Group: Jennie, Katy, and Rachel-8th Hour

Experimental Design Diagram for Rocket Variable #1—Shape of the Wings

A. How does the shape of the wings affect the distance traveled by the rocket?
B. If the wings are larger, we predict the rocket will stay in the air farther and/or travel rather. If the
wings are really small or short, we predict the rocket won't travel as far.
C.
Distance Traveled by the Rocket Depends on the Shape of Wings
Shape of the Wings Trial 1 (distance Trial Two Average
traveled in feet)
Round (half-moon) 51 60 55.5
Square 54 72 63
Source: Jennie, Katy, and Rachel, Rocket Experiment May 2010
D. Five controlled variables of this experiment include the following: 75 psi (pounds of air pressure per
square inch) inside the rocket; 100 milliliters of water in the top bottle of the rocket and 1,000
milliliters of water in the bottom bottle of the rocket; the 20 ounce bottle being on the top and the 2 liter
bottle on the bottom (when you make the rocket, that is); having a total of 4 right triangle wings; and
having the label off both pop bottles.
E. The materials needed for this experiment are the following: a 20 ounce pop bottle, duct tape, a 2 liter
pop bottle, cardboard, a ruler or meter stick (to measure both the distance the rocket travels and the
length and width of the triangle), a measuring cup to measure out the amount of water in each bottle,
cardboard to make the triangles out of, a scissors, a protractor to measure the angle of the triangles, and
something (I'm not sure what you would call it) to pump the air pressure into the rocket.
F. Get the materials that you need for the experiment—listed above. Measure out 1,000 milliliters of
water and pour it into the 2 liter. Then cut out the wings of the rocket according to the specifications
listed above in the table, that we decided to test, making sure to make accurate measurements with the
protractor and ruler. Tape the wings at even intervals on the 2 liter, using A LOT of tape to make sure
they are secure and rigid and won't fall off. Then, put the cap on the 2 liter and tape the empty 20 oz
bottle to the 2 liter, again using a lot of tape to make sure they are securely anchored together. Next,
measure out 100 milliliters of water to put into the 20 oz bottle and pour it in. Then pump the 75 psi
into the rocket, launch it off, and record the results of your test in the data table.
I.
J. 1. Did our data support our hypothesis? For one, when we made our hypothesis, we realize now, that
when we made it we concentrated accidently on the size of the wings, not how the shape would affect
the flight of the rocket. So no, our data did most definitely NOT support our hypothesis, unfortunately.
2. What changes would we make to this experiment if we did it again? We would most definitely do
more trials, because even from these three experiments we've found we pretty much have insufficient
data to conclude, basically, anything about how any of our variables affected the distance of the rocket.
We would have to do more trials to gather more information in order to conclude the true effects of
these variables on the rocket. The weather conditions outside also influenced, in part, how far our
rockets traveled: for example, the day we launched the rocket to test this variable, it was not windy in
the least, while the other launch days when we tested our other variables there was considerable wind.
Because of these uncontrollable elements in our experiment, our data is not very conclusive at all, and
should, we believe, not be depended on to help you make any decisions in your own experiments!!
(even if you don't want to hurt our feelings.)