Rocket Lab

Suyog Shrestha
AMES
Physics-A2
Mr. Hendricks

Abstract
There were many different parts to this lab. Due to the lack of knowledge, mini labs had
to be done before the main part could be started. The labs were the Engine Thrust Analysis, Drag
Force, Numerical Model, and the final lab, Flight Results. In the Engine Thrust lab, the engine
was studied. The force of each engine and the thrust was analyzed. In the Drag Force, air
resistance was learned. A new equation was used and the drag coefficient for the rockets that
would be used was found. In the numerical model a spread sheet was introduced. The spread
sheet had all the data that was needed to calculate the final height. There the mass of the rockets,
and the thrust for each engine was found. The final lab was the flight results. All the other labs
led up to this, each helping in its own way. Here the rockets were launched and the data was
collected. Tangent had to be used to calculate the actual height and the spread sheet was used to
find the predicted height. The predicted height for our rockets were, Big/White and Red/Silver:
63m, Red/Yellow: 97m, Red/Black: 62m, Little White: 23m. Compared to those, the actual
heights that were calculated were, Big White: 60m, Red/Silver: 76m, Red/Yellow: 81m,
Red/Black: 317m, Little White: 25m. Looking at those numbers, there is an obvious problem.
Due to the rockets curving, the calculations were not correct.
Introduction
The purpose for this lab was education. During this lab many things were learned.
Engines were studied and it was found out that each engine has a different impulse and each
number and letter in its name has a meaning. For example, on an A8 engine, the A stands for the
impulse number. Each letter has a number. A is 2.5, B is 5, C is 10, D is 20, and E is 40. The 8

stands for the average force of the rocket. That can be different for each rocket. Below is a
picture of a B6 engine while doing the Engine Thrust Lab.

New terms were also learned. The word kinematics means the branch of mechanics that
studies the motion of object. Dynamics means the branch of mechanics with the motion of bodies
under the action of forces. Impulse is the change in linear momentum of a body. Momentum is
the mass in motion. The drag force is when an object is moving through a medium and faces an
opposing force. Lastly, the drag coefficient is basically the air resistance. It is the ratio of the
drag on a body moving through air to the product of the velocity and the surface area of the body.
Besides terms, equations were also learned. The most important one was F*delta t= delta
P. In this case, F stands for the force, delta t stands for time final minus time initial, delta P stands
for momentum final minus momentum initial. The way we got this equation is below.
J=F*T Definition of impulse
J=ma*t
J=m* delta v/ delta t* t
J=m*delta v

F=ma

a=delta v/delta t

If t initial is 0 then t finial is t then delta t is t so the t cancels out

J= m (vf-vi)

Distribute the m

J=mvf-mvi

mv= momentum
J=pf-pi

J=delta p

J is impulse which is F* delta t

F*delta t= delta P

Once that equation was found, many things became easier because most of this lab had to
do with impulse and momentum.
Lastly, we learned about numerical iteration. It is the process of breaking up the flight
time into small time segments and then assuming that during each time segment the forces acting
on the rocket are constant. It is knows that it is not true but it allows the calculations to be done.
Without it, it would not be possible. As long as the time segments are small enough, it gives a
good estimate of the true answer. This was very helpful in this lab because without it the
calculations would have been impossible.
Engine Thrust Analysis
For this lab there were two purposes. One was to determine what kind of engine was used
and the other purpose was to figure out what the force was every tenth of a second. This
experiment was just an introduction to the actual rocket experiment that will be done.
To start of this experiment there were a few things already prepared. The same cart and
the same track as the light sensor lab were used. There was also a digital force gauge that was
connected to the calculator. The digital force gauge was used to measure both pushing and
pulling force. However, in this case only the pushing force was needed. Then Easy Data
application on our calculator was used. The Easy Data application did the same thing as the Data

