The Rocket Project

Katrina Le
Ames
Written for
Mr. Hendricks
Honors Physics Class
 Abstract
During the course of this project, multiple rockets were launched with varying engines
after predicting their heights. The predictions were made using concepts and skills learned
through basic kinematics or the study of motion and dynamics or the study of forces and how
they affect motion, both portions of general physics. This included measuring the impulse of an
engine using an engine placed on a ramp with a force gauge and also measuring the drag force of
a rocket using a wind tunnel. The actual heights of the rockets ended up correlating with the
predictions fairly well. The purpose of this lab was to reinforce all of the physics concepts that
had been taught during the first few months of the physics class.

Height (+1.5) Predicted Height

22 28

63 63

27 32

Introduction
In this project, rockets were launched after predicting the heights these rockets would go.
The heights of the rockets when they were launched were measured using trigonometry and the
predictions were made using numerical iteration which is breaking up a measurable model into
small time intervals and keeping the conditions constant in each interval of time. In this case, the
model used to make the predictions was broken up into intervals of a tenth of a second and the
force was assumed to be constant during these intervals of every tenth of a second. Numerical
iteration was used because the forces on the rockets during flight are, in reality, constantly
changing. Therefore, its not possible to solve for the maximum height analytically. Before
using numerical iteration, the types of engines and the drag force for these rockets had to be
calculated using the impulse/momentum theorem. The impulse/momentum theorem states that
F t , or what is defined as the impulse, is equal to the change in momentum or P . This is
derived from Newtons second law or F = ma . Acceleration was replaced with v t
which is
the definition of acceleration. This was then rearranged to F t = mv . v was then replaced
with v f v i because that is the definition of change in velocity. Multiplied out, the equation
became F t = mv f mv i . The mass multiplied by the velocity is defined as the momentum,
therefore the impulse is equal to the change in momentum or F t = P .
 There were nine types of engines available: A4, A6, A8, B4, B6, B8, C4, C6, C8. The
letter represents the impulse (A engines have an impulse of 2.5, B engines have an impulse of 5,
and C engines have an impulse of 10) and the number after the letter represents the average
force. This project would ultimately summarize and combine physics concepts from kinematics
or the study of motions and dynamics or the study of forces and how they affect motion.

Engine Thrust
One of the purposes of this portion of the rocket project was to figure out the type of
engine that was used. The main purpose, however, was to find out exactly how much thrust the
engine puts out at at
each tenth of a
second interval so
that this data could
be used later to
predict how high
the rocket will fly.
Before the
experiment could be
started, however, a
calculator had to be
set up to record that
data. The Datamate
program was used
to set up a time
graph. The time
graph was set up so
that it would record
data every tenth of a
second for 3
seconds, which
meant that it would end up giving 30 samples. Next, triggering had to be set up so the clock
would automatically start and stop. Decreasing was selected because the force gauge measures a
push as negative. The threshold was set to -0.5, meaning it would start recording once it starts
reading a negative half of a Newton. Also, 10-percent was set as the prestore which means that
10-percent of the temporary buffer data or the data it automatically and temporarily stores before
it is even triggered would be shown in the data. To light up the rocket, lighting it up with a
match would be dangerous, so what was done instead was a phosphorous (which is used to light
matches) coated wire that would touch the engine using a plastic plug was used. The wire was
then attached it to an ignitor that would send electrical impulses to the wire and therefore light it
up. The ramp was zeroed (like a scale) to get accurate results because the ramp was a bit angled.
The experiment was then started. The first time, the engine went off the ramp so it had to
secured with string. During the second attempt, a working set of data was produced. The data
was transferred from the calculator that recorded it to other calculators. In the table, the L1
column was the time and the L2 column was the force measured. A graph for the data was then
set up using a stat plot. However, the graph was going in the negative the direction and having it
go in the positive direction was going to be much easier to read. To do that, the graph was set up
to show -L2.

