The past section was to prepare us for the last rocket project. For the project my group wanted a rocket that wasn’t to small nor too big. The Body For the body we were looking to make it not to long nor short. We found a PVC tube that looked perfect for the body we had in mind. The tube was 14 inches long. Once our tube has been selected we set that aside and started the next step. The next step was to get 3 even strips of paper rolls to cover the tube. After we were going to have to spread wood glue on each strip and spiral it around the tube three times. We had to make sure when we spiral the paper strips around the PVC tube that no air bubbles are trapped under the paper. We somewhat fail doing that because our tube had wrinkles which meant it wasn’t done properly. To hide our failure in this part of the project we spray painted the tube dark blue. |
The Fins In order to make the fins we had to make sure they were aerodynamic. The fins were the hardest to make because we couldn't find the right piece of balsa wood and when we did It wouldn't be enough. We manage to find some thick rectangular shape pieces of balsa wood. Since our material was thick we decided not make 8 fins. Later on we agreed to spray paint the fins black and as we went outside I noticed that the fins weren't as even we thought. To fix this problem we brought something to clip all four of the fins together so I can sand them down evenly. After this Griffin spray painted them black. The fins took not so long to dry The Nose The nose was the part of the rocket we weren't sure to make. When we got our material we initially thought we were going to make the nose out of foam. Making the nose out of foam would have been harder because of how light it was and lack of material. We found a square piece balsa wood and sanded it into a cone. Making the piece of balsa wood into a cone shape was so hard because the balsa wood was deformed. After we finished shaping the nose cone I attached the parachute. |
Launch For our launch event Andrew was forced to resort to plan B because there was a probability of rain that day. Instead of making an event for the project we just launched the rockets at Fiesta Island. We chose our launch day on tuesday because we wanted to get it out of our hair so we can focus on other things. When the time came to get in the car and head to Fiesta Island we almost forgot the straws for when we were going to launch the rocket. Griffin ran to school and ask where he could find strips of straws for our rocket. Once we were all set we all jump into the car. At Fiesta Island we found our location then set up the rocket and cameras. 3…...2…...1 up goes our rocket. As we were watching the rocket in mid air the ejection charge was going off. Our rocket was coming nose down fast. When it hit the ground, pieces went fly off the rocket. We approached it and saw the nose cone pummeled inside the rocket. Everything went well except for the ejection charge that cause the rocket to crash land. Rocket Project Reflection Prompts
I feel like our project could have turn out way better because even with the materials we were able to get on our hands worked. When we launched the rocket it was all going fine until it came down crash. When it landed we just saw fins disattaching from the body and the nose cone pummeled inside the tube. We somehow lost both a nickel and a quarter from the nose cone. The things that stood out to me was the launch and when we tried find the thrust for our motor.
From doing this project I learn more about physics by building the rocket. Whether it was the fins and the adjusting the center of mass. What is necessary to build a successful rocket is have a great motor and calculation for the rocket design.
What I learned about myself was that I someone who likes to work on hands on work. On this project my work habits change a lot.
I collaborated with Griffin perfectly and in the project we all had our part. What I did in the project was construct the fins, shape the nose cone, helped make the body,and took all the pictures.
|