Mate application that was used before. From there The gauge had to be zeroed so it read zero
force. There was also a time graph mad that recorded every tenth of a second. It was set to collect
one hundred samples. With that the time it would take would be ten seconds. There also had to
be trigger. The trigger was -1 threshold. The reason it is negative is because since it records both
pushing and pulling force, the pushing force became negative while the pulling force became
positive. Due to this fact, the graph would be upside down. However, this was easily fixed by
multiplying the data by -1. A prestore of 10% was also set. The prestore keeps recording data
before it reaches the trigger point and then it overrides the old data with the new data after the
trigger has been set.
Once the application on the calculator had been set, a few things about rockets had to be
learned. The engine of the rockets had to be studied. For example, in a C6-5 engine, the C stands
for the impulse. The 6 stands for the average force. Lastly, the 5 stands for the delay time. In an
engine, the back contains fast burning fuel first, and then some slow burning fuel, and lastly
more fast burning fuel. Once the second fast burning fuel burns, the parachute comes out. The
delay time is the slow burning fuel. The first fuel could not be lit by hand so in order to light it an
igniter was added. The igniter contained phosphorus at the tip which was connected to the fuel
and when we lit the igniter, the phosphorus creates heat hot enough to light the fuel. Lastly, a
plug had to be added after the igniter so it does not fall out. Once all that was done it looked like
the image below.

Once that was done the igniter was lit and data was collected. The process of this was
recorded. The link to watch this is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuDKPE8poHU. It looked
like the image below.

Once the data

was recorded and

everything was packed up it was realized that there was a mistake made. It was forgotten to zero
the gauge before the experiment was started. To solve this problem it was decided to subtract .32
from every reading because .32 was the beginning number. To make it easier on the calculator,
L3: L2 - .32 and then L4: L3 * -1 then lastly L2: L4 was done. Once that was done the graph was
right side up and it was zeroed as well. Once looking at the table it showed that the first
important point was in .9 seconds. Once we figured out that a graph was made. The graph is
attached to this paper. The reason for two graphs was because both the right end rectangle and
the left end rectangle way to figure out the area under the curve were used. Once the area under
the curve was figured out, that number would figure out our letter from out engine Once that was
done, the average value of it had to be found and that is the average force number. The delay
number is not very important so it was decided not to be included. When using the right edge
rectangle way the number 6.65 was calculated as the area. Then area using the left edge rectangle
was 6.92. These numbers are very close and both lead it to be the B engine. Now to figure out the
average force, another rectangle with the same area as under the curve was made and the height

was figured. The height would be the average force. The height that was calculated was 6 after
rounded it.
So in conclusion, the engine that was used was B. Once that was figured out the rest of
labs will be easier to do and understand.
Drag Force
The purpose of this lab was to learn about drag force (air resistance), and to figure out the
drag coefficient for the rocket in the wind tunnel. Air resistance was always ignored before on
problems, but now it is required.
To start off this lab, there were materials already ready. For this lab, the only material that
was used was the wind tunnel. Inside the wind tunnel was a rocket tied to a string and a
protractor. The protractor was used to measure the rockets angle once the wind tunnel started.
The pictures below are how it looked like.

Once the wind tunnel was turned on, the rocket would be pushed back by the wind. The
string attached to the rocket would also fly back and give us a reading on the protractor. When
the wind tunnel is not turned on, the sting is at 90 degrees. For this lab, 90 degrees is zero. Once
the string flew back, the difference between the number that was recorded and 90 was found and
that number was the degree.
Another thing that had to be taken in consideration was the honeycomb structure. The
reason for a honeycomb structure is because it keeps the airflow smooth. Another word for
smooth air flow is laminar. So the honeycomb structure kept the air flow laminar. Without that
structure the laminar would be turbulent and the rocket would bounce around more than it
usually does and a proper measurement would not be possible.

Once the materials were ready, the wind tunnel was turned on. The degree that was read
on the protractor was 60 degrees. That meant that the actual degree was 30 degrees. Once that
was done, a free body diagram was made of the rocket inside the wind tunnel. The free body
diagram (below) had three forces. The first was tension, the second was MG, and the last one
was Fd which was the wind that was produced after turning on the wind tunnel.

Once the free body diagram has been sketched, the components had to be found. The
component of the Tension angle had to be found. It is known that the inside angle is 30 degrees
and that it has to be kept inside. Once the forces were broken in its components,
mg=T*cos(theta) appears in the vertical direction, and T*sin(theta)= Fd in the horizontal
direction. The Fd in this case is the drag coefficient.