Because the graph reads time by force, the area under the curve would be the impulse
since impulse is equal to the force multiplied by time. The area under the curve from t=0.3 to
t=1.6 was then calculated using right end rectangles with the width of 0.1. Anything before 0.3
seconds or after 1.6 seconds was disregarded because they were extremely close to 0 and had
little significance. After adding all the areas up, the calculated area under the curve ended up to
be around 4.7081988. There were 9 possibilities for what the engine was: A4, A6, A8, B4, B6,
B8, C4, C6, C8. A engines have an impulse of 2.5, B engines have an impulse of 5, and C
engines have an impulse of 10. The number that follows the letter is the average force. Because
the area was closer to 5 than any other whole number, it was figured out that it was a B engine.
It was then needed to figure what type of B engine it was by calculating the average force. An
equation was set up where the impulse was equal to the average force multiplied by the change
in time and the variables were moved around to solve for the average force. The corresponding
values were plugged in for the variables, 4.7081988 for impulse and 1.3 for the change in time
(1.6-0.3) and the average force was calculated to be about 4 Newtons, which means the engine
was a B4 engine. Although the results showed that the engine was a B4 engine, it ended up not
being the case as the engine kept going off the ramp. This made it so that the results would be on
the low side. In the end, the engine was actually a B6 engine.

Drag Force Analysis

The purpose of this section of the project was to figure out the drag coefficient of two
rockets which would ultimately lead to a better understanding of the concept of air resistance or
drag force in general and allow the prediction of the heights of these rockets. Before even
starting the lab, the drag coefficient had to be figured out. An example was set up with a real life
ping pong ball with a mass of 2.3 grams or 0.0023 kilograms hanging on a string and blown by
wind going at a velocity of 12 meters per second and at an angle of 73 degrees from the vertical.
Physicists have experimentally found that the drag force, F d , is proportionate to the velocity
squared, v 2 , which can be rewritten into an equation using a proportionality constant, which is a
constant equal to the ratio that exists between the drag force and the velocity squared. This
equation ends up to be F d = k d v 2 where the proportionality constant, k d , is what is called the
drag coefficient, what is needed. It was found that in order to figure out the drag coefficient with
the equation, the drag force had to be found first. Newtons second law in the horizontal or x
direction was used and from there, F x was substituted with the drag force F d added to the
tension multiplied by the sin because it is the vertical component of the tension vector after
breaking up the tension vector into pure direction vectors (straight north, straight west, etc.).
Zero was also substituted for ma x because there was no acceleration in the horizontal direction.
At this point, there were two unknowns, F d and T. To figure out what T was, Newtons second
law was used again but this time in the vertical or y direction. F y was substituted with
mg + T cos, and ma y was substituted with zero since there was also no acceleration in the y
mg
direction. T was solved to be equal to cos . This was substituted for T in the first equation and
from there, the variables were moved to solve for F d and it was found that the drag force equals
to the mass multiplied by the force of gravity and the tangent of ( F d = mgtan ). The
corresponding values were plugged in and it was found that the drag force for the ping pong ball
was 0.074. 0.074 was plugged into F d = k d v 2 and it was solved that k d was 0.0005.

For the experimental setup when an actual

rocket was measured, a wind tunnel was used
where wind was blowing about 34 meters per
second. In the wind tunnel was a yellow rocket
hanging on a string already measured to have a
mass of 61 grams or 0.061 kilograms,
surrounded by a honeycomb filter which
smooths out the airflow or in other words
makes it more
laminar. When
turning the wind
tunnel on, the rocket was measured with
a regular protractor to be hanging at an
angle of 30 degrees from the vertical.
At that point, almost all the
information that was needed to calculate
the drag coefficient was obtained. To find the last piece of information, the drag force needed to
be calculated like what was done with the ping pong ball. This value was plugged into the
equation that was found for the ping pong ball, F d = mgtan , and the drag force for the yellow
rocket was found to be 0.345 Newtons. This value was plugged in as the drag force in the
equation F d = k d v 2 and it was solved that the drag coefficient was 0.0003.
For the bigger white rocket, an estimated guess had to be made for the drag coefficient
since it was too big to fit in the wind tunnel. It was known that because it was bigger than the
yellow rocket, it would have a drag coefficient bigger than 0.0003 but smaller than that of the
ping pong ball, 0.0005, because the pointed end of the rockets allow for the rockets to be more
aerodynamic, meaning they have a shape that reduces the drag from the air moving past .
Therefore, the drag coefficient was estimated to be around 0.0004. The drag coefficients that
were calculated for both rockets, however, only allowed for one significant figure. Considering
that fact, the drag coefficient for the red and yellow rocket could be anywhere between 0.00025
and 0.00035 and the drag coefficient for the white rocket could be anywhere between 0.00035
and 0.00045.

