that, every rows initial
velocity will be equal to the final velocity of the row above it.
Final Velocity:

Hillard 11
Impulse is equal to change in net force, multiplied by the change in time (Fnett).
Momentum, P, is equal to mass times velocity (mV). Impulse is equal to the change in
momentum. This means that:
Fnett=P
Fnett= mVfinal- mVinitial
All of the numbers in this equation are known except the final velocity. The equation can be
rearranged to solve for the final velocity.
Ff= (mVi +Fnett)/m
For the first row in this example:
Ff= (0 +(0.24)(0.1))/0.063= 3.78m/s
Average Velocity:
Averages are found by adding up numbers and dividing by the number of inputs. The
average velocity equals the initial velocity added to the final velocity, then divided by two. This
can be written as (Vi+Vf)/2. This gives the velocity of the rocket during that 0.1 second time
period. In this experiment, it is being assumed that in that time, the rocket moved at a constant
velocity, which may or may not be an accurate assumption.
Final Height:
Finding the final height was the goal of this chart. All of the numbers calculated have
lead up to finding this height. The height must be calculated for every 0.1 second measurement.
Because this would take a long time to do, especially for all nine rocket and rocket engine
combinations, the excel sheet makes it much easier. The final height is calculated the same way
for all rockets. To find the final height at a given point in time, the equation Height= (Average
Velocity)( Time) is used. Since it is the final distance that is being looked for, the equation can
be re-written to solve for the final.
Hfinal= Vavgt+Hinitial
For the first row in the example above the initial height is zero since it hasnt left the ground and
the final height would be solved by:
Hf= (1.89)(0.1)+0
Hf= .19meters
This is a demonstration of how to find the height of the rocket after the first tenth of a second.
Since the excel sheet does the rest of the calculations it is easy to find the highest point the rocket
reaches. It is already on the chart! Simply scroll down and find the highest number in that
column. The final height of the small yellow and red rocket with a C6 engine is 280.85 meters.
This was found in the column labeled final height and was the point that the numbers peaked,
then decreased. The final height of this rocket is shown on the chart above and is detached from
the rest to make it obvious which number is the final.
The final height for the other rockets with different engines were also calculated. The chart
below has the final heights of all of the options. This makes it easy to know what the estimated
height should be no matter which rocket and rocker engine is used.
Rocket

Engine

Height (m)

Red/Black

A8
B6
C6
A8
B6
C6
A8
B6
C6

24
67
184
28
75
197
63
132
181

Big White

Red/Yellow

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Why do it like this?
The final height of the rocket in the example chart was reached after seven seconds. Data
was recorded every 0.1 second which means that just to find the final height of the one rocket
with the one engine, all of the steps that were just shown would have to be done seventy times.
This would be unrealistic and unnecessary as well as incredibly difficult to do for all nine
rocket/rocket engine combinations. This is why the chart was used.
Now that the final height is known, it is easy to find how big of a difference air resistance
made on the rocket. In this experiment, drag was accounted for, but these numbers can also be
used to calculate what the height would be if there were no air resistance. For this, the same
rocket that has been used in the rest of this report, the small yellow and red rocket, will be used
to compare the difference. The final height of the rocket with air resistance was 181meters. If the
drag coefficient at the top of the chart is placed as 0, this does the math assuming there is no air
resistance. The height then becomes much bigger.
The height of the small yellow and red rocket without air resistance is so high that it
continues off the chart. The height when not accounting for drag gets up to 900 and keeps going
when the chart cuts off. To give a better example of comparison, the big white rocket will be
used. The drag coefficient of this rocket is 0.0004 and the weight of the rocket, including the C6
engine, is 0.094kg. When these numbers are put into the chart, the final height, with air
resistance is 197m. If the drag coefficient is made zero, the final height becomes 413.64meters.
This is more than double the height of the rocket when drag is accounted for. This shows just
how big of a difference air resistance makes and that if it werent considered, the mathematical
numbers would not be anywhere close to the real world results.
Flight Results
After the drag coefficient was calculated and the final height of the rockets was
estimated, it was time to see how accurate the results were. All of the rockets thats drag
coefficient and estimated height were calculated were shot off and the height was measured.
The Setup:
The launching station was put in the middle of a large field. The best way to calculate the
final height was to use trigonometry. The rocket launching station was placed in the middle of a
field. The final height can be found by using a protractor and measuring the angle above the
horizon when the protractor is pointing toward the rocket. If this angle is known, a triangle can
be drawn between the final height and the distance the protractor is from the launching station.
The people with protractors stood 50 meters away from the middle so there was a uniform
distance. It is very unlikely that the rockets would fly strait up in the air. If the angle were
measured from only one direction, the angle would not be accurate. To prevent this, there were
three people with protractors standing around the rocket on different sides, each measuring their
own angle; this is shown below. That way, if the rocket shifts to the side the height can still be
found. If the rocket goes too far off course then this method is not helpful and the results of that
trial are not useable.
The rocket was set up very similar to the sample rocket in the thrust portion of this lab.
The rocket was set up with an ignitor connected to a battery so the rocket could be lit from a
distance. Inside the rocket was a parachute to soften the landing. Once the rocket was in the air

Hillard 13
and falling, a poof of flame ejects the parachute. To prevent burning the parachute, fire proof
paper was put inside the rocket before the parachute.