Once those equations are done, the tension must be figured out. Once the tension is found
the equations must be solved for Fd and then be plugged in the equation, Fd= kd*v^2. That
equation was originally Fd is proportional to v^2 but an equals sign was needed so a constant had
to be added
Mg= Tcos(theta) .061*9.8= T cos(30) T= .690
.690*sin(30)= Fd Fd= .345
There Fd was found. Once that was done, Fd had to be plugged in the equation
Fd=kd*v^2. There Fd is known and v was 15. The reason v is 15 was because the v in the wind
tunnel was measured to be 15.
Fd=kd*v^2
.345=kd*15^2
Kd= .345/30
Kd= .0115

Kd is .0115. Kd is the drag coefficient. The drag coefficient is also the air resistance.
Once the drag coefficient was found, it was learned that the rockets that are used for our
rocket labs have the drag coefficient of 0.004, 0.002, or 0.001. These numbers were known
because the rockets that were used were too big to fit in the wind tunnel. Due to that an educated
guess had to be made of the drag coefficient. It was reasoned that the cross-section area of the
bigger rockets was about twice of the rocket in the wind tunnel so the drag coefficient for them
should also be twice of what it was for the rocket in the tunnel. As for the small one, it was half
the size so it was figured that the drag coefficient was also half. The biggest number is for the big
rockets and the smallest number is for the smaller rockets.
Now that the drag coefficient for the rockets were found, it will be very useful for when
we do our numerical model. However, the rockets that will be actually launched do not have the
same drag coefficient as the one in the wind tunnel so there will be some assumptions that might
lead to some error in our final prediction.
Numerical Model
The purpose of this spread sheet was to learn how to use the sheet so that it would be
easy to predict the number and the height when the actual rocket is launched.
The spread sheet contains 12 columns. The first column is the time. The time is in every
tenth of a second. The second column is the thrust. The thrust is the numbers that is gotten from
the second sheet. It shows the thrust for each of the engines that are used. These numbers are for
A3, A8, B6, and C6 engines. The third column is the Average Thrust. The average thrust takes
the two thrusts of the two times before and adds them and then divides them by two. The drag
force is in the fourth column. It uses prior vf. It is found by the equation, Fd= kd*v^2. The fifth

column is the average net force. This is found by the thrust average minus mg minus Fd. The
sixth column is the average net impulse. It is found by Fnet multiplied by delta time. The seventh
column contains the initial velocity. It equals the last rows vf. The eighth column is the final
velocity. It is calculated by Vi+Fnet*delta time/m. The ninth column is the average velocity. It is
found by (vi+vf)/2. The tenth column is the initial height. It is equal to the last rows hf. The
eleventh column is the final height. It is calculated by hi+v average*delta time. The last column
is the final time. It is the same as the first column.
Above all this information is some boxes that must be filled out. The first box is the mass
of the rocket and engine together. This must be in kilograms or else it will not work. The second
box is the Drag Coefficient. This is basically the air resistance. On the second sheet is the Thrust
and Mass data. This sheet contains graphs for all four engines and also has the thrust data. It also
gives the mass of the rockets we use without the engine inside. The mass of each engine is also
given.
After what each column did was figured out, the thing left to do was test it. Out of the
five rockets, putting in the Red/ Black and the Big White with the engines C6, B6, and A8 a
prediction of its height was made.
The prediction of the height of the Red/ Black with the C6 engine was 61.57. To find the
predicted height look at the final height column and go down to the numbers until they stop
growing and the biggest number is the prediction. The predicted height of the Big White with the
C6 engine was 62.57. The height of the Red/Black with a B6 engine was 29.19. The height for
the Big White with the B6 engine was 30.13. The height of Red/Black with an A8 engine was
15.13. The height of the Big White with an A8 engine was 16.27.

Once those numbers are calculated, another experiment was done. In the place of the drag
coefficient place a zero. That was done for the Red/Black rocket with the C6 engine. The result
was 345.18. The number was substantially higher. This showed that when air resistance was
ignored before it had made this big of a difference. Since air resistance was not ignored the
number was smaller, and more realistic. Looking at that, the idea of air resistance being a big part
of rockets is clearly shown.
A sample spread sheet is attached to this paper. The spread sheet shows the data for a
Red/Black rocket with a C6 engine. The circled number on the page is the highest height for the
rocket.
Flight Results
The way this experiment was started was by having three people stay 50 meters away
from the rocket in a 120 degree angle. Each person had a protractor with a string attached to it to
measure the angle that the rocket traveled. There would usually only be one person measuring
the angle, however; rockets rarely go straight up so therefore one person alone would give us
false information and mess up the experiment. The height for each person was set at 1.5 meters
as an average.