Numerical Model
 Before actually launching the rockets, the last thing that was needed were predictions for
the heights that the rockets would go. In order to predict the heights, a numerical model on
Microsoft Excel was used. The numerical model was used to help predict the heights but also to
better understand certain concepts in physics such as thrust, air resistance, and velocity. On the
top of the spreadsheet, separate from the actual table, were the values for the total mass in
kilograms (the rocket and the engine) and the drag coefficients for the rockets. These values
were to be plugged into the table to figure out certain values.
The first column of the actual table was for the values for the time after the rocket leaves
the ground in seconds. The second column was for the thrust of the engine in which the data for
the thrust from the company that makes the engines was copied in. The third column was used
to calculate the average thrust during every 0.1 seconds by letting excel add the first and second
thrusts and dividing the sum by 2. The fourth column was used to calculate the drag force during
every 0.1 seconds by using the formula from the last lab, F d = k d v 2 , where v was the final
velocity from the last row. The average net force was calculated in the next column by taking
the average thrust from the third column and subtracting both the mass of the rocket multiplied
by the force of gravity and the drag force since both the force of gravity and the drag force are
acting on the rocket ( T hr avg mg F d ). The average net impulse was calculated in the sixth
column using the net force multiplied by 0.1 or the change in time ( F net t ) since the impulse
is defined to equal that. The next column was where the initial velocity was plugged in, or the
final velocity
from the last
row. In the
eighth
column was
the final
velocity,
which was
predicted by
taking the
initial
velocity
adding it to
the impulse
divided by
the mass (
F t
v i + netm ),
which was
derived from
solving for
the final velocity with the impulse momentum theorem ( F t = mv f mv i ). In the next column
was the average velocity for every 0.1 seconds, which took the sum of the initial and final
velocities and divided that by 2. And finally, the last column predicted the heights the rockets
were to be every 0.1 seconds by taking the initial height (the final height above it) added to the
average velocity multiplied by 0.1 ( h i + v avg t ).
 In the lab, the values for the total mass, drag coefficient, and the
engine thrusts every 0.1 seconds were just typed or copied in. After
typing or copying those values in, the spreadsheet calculated and
automatically filled in all the other cells. The process of typing in
the mass of the rocket with the engine, the drag coefficients, the the
thrust forces was done 9 times to get 9
predictions for 3 rockets, each with the 3
types of engines that were going to be used:
the red and black rocket, the big white rocket,
or the red and yellow rocket with either the C6, B6, or A8 engines. The
masses of the rockets without the engines and the masses of the engines
were already given. The drag coefficients were also given since they
were calculated in the last labs: the yellow and red one having a drag
coefficient of 0.0003, the big white one having a drag coefficient of
0.0004, and the black and red one also having a drag coefficient of
around 0.0004 since the size and shape of its nuzzle is extremely close to
that of the big white one. The values that were needed were plugged in
and the maximum height was able to be found by scrolling down the
spreadsheet. For example, with calculating the maximum height of the
red and
yellow
rocket
with a
C6 engine, the total mass was
typed in to be 0.063 kilograms,
the drag coefficient was typed in
to be 0.0003, and the thrust
values from the data given to us
by the company that makes the
engines were copied in. The
spreadsheet did the rest of the
work and after scrolling down,
the maximum height was found to be about 281 meters. This process was repeated nine times
for the rest of the rockets and each possible combination with the three engines.
The results are shown here:

Rocket Engine Height (m)

 Red/Black A8 24
B6 67
C6 184

Big White A8 28
B6 75
C6 197

Red/Yellow A8 63
B6 132
C6 281

It was known that after the maximum, the heights predicted were not to be true since
gravity, wind, and other forces were to act on the rockets. In addition to that, the drag
coefficients calculated or estimated for each rocket only allowed for one significant figure like
mentioned before. This created error bars for the predictions. For the red and black rocket and
the big white rocket, the drag coefficient could be anywhere between 0.00035 and 0.00045.
Plugging in both values for the coefficients, finding the maximum heights for both values, and
then finding the difference would result in the size of the error bars. For the red and yellow
rocket, the same process was repeated except with the drag coefficients of 0.00025 and 0.00035.