50m

50m

The protractors had a washer tied to a string hanging from them. The washer weighed
down the string so that no matter what angle the protractor was pointing the string hung straight
up and down. When the rocket launched, the people with protractors kept the strait edge facing
the rocket and followed it upward. Once the rocket reached its highest point, the person next to
them would record what angle the string hung. Since the center starts at 90 o as shown below, if
the string reads 120o, then the angle it moved is 30 o. These angles were recorded by the people
on all sides so the final height could be found accurately.

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Shooting the Rockets and Getting Results:
The three different rockets were all shot multiple times, each with different engines. The
angle was measured from three directions for each trial and was recorded. To find the height
trigonometry is used.

1.5m

50m

The distance between the person and the rocket is known, and so is the angle. Tangent is
equal to the side opposite of the angle divided by the adjacent side. If the angle is 23 o then the
height can be solved like this:
tan()= sin/cos
tan(23)= h/50
(50)tan(23)= h
h= 21.22meters
Although this is close to the correct answer, the height of the person measuring the angle
is not accounted for. The average height of a human is 1.5meters. This height must be added onto
the one that was just calculated to get the correct final height.
21.22+1.5= 22.7= 23meters
This is how the maximum height is found. The height was calculated for all of the rocket
trials and was then compared to the mathematically predicted height.
Rocket
White
Black/Red
Red/Yellow
Red/Silver
Red/Silver

Engine
A
C
A
A
C

Angle 1
23
70
50
30
65

Angle 2
20
60
55
25
60

Angle 4
22
63
48
25
83

Avg Angle
21.67
64
54
27
69

Height
21
105
63
27
134

Predicted Height
28
184
63
32
204

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Conclusion
The predicted results and the actual results were fairly close. One of them, the red and
yellow rocket, was almost exactly the same as the predicted height. Usually, the predicted
heights were larger than the actual results. There are many factors that could have affected the
results so they were not exact. When doing experiments in the real world, things are not always
mathematically perfect. One thing that can make a huge difference is wind. The math was solved
assuming the rocket shot strait up in the air. The wind can cause the rocket to blow to the side
and change the apparent height. Doing the experiment again in an area without wind would lead
to more accurate results. Even without wind, the rockets often curve due to fin problems or
uneven weight distribution. The angle measured to find the height in the real experiment was
also measured by the human eye. It may not be an exact number. If the experiment were to be
done again it would be best to use a different method that is more accurate than the human eye.
Another thing that could have made a huge difference is the drag coefficient that was calculated.
The red and yellow rockets drag coefficient is fairly reliable because it was calculated
experimentally. However, the drag coefficient for the larger rockets is not as trustworthy. These
were not calculated directly and instead were estimated. The coefficient had to be between
0.0003 and 0.0005 so it was assumed it was near 0.0004. This makes for a good ball park
estimation, but the coefficient could have been anywhere between 0.00025 and 0.00035. This is
why there is only one significant figure. It would be best if the drag coefficient of the rocket
were calculated directly instead of being estimated. The rocket could be placed in a larger wind
tunnel and calculated using the same method as was used for the smaller rocket. Although some
of the predicted heights and actual heights were not very close, they were largely very similar.
Although they were not exact, he predicted heights were pretty realistic.
Reflection:
I really enjoyed this lab. It was very long and was a ton of work, but I learned a lot from
it, and it really solidified my knowledge on this subject. I think it was really helpful that we
broke the lab into separate pieces so that each one was done independently and thoroughly. It got
a bit overwhelming at times to have a lab to work on every night, but I dont think that adding
extra time would be helpful. It forced us to focus on the project and manage our work to be able
to get it done in the allotted time. By the end of it, I was very proud of me and all of my friends
who did the report and felt they did a good job on it. It was a lot of fun and a learning experience.
Also, fun fact, I accumulated all of the hours I spent working on this lab report, not including
class time doing the experiments and found that I spent about 58 hours working on it. That is
almost two and a half days of accumulated work time. Im sure there is some error in this
calculation, but it is pretty close.