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Rocket Activity
Water Rocket
Construction
Objective
Student teams will construct water rockets and
successfully launch them.
Description
Using plastic soft drink bottles, cardboard or
Styrofoam food trays, tape, and glue, small
teams of students design and construct
rockets. A simple assembly stand assists
them in gluing fi ns on their rockets, and a nose
cone is mounted on the top. A small lump of
modeling clay is inserted into the nose cone
to enhance the rocket’s stability in fl ight. The
rocket is launched with a special launcher. The
plans for the launcher are found in the Water
Rocket Launcher activity.
National Science Content Standards
Physical Science
• Position and motion of objects
• Motions and forces
Science and Technology
• Abilities of technological design
National Mathematics Content Standards
• Geometry
• Measurement
National Mathematics Process Standards
• Connections
Materials
2-liter soft drink bottle (1 per team)
Styrofoam food trays
Posterboard, cardboard
Masking tape
Low-temperature glue guns and glue
1- to 2-inch piece of 1/2” PVC pipe
4X4X1-inch board (per team) and small
screw and washer
4 ounces of clay
Safety goggles
Plastic grocery sacks or thin fabric scraps
String
Sandpaper or emery boards
Art supplies
Water rocket launcher (see page 109)
Bicycle pump or small compressor
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Management
Begin collecting 2-liter soft drink bottles a few
weeks before the activity. Save the caps, too.
Rinse the bottles and remove the labels. There
will be some glue adhesive remaining on the
bottle. Goo remover can be used to clean it off,
but it tends to smear the surface.
Construct assembly stands out of small
blocks of wood. Attach a bottle cap to the
middle of each board with a small screw and a
washer through the cap. When students begin
constructing their rockets, they screw the bottle
neck into the cap, and the board below will hold
the rocket upright for gluing. The blocks also
make a convenient way of storing the rockets
upright when not being worked on.
Launch lug with
slanted cuts.
Make mounting stands by screwing the plastic
bottle caps to a board. Use a washer for
added strength.
Pre-cut the PVC segments. The cuts can
be slanted to streamline them. A saw or PVC
cutter is used for cutting. The segments act as
launch lugs to guide the rocket up the launch
rod during the first moments of
skyward climb.
Be sure to use low-
temperature glue guns. High-
temperature guns will melt
the plastic bottle. A small
dish of ice water in a central
location is helpful for students
who get hot glue on their
fingers. Immersing the fingers
will immediately chill the
the rocket’s
glue. Do not put bowls of water near the guns
themselves because the guns use electricity
for heating, and shorting could occur if they get
wet.
Special Note The activity entitled Project X-
51 (see page 118) lays out an entire process
for constructing water rockets through launch
and reporting. Student teams form rocket
companies and compete for government
contracts. The procedures that follow here
should be used for the construction phase of
Project X-51.
Background
A water rocket is a chamber, usually a 2-liter
soft drink bottle, partially filled with water. Air
is forced inside with a pump. When the rocket
is released, the pressurized air forces water out
the nozzle (pour spout). The bottle launches
itself in the opposite direction. The bottle
usually has a nose cone for streamlining and
fins for stability.
Water rockets are easily capable of 100-
meter-high flights, but advanced hobbyists have
combined bottles and staged bottles for flights
over 300 meters high.
Water bottle rockets are ideal for
teaching Newton’s laws of motion. The launch
of the rocket easily demonstrates Newton’s
third law. Students can see the water shooting
out of the nozzle (action) and see the rocket
streak into the sky (reaction). Students can also
experiment with different pressure levels inside
the chamber and different amounts of water.
The rocket will not fly very high if it is filled only
with air. The air will quickly rush out during the
launch, but its mass is very low. Consequently,
the thrust produced is also low (Newton’s
second law). By placing water in the bottle, the
air has to force the water out first before it can
leave the bottle. The water increases the mass
expelled by the rocket, thereby increasing the
thrust.
Like all rockets, the flight performance
of water bottle rockets is strongly influenced
by the rocket’s design and the care taken in its
construction. Beveling the leading and trailing
edges of fins allows them to slice through the
air more cleanly. Straight-mounted fins produce
little friction or drag with the air. A small amount
of ballast weight inside the nose cone helps
balance the rocket. This moves the center of
mass of the rocket forward while still leaving a
large fin surface area at the rear. In flight, the
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rocket design acts like a weather vane, with the
nose cone pointed up and the fi ns down.
Procedure
1. Set up a supply station with materials such
as Styrofoam food trays, posterboard, tape,
sandpaper, and art supplies.
2. Set up a gluing station with several heated
low-temperature glue guns and extra glue
sticks.
3. Divide students into teams for constructing
rockets. If using Project X-51, describe the
project to them and explain its objectives.
Discuss construction techniques for their
rockets. Give each team an assembly stand
and a 2-liter soft drink bottle. Project X-51
requires teams to keep track of the materials
they used. Even if they are not doing the
project, it is still good for teams to account
for the materials used.
4. Show teams how to use the glue guns and
point out the cold water dish in case glue
gets on fi ngers. Students should wear safety
goggles when gluing.
5. Describe how fi ns can be smoothed with
sandpaper to slice through the air with little
drag.
6. Remind teams to add clay to the inside of
their nose cones.
Trim fi n edges with sandpaper to give them
knife-blade shapes to slice through the air.
The Assembly Stand supports the rocket
while it is being constructed.
7. Have teams glue
launch lugs to the
side of the rocket
midway up the body
of the rocket and
position it midway
between two fi ns.
8. Challenge teams to
think up a way to
add a parachute to
their rockets for soft
landings. Plastic
grocery bags or
lightweight fabric
scraps can be cut
to make parachutes
and strings can be
used to attach them.
The nose cone must
remain in place until
the rocket reaches the top of its fl ight; then it
should open and release the parachute.
Launch Lug
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9. When the rockets have been completed,
have teams qualify their rockets for fl ight by
conducting string tests. Using several feet
of string, tie the rocket around the middle so
that it balances. Because of the nose cone
weight, the balance point will be towards the
nose. When the rocket hangs level, a small
piece of tape should be temporarily fi xed to
the string and bottle to keep the string from
slipping. The rocket is then twirled in a circle.
If the rocket tumbles while circling, it is not
stable and needs more nose cone weight,
bigger fi ns, or a combination of both. If the
rocket circles with the nose always pointed
forward, it is stable and ready for fl ight.
(More information about string tests will be
found in the instructions for Project X-51.)
10. Review launch procedures with the teams.
The instructions are outlined in the activity
for constructing a water rocket launcher (see
page 109). Conduct an inspection the day
before the launch to ensure that rocket fi ns
are securely attached.
11. Set up a tracking station for measuring the
altitudes achieved by the rockets. Follow
all safety procedures and instructions when
launching the team rockets.
Clear an open space for swing tests.
Assessment
• Inspect each team’s rocket for the
construction skill employed. Fins should be
vertical and securely attached. The rocket
should be stable.
• Observe the fl ights and note how the recovery
system designed by teams worked.
Extensions
• Conduct a space art show to feature
decorating schemes of team rockets. Have
students draw artist’s conceptions of their
rockets in fl ight. (See The Art of Spacefl ight
on page 146). To view artist’s conceptions
of NASA’s new Constellation program, see
pages 13-17.