Rocket Engine Max height with Max height with Error bar (Max
minimum k d maximum k d height with
minimum k d
-Max height
with maximum
kd)

Red/Black A8 25 24 1
B6 69 66 3
C6 194 176 18

Big White A8 29 28 1
B6 77 73 4
C6 207 186 21

Red/Yellow A8 66 61 5
B6 143 125 18
C6 309 259 50

To compare the data with air resistance and without air resistance, the drag coefficient
was changed to 0. For example, the maximum height of the big white rocket with a C6 engine
was found to be 197.32. After changing the drag coefficient to 0, it was found to be around 413
meters, more than two times the prediction with air resistance. Comparing the data was able to
demonstrate the effect air resistance has on physics.
With each engine and rocket, there was a delay time from when the engine burns out and
to when the rocket reaches the maximum height. To calculate the delay time, the spreadsheet
was used. The time when the thrust of the engine became zero was when the engine burned out.
This was subtracted from the time when the rocket reached its maximum height. The results are
as shown:

Rocket Engine Delay Time (s)

Red/Black A8 1.8
B6 3.0
C6 4.4

Big White A8 1.9

B6 3.2
C6 4.4

Red/Yellow A8 3.0
B6 4.1
C6 5.0

There was a general trend to the delay time. For both the red and black and big white
rockets which both had a drag coefficient of 0.0004, the A engine had a delay time of around 2
seconds, the B had a delay time around 3 seconds, and the C engine had a delay time had a delay
time of around 4 seconds. For the red and yellow rocket which had a drag coefficient of 0.0003,
the delay for the A was around 3, the delay for the B was around 4, and the delay for the C was
around 5 seconds.

Flight Results
The purpose of this portion was to launch the rockets and compare the results for the
heights to the calculated predictions from the Numerical Model portion. For the experimental
setup, a launchpad was used to launch the rockets with an ignitor attached to the engines of the
rockets used to launch it. Three groups of people were equally placed around the launchpad in a
triangle formation where each group was 50 feet away from the launchpad. The groups at the
ends of the triangle were to each measure the angles of the rockets relative to the ground at its
maximum height. The reason why there were three groups and not one was because it was
known that the rockets were most likely not going to go straight up and down like the predicted
model. Placing three groups equally placed around the launchpad meant more accurate results
that would fit the model better by averaging the angles from all three spots. Before the rockets
could be launched off, the engines were inserted into the rockets and a parachute was placed in
the rocket so that once the rocket started falling, it would be released from inside the rocket.
Also, flame-resistant paper was placed inside to prevent the parachutes from melting. This paper
is called wadding.
 The rockets were then launched. First was the big white rocket with the A8 engine.
Second was the black and red rocket with the C6 engine. After that was the red and yellow
rocket with the A8 engine and then the new red and silver rocket with the A8 engine. The red
and silver rocket was then launched again instead with the C6 engine. Last of all, the big white
engine was launched again with a C6 engine and with a broken fin. The data recorded is here:

Rocket Engine Group #1 Group #2 Group #3

White A8 23 20 23

Black/Red C6 70 60 63

Red/Yellow A8 50 55 48

Red/Silver A8 30 25 25

Red/Silver C6 65 60 83

White C6 Crooked Crooked Crooked

The angles from each launching were averaged. To figure out the height of each rocket
during each launching, trigonometry was used. A right triangle was formed by connecting where
the angles were measured, the launch pad, and where the rockets were at their heights. Because
 it was measured that the distance from the launchpad to where the angles were was 50 meters, it
could be said that the tangent of the average angle of each launch is equal to the height of the
h
rocket divided by 50 or mathematically written as tan = 50 by the definition of a tangent. This
equation was then rearranged to solve for the height: h = 50tan . This equation for the height
was then applied to all the launches excluding the last one because the path was too crooked.
However, 1.5 meters had to be added to each height calculated by the equation h = 50tan since
it was the height from where the angles were measured to the maximum height and not the
height from the ground. 1.5 meters was used because it is the average height of a person. The
results were as shown:

Rocket Engine Group Group Group Average Height Predicted Height

#1 #2 #3 Angle (+1.5)

