Rocketry for Kids. Science Level 4. Rocketry Activities

Transcription

1 Rocketry for Kids Science Level 4 Rocketry Activities

2 Victorian Space Science Education Centre 400 Pascoe Vale Road Strathmore, Vic Some material for this program has been derived from the work of others and is reproduced with the generous permission of the original copyright owners: NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Human Resources and Education, Education Division. 2

3 Rocketry Activities 1. Rocket Parts (Colouring activity) Pg 5 2. Two Stage Balloon Rocket 7 3. Paper Rockets 9 4. Altitude Tracking Water Rockets POP! Antacid Tablet Race 27 3

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5 Activity 1. Identify the Rocket s Parts What you need: Colouring pencils Rocket pattern What to do: Colour in and label the different parts of a rocket: Nosecone Body Fins Nozzle 5

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7 Activity 2. Two Stage Balloon Rocket What you need: 3 long balloons Nylon fishing line 3 Plastic straws Styrofoam cup Masking tape Scissors 3 Spring clothes pegs What to do: 1. Thread the fishing line through all three straws, stretch it across the room and secure the ends. Make sure the line is taught. It should be high enough that people can pass beneath it. 2. Cut the Styrofoam cup in half, so that the lip of the cup is in a ring. 3. Pre inflate the balloons to stretch them out. 4. Inflate a balloon fully and twist the nozzle shut, (don t knot it), secure it with a peg. 5. Carry the balloon to one end of the string and sticky tape the first of the straws along the length of the balloon. 6. Countdown to launch the balloon and release. 7. Draw a pen marking on the string to mark where the balloon stopped. 8. Inflate the second balloon to about ¾ full and squeezing the nozzle tight, pull it through the Styrofoam ring. Twist the balloon nozzle shut and secure with a peg. 9. Inflate the last balloon. As you do this, make sure that the front of this balloon extends into the Styrofoam ring a short distance. See the picture. As the last balloon inflates it will press against the nozzle of the second balloon and firmly seal the nozzle. 10. Twist and clip the nozzle of the last balloon shut with the other clothes peg. 11. Take the balloons to the end of the fishing line and tape a straw to each balloon. The balloons should be oriented parallel to the fishing line. 12. Remove the clothes peg from the leading balloon and untwist the nozzle. Do the same for the trailing balloon, but continue to hold the nozzle shut with your fingers. 7

8 13. Countdown to launch the two balloons and release your grip on the trailing balloon. The gas escaping from the trailing balloon will propel both balloons along the fishing line, until it begins to run out of air near the Styrofoam ring. This will release the nozzle on the leading balloon which will then power the rocket along the fishing line. 14. Mark with a pen where the staged balloon rockets stop. Questions: 1) Which balloon rocket travelled further: the first, single balloon rocket or the second, two stage rocket? 2) How does the single balloon rocket work? 3) How does the two stage balloon rocket work? 4) Why do rockets use staging? 8

9 Activity 3. Paper Rockets What you need: A4 paper Sticky tape Scissors Sharpened, large diameter pencil Eye protection Ruler Plastic straw (slightly thinner than pencil) Masking tape or altitude trackers Pictures of the sun and planets What to do: Making and launching the paper rockets 1. Photocopy and enlarge planet templates from the next page. Lay out the Solar System across the classroom. 2. Each student should construct one rocket as shown in instructions below. 3. Students try to predict which planet they will reach when they launch their rocket from the Sun. 4. Following the first flight students should construct at least two more rockets of different sizes and different designs (e.g. Add more fins). Making the paper rockets 1. Roll a strip of paper cut 4cm x 28cm length around the pencil. (See the diagram.) 2. Tape the rolled paper in three places along its length, being careful not to tape the rolled paper to the pencil. 3. Remove pencil from the rolled paper tube. 4. Cut off the excess lengths at either end. 5. Cut out fins (at least two) in any shape or design you like. 6. Tape the fins to the base of the rolled paper tube. 7. Fold over the upper end and tape shut. 8. Insert the straw into base (the fin end). 9. Blow through the straw to launch the rocket 10. Record your results. 11. Redesign the rockets; determine what needs to be changed to make the rocket fly further. 12. Predict how far the new rocket design will fly and create and launch new rockets. Questions: 1) Which rocket design went the furthest? 2) Which planet did the rocket travel to? 3) Which rocket design travelled the shortest distance? 4) Which planet did this rocket travel to? 5) How do these two rockets differ in design? 6) What made the rocket that travelled the furthest so successful? 9