Once the people were in their places, the rockets were ready to be launched. Six rockets
were launched, each with a C engine except for Little white which has the A engine. Once

launched, the angles were measured by each person with a protractor. The angles for the Big
White were, 40, 50, and 60 degrees. This rocket went straight. The Red/Silver was 50, 55, and 65
degrees. This rocket went reasonably straight. The Red/Yellow was 45, 60, and 70 degrees. This
rocket was not straight and curved. The Red/Black was 65, and 80. The reason there is only two
numbers was because the rocket curved so much that it went over one of the person with a
protractor so that persons data was cancelled. Another thing was that this rocket curved so much
that the distance was made to be 100 and not 50. Lastly, the angles for Little white were 37, 42,
and 46. This went reasonably straight. The link to watch the rockets fly is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYy9p8i7s7o. There are also some pictures of the rockets.

The predictions for each rocket were made from the spreadsheet in Excel. The prediction
for Big White and the Red/Silver were the same number at 63m. The prediction for Red/Yellow
was 97m. The prediction for Red/Black was 62m. Lastly, the prediction for Little white was 23m.
Below is a table with the rocket predictions.

Rocket Name

Prediction Numbers

Big White

63m

Red/Silver

63m

Red/Yellow

97m

Red/Black

62m

Little White

23m

After the predictions were made, the actual height was calculated. This was done by
using tangent. The angles were averaged out and then tangent was used. For the Big White, the
averaged angles number was 50. Then we set it in the tangent form. Tan(50)= opp/50
50*Tan(50)= opp. In this case, opp, or the opposite is the height it went. When calculated the
height for Big White was 60m. This was reasonably close to its prediction, 63. The height for
Red/Silver was 76m. The height for the Red/Yellow was 81m. The height for Red/Black was
317m. The height for Little White was 25m. Below is a table showing the actual height.

Rocket Name

Actual Height

Big White

60m

Red/Silver

76m

Red/Yellow

81m

Red/Black

317m

Little White

25m

Due to the curve from the rockets, these numbers cannot be trusted. For example, the
height for Red/Black was not 62m but instead 317m. This was way off because this rocket had
curved the most.
Conclusion
When looking at the results, it is clear that the actual height was wrong. Many things
were wrong in this lab. Many thing were assumed and due to that our data was wrong. The first
thing was the drag coefficient. It was assumed that the drag coefficient numbers were those
based on how it compared to the rocket in the tunnel. It was not certain and that threw our data
off. The numbers were based on the rocket showed below.

Another thing that went wrong was the actual rocket heights calculations. The
calculations were all based on how it looked. The angles were measured based on what the
people saw which is not very accurate. The tool that was used was also not very accurate. The
rockets had also curved greatly so the math would not work.
The prediction for Big White was 62m. This was fairly close to the actual height at 60m.
This worked fairly well because this rocket went straight. However, for rockets like the
Red/Black, it did not go straight. The predicted height for that was 62m as well. However, the
actual height that was calculated was 317m. For this the numbers were very off because the
rocket curved too much.
Instead of using the protractors as a tool to measure the angle and then using tangent to
find the height, using a device that attaches to the rocket tip and measures the maximum height
would have been better. If that had been done then the calculations would not have been wrong
and the actual and predicted numbers would be fairly close to each other.
Reflection

This report helped me understand physics a lot more. Before this lab I did not fully
understand hoe momentum, impulse, and air resistance worked. However, once we did the lab, I
understood a lot more.
The Engine Thrust lab helped me get a better understanding for how engines in a rocket
work. In this lab, I had problems with finding the area under the curb. It was mostly the math
part because it was calculus stuff and I have not taken calculus. Although this was confusing and
hard, I learned how to do it with the help from Mr. Hendricks and my peers.
The drag Force lab helped me understand how a wind tunnel works and also how
important air resistance is. Here I learned what air resistance is and I learned how to apply it to
the rockets. I also had problems with the impulse and momentum equations but this lab cleared
that up for me.
The Numerical Model helped me understand how important spread sheets are and that it
makes calculations much easier.
The Flight Result lab was the most helpful. I learned how to measure the height of any
object with just a protractor and a string. I learned how much of a difference air resistance makes
on rockets. And lastly I learned how to use tangent and combine it with the protractor numbers to
get a height.
I think the biggest problem I had was missing a week of class. Due to that, I missed the
Engine Thrust, Drag Thrust, and the Numerical Model labs. However, with a bit more help
during lunch, I understood the lab and was able to do it..

Overall, I think this lab was very fun and also very educational because I learned a lot
and had fun as well.