Alka-Seltzer Rocket

Group of Jordan Page and Maddy Ross

Intro:

For this project, we had to design a rocket and launch it by mixing water and an alka-seltzer tablet. We got to use any materials we wanted but had to build everything around a film canister

Technical Concepts: 

This project was based mainly on Newtons Three Laws of Physics: objects keep on doing what they are doing until acted upon by an unequal force, f=ma, and for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. These concepts will help understand how the rocket launches

Learning Goals:

I wanted to figure out how Newton's Laws applied to the rocket and in everyday life. Also, I wanted to really understand the three laws and become familiar with them.

Design Brief Details:

For our rocket, we constructed the shape and everything around the film canister using strong construction paper. The length of it was equal to that of the canister, plus a nose cone. We originally had three fins but had to reconstruct the rocket and a fin broke in the process, so we ended up only having two fins. The fins were long and skinny and had a small triangle on the top because we saw that an actual rocket had fins like that.

Positive Feedback: 

Our rocket was surprisingly very successful. It went 24 feet which was very high for the class. This was made possible because of the right mixture of alka seltzer to water, half tablet to a quarter water, and our short, light design.

Redesign:

If I was to rebuild our rocket, I would probably keep the third fin on and not use a ton of tape, just enough to make it sturdy. Attaching a third fin would make the rocket fly straight and less tape would create a lighter rocket.

Technological Resources:

For this project, resources that we used were materials, people, time, and information. These resources made our project successful and allowed us to do the project.

Biggest Challenge: 

Our biggest challenge was trying to put the cap on the film canister. Since we were having a hard time with this, we made the rocket much shorter and also made the film canister able to be completely taken out of the paper.

What I Learned: In this project, I learned a lot about Newton's Laws and how they apply to rockets and other objects. These physics concepts will help me understand other situations in the future.