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13 Activity 4 Altitude Tracking Construct this tracker to build an instrument for accurately measuring the altitude of your water rockets or AlkaSeltzer rockets. What you need: Altitude tracker pattern (below) Altitude calculator pattern (below) 3 pieces heavy weight paper or light weight cardboard Thread or light weight string Small metal washer Split pin Scissors Stanley knife and cutting surface Stapler Meter long ruler Rocket What to do: Constructing the altitude tracker scope 1. Copy or glue the altitude tracker pattern onto a heavy weight paper or light cardboard. 2. Cut out the pattern on the thick, dark outside lines 3. Curl (do not fold) the B edge of the pattern to the back until it lines up with the A edge. 4. Staple the edges together where marked. If done correctly, the As and Bs will be on the outside of edges of the tracker. 5. Punch a small hole through the apex of the protractor quadrant on the pattern. 6. Slip the thread through the hole and tie off at the back. 7. Attach the small washer to the loose end of the thread on the A side to act as a weight. 13

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15 Constructing the altitude calculator. 1. Copy or glue the two patterns for the altitude calculator onto a heavy weight paper or light cardboard. Cut out the patterns. 2. Place the top pattern (with the rocket on it) on the cutting surface and carefully cut out three windows. 3. Join the two patterns together and where the two centre marks are located insert the split pin. Make sure the two pieces rotate smoothly. 15

16 the Using altitude tracker 1. Set up your tracking station a short distance away from your rocket launch site. If you are using paper or Alka Seltzer rockets a 5 meter distance is sufficient, 15 meters is recommended for water and air powered bottle rockets. This is your baseline ( or the opposite/adjacent). 2. As your rocket launches, the person monitoring/tracking the rocket s launch will follow the flight with the sighting tube (in the altitude tracker). Hold the tracker light a pistol and keep it at the same level as the rocket when it is launched. Aim the tracker at the highest point the rocket reached in the sky. 16

17 3. A second student should then read off the angle the thread and washer makes at this position. Record the angle. Determining the altitude 1. Use the altitude calculator to determine the height the rocket reached. 2. Rotate the inner wheel of the calculator so that the nose of the rocket pointer is aimed at the angle measured by the altitude tracker. 3. Read the altitude of the rocket by looking in the window; if you used a paper or Alka Seltzer rocket the baseline would be 5 meters and would be read from the 5 meter window. If you used water or air powered bottle rockets, the baseline would be 15 m and would be read from the 15m window of the rocket pointer. 4. If the angle falls between two marks, average the numbers above and below the marks. Completed altitude tracker 17

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19 Activity 5 Water Rockets Teachers should pass the construction of the launcher over to a parent with the time, tools and skills to do this successfully. The cost is not high. SAFETY Water rockets are quite safe to use with primary school students provided a handful of sensible precautions are taken. Use eye protection. Keep clear of pressurised rockets. The water exhaust can break fingers. A water rocket may break bones if it hits you. Do not pressurise beyond 7 bar or 100psi. Only use bottles from carbonated soft drinks. Do not use bottles which were filled with non fizzy drinks, they aren t strong enough. Do not use bottles with cracks, kinks or flaws, they will burst. Use a release mechanism which allows you to stand at least 4 metres from the rocket. Begin with lower pressure. We suggest you try steps of 2, 4 and 6 bar, (30, 60 and 90 psi) Constructing the Launcher Constructing water rockets is relatively easy; the harder part is making the launcher. There are many different designs of water rocket launcher. The one we describe below is fairly simple. For more sophisticated designs search the internet. There are hundreds of launchers on the web. They fall into two main categories: 1. Cable tie releases invented by Ian Clark of Melbourne. 2. Hose fitting releases. This is a simple pinned release. What you need: 4 x 125mm angle brackets (shelf brackets) with 12x 19mm wood screws to fit 1x 125mm steel strip (cut an angle bracket in half) 2x 150mm nails 4x 300mm tent pegs or similar spikes 2x 125mm x 6mm carriage bolts with 6 nuts and 4 washers to suit 75mm eye bolt with 2 nuts to suit Number 3 rubber stopper with a single hole Snap in tubeless tyre valve (get this from a tyre service centre) Wood 300 x 450 x 19 mm 1.25L bottle Electric drill and bits including a 10mm bit Screw driver Spanner to fit nuts Vice 4 metres of 3mm cord Pencil Bicycle pump with pressure gauge. 19