White A8 23 20 23 22 22 28

Black/Red C6 70 60 63 64 104 184

Red/Yellow A8 50 55 48 51 63 63

Red/ Silver A8 30 25 25 27 27 32

Red/Silver C6 65 60 83 69 132 (193,216)

Conclusion
During the engine thrust analysis portion of the project, the engine being a B4 engine
made sense with the data that was recorded. However, there was a huge chance that the actual
data that was recorded was incorrect as the engine tried to go off the ramp each time, implying a
manufacturing problem with the engine. Because of this problem, it was known that the results
would be on the low side and the engine very well was something other than a B4 (it ended up
actually being a B6). This problem could easily be solved by getting another engine. Also, to
get more accurate results, instead of taking the area under the curve using rectangles with a width
of 0.1 seconds, even smaller intervals could be used or maybe an integral which would calculate
the exact area under the curve.
The results for the drag coefficients for the yellow rocket being around 0.0003 and
0.0004 for the larger white rocket were credible. The drag coefficient for both was less than that
of the ping pong ball which is believable because the pointed fronts make the rockets more
aerodynamic like mentioned before. However, the drag coefficients calculations can be
inaccurate for the fact that the rocket was bouncing around inside the wind tunnel which
probably affected the data. If the experiment was to be done again to get better results, using
another type of filter even better than the honeycomb, even though the honeycomb is the best
available, would make the results more accurate as the rocket would bounce around less. Also, a
more accurate way of measuring the angle the rocket hung from the vertical than the regular
protractor and the speed of the wind would also get the results to be more accurate.
The predictions for the heights made from the numerical model were fitting to the data
that was collected. However, it wasnt as realistic as it couldve been. The mass, in reality,
wouldnt be constant as the rocket is actually losing mass as the engine burns out. In addition,
acceleration wasnt taken into consideration and the average velocity was just used.
The actual results for the heights of the rockets matched incredibly well with the
predictions that were made, especially considering that it was known that the rocket was not
going to go straight up and down. The white rocket with the A engine went up to around 22
meters, close to the predicted 28; the red and silver one with the A engine went up to around 27
meters, close to the predicted 32; and the red and yellow one with the A engine went up to 63,
exactly the height predicted. The results for the black and red rocket and the red and silver
rocket with the C engines were off because they were very crooked when launched so they were
disregarded. The results were incredibly believable. Some things that would help get more
accurate results if the lab was to be done again is just simply figuring out a way to get the rockets
to launch even straighter. This would help it match the model made to figure out the predictions
a bit more. Also, finding a way to have the people who measured the angles be at the same
height so that the actual heights off the ground can be used instead of the average of 1.5 meters
would get the results to be more accurate. Last of all, finding a way to measure the angles more
accurately than the human eye and a protractor could give better results.

Reflection
The rocket project that was done in class ended up being an incredible learning
experience for me. The project helped bring everything weve learned together from the
beginning of the year to now. Not only that, we were able to apply and practice everything
weve learned which is the most important part of physics to me, personally. However, it
wouldnt have been such a great learning experience without its fair share of challenges. One of
the things I found personally challenging was just knowing where to start. Near the beginning of
the project, I had no idea how we were going to predict and calculate the heights the rockets
would go. I had no clue what equation we were going to use and had only a surface
understanding for certain concepts, like impulse which we had recently learned. Eventually, we
took things step by step and I was able to retain and better understand a lot of these concepts
since they were applied to a real life situation. Another challenge was just dealing with reality.
What is meant by that statement is that in the real world, there are thousands of other factors to
be considered that were ignored during the course of the project to make things simpler for us.
For the engine thrust, we ignored the force of gravity; for the drag force, we ignored how the
rocket was bouncing up and down in the wind tunnel; when making the actual predictions, we
ignored acceleration and predicted the height only using the average velocity; and when
launching the rockets, it was impossible to get them to go completely straight up. There were
probably hundreds of more. The challenge was just finding a way to make the predictions
simpler to calculate, while having the actual launching closely correlate to the model we used to
make our predictions. Ive learned that real world physics is a lot more complex than it is
initially let on. Those were just a few of the challenges Ive encountered. In the end, it was a
project that not only was an incredible learning experience, but one I really enjoyed taking part
of.