Testing with Paper Rockets
Students should already know a little something about:
- Newton's Laws
- force and thrust
In this lesson students will compare and contrast airplane and rockets, further discuss force and thrust, and Newton’s 3rd Law. Adding to the discussion about thrust, students will also learn how weight and control affect a rockets flight. Students will learn how the size and shape of the nozzle effects a rocket, and will design two paper rockets in order to test this.
Science Standards:
4.PS.2: Energy can be transferred from one location to another or can be transformed from one form to another.
5.PS.1: The amount of change in movement of an object is based on the mass of the object and the amount of force exerted.
6.PS.3: There are two categories of energy: kinetic and potential.
6.PS.4: An object's motion can be described by its speed and the direction in which it is moving.
7.PS.3: Energy can be transformed or transferred but is never lost.
7.PS.4: Energy can be transferred through a variety of ways.
8.PS.2: Forces can act to change the motion of objects.
High School Standards:
P.F.1: Newton's laws applied to complex problems.
P.F.5: Air resistance and drag.
PS.FM.2: Forces • Force diagrams • Types of forces (gravity, friction, normal, tension) • Field model for forces at a distance.
PS.FM.3: Dynamics (how forces affect motion) • Objects at rest • Objects moving with constant velocity • Accelerating objects.
STEM Emerging Technology Connections:
Hypersonics and Space Technology: This "Rocketry" lesson, exploring thrust and rocket design using paper rockets, connects to both Space Technology and Hypersonics. The lesson directly addresses the concept of thrust, a fundamental principle for both space travel and achieving hypersonic speeds. The experiment with different nozzle diameters provides a simplified illustration of how design choices impact thrust and, consequently, flight performance, which is a key consideration in both space technology and the development of hypersonic vehicles. The comparison of rockets and airplanes further reinforces the connection to space technology by highlighting the unique challenges of space travel