20 What to do: 1. Prepare the rubber stopper by enlarging the hole with a drill. Grip the stopper lightly with a vice and gently enlarge the hole with a 10mm bit and electric drill. The rubber will stretch during cutting, making the finished hole slightly less than 10mm. 2. Remove the stopper from the vice and push the valve end of the tire stem through the stopper from the narrow end to the wide end. 3. Drill a 10mm hole through the centre of the steel strip. Hold the strip with a vice during drilling and put on eye protection. 4. Enlarge the holes at the ends of the strip to 6mm. 5. Lay the strip in the centre of the wood base and mark the centres of the two 6mm holes. Drill 6mm holes through the wood at these points. 6. Push and twist the tyre stem into the hole you drilled in the centre of the steel strip. The fat end of the stopper should rest on the plate. 7. Insert the carriage bolts through the wood base from the bottom up. Place a hex nut over each bolt and tighten the nut so that the bolt head pulls in the wood. 8. Screw a second nut over each bolt and spin it about half way down the bolt. Place a washer over each nut and then slip the steel strip over the two bolts. 9. Press the neck of a 1.25L plastic bottle over the stopper. 10. Set up angle brackets so they look like book ends. Insert a 150mm nail through the top hole of each bracket. Slide the bracket near the bottle neck so that the nail rests immediately above the wide neck lip. The nail will hold the bottle in place while you pump up the rocket. If the bottle is too low or high, adjust the nuts beneath the steel strip on both sides to raise it. 11. Set up the other two angle brackets as you did in the previous step. Place them on the opposite side of the bottle. When you have the brackets aligned so that the nails rest and hold the bottle lip, mark the above centres of the holes in the brackets on the For more precise screwing, drill wood base. small pilot holes for each screw and then screw the corner irons tightly to the base. 20

21 12. Install an eyebolt near the edge of the base aligned between the two angle brackets. 13. Attach the launch pull cord to the head of each nail. Run the cord through the eyebolt. 14. Make final adjustments to the launcher by attaching the pump to the tire stem and pumping up the bottle to no more than 3 bar (40 psi). Refer to the launching instructions for safety notes. If the air seeps out around the stopper, the stopper is too loose. Raise the steel strip to press the stopper with slightly more force to the bottle neck. When satisfied with the position, use the remaining nuts to hold the strip in position. 15. Drill a hole in each corner of the base. The holes should be large enough to pass the tent pegs. When the launch pad is set up on a grassy field, the tent pegs will hold the launcher in place when you yank the pull cord. The launcher is now complete. SAFETY ADDITION: The launcher described here can be made safer by the addition of four guide dowels to direct the rockets. 16. Mount an empty bottle on the launcher, do not pressurise. 17. Stand four 1 metre long dowels vertically around the bottle, mark the base at the four contact points. 18. Drill four holes. 19. Glue the dowels in the base. The launcher with dowels can be tilted to one side to aim the rockets in a controlled direction. This is safer than launching the rockets vertically. 21

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23 Bottle Rocket What you need: 1.25L plastic soft drink bottles Glue guns Poster board Tape Modelling clay Scissors Safety glasses Marker pens Launch pad (Bottle Rocket Launcher) What to do: 1. Wrap and glue or tape cardboard to the 2L bottle. 2. Cut out several different types of fins and glue or tape them onto the cardboard. 3. Make a nosecone out of cardboard and hold it together with either tape or glue. 4. Press a ball of modeling clay into the top of the nosecone. 5. Glue or tape the nosecone to the upper end of the bottle (opposite end from the fins). 23

24 Launch Safety Instructions: 1. Select a grassy field that measures approximately 30m across. Place the launcher in the centre of the field and anchor it in place with the spikes or tent pegs. (If it is a windy day, place the launcher closer to the side of the field from which the wind is blowing so that the rocket will drift on to the field as it comes down) 2. Have each student or student group set up their rocket on the launch pad. Other students should stand back several meters. It will be easier to keep observers away by roping off the launch site. 3. After the rocket is attached to the launcher, the student pumping the rocket should put on eye protection. The rocket should be pumped no higher than about 50psi. 4. When pressurization is complete, all students should stand back behind the rope for the countdown. 5. Before conducting the countdown, be sure the place where the rocket is expected to come down is clear of people. Launch the rocket when the recovery range is clear. 6. Only permit the students launching the rocket to retrieve it. Questions: 1) Using the altitude tracker, calculate how high your rocket flew. 2) What made your rocket launch? 3) Could you design a different rocket that could fly higher? What would you change? 24

25 Activity Pop! What you need: Coloured cardboard Plastic 35mm film canister with internally sealing lid. Student sheets Sticky tape Scissors Antacid tablet Paper towels Water Eye protection What to do: 1. Wrap and tape a tube of coloured cardboard around the film canister. Make sure that the lid of the film canister is downward. 2. Tape fins of any shape or size to the base of the rocket (same end as the lid) 3. Roll a cone of paper (using the cone template), tape the edges together and tape the cone to the top of rocket. 4. Put on eye protection 5. Turn the rocket upside down and fill the film canister 1/3 full of water. 6. Quickly, drop in ½ a table of Alka Seltzer or water soluble aspirin. 7. QUICKLY Snap the lid on tight. 8. Stand the rocket on the launch platform. 9. Stand back. Questions: 1) How could you make your rocket fly better? What would you change? 2) What would happen if you dropped a full tablet of Alka Seltzer (or aspirin) into the film canister? If you re not sure try the experiment. 3) What would happen if you dropped a ¼ of Alka Seltzer (or aspirin) into the film canister? Experiment. 4) Which fuel quantity launched the rocket best: ¼ tablet, ½ tablet or 1 tablet? 5) If you put a payload in your rocket will it affect the launch? Try putting a ball of plasticine under the nosecone of the rocket. 25

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27 Activity 7. Antacid tablet race What you need: 4x antacid/ aspirin tablets 2x 500mL beakers Tweezers Scrap paper Stop watch Thermometer Eye protection 250mL of hot water 250mL of cold water 500mL of cold water What to do: 1. Fill both beakers with equal amounts of 500mL cold water. 2. Put on eye protection 3. Predict how long it will take a tablet to dissolve in the water. 4. Drop a tablet in the first beaker and time how long it takes to dissolve. 5. Wrap another tablet in paper and crush it carefully with a wooden block or rolling pin. 6. Predict how long it will take the crushed table to dissolve. 7. As a variation: both the solid tablet and the crushed table can be dropped into the separate beakers at the same time, record which finishes first. 27

28 8. Empty the two beakers and refill one with the hot water and the other with 250mL cold water. 9. Measure the temperature in the first beaker (with hot water) and predict how long it will take a tablet to dissolve. 10. Drop a tablet into the water and time how long it takes to dissolve. 11. Measure the temperature in the second beaker (with cold water) and predict how long it will take a table to dissolve. 12. Drop a tablet into the water and time how long it takes to dissolve. 13. As a variation: both tablets could be dropped into the hot and cold water at the same time, record which finishes first. Questions: 1) Which fuel dissolved faster in cold water: the solid fuel or the powdered fuel? 2) Why? 3) Which fuel dissolved faster in warm water: the solid fuel or the powdered fuel? 4) Why? 5) Which fuel source would you recommend to NASA to power the launch of their next rocket, solid fuel or powdered? 6) Why? 28