2. Space Transportation

 

Do you want to know how rocket liftoff is an application of Newton's Laws of Motion?

You are going to construct a rocket powered by the pressure generated from an effervescing antacid tablet reacting with water 

                                                  J WooOow!!J      

You also will use the NASA disk "Space Transportation: Past, Present and Future" to learn about space transportation.


 

Background:

Rockets, jet engines and spaceships are all driven forward by the same principle: every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This means pushing something out of the back of a rocket will give the rocket a forward push of the same force. In the case of rockets and jet engines the material pushed out the back are the hot expanding gases from the burning of jet or rocket fuel.

 

What is propulsion? The word is derived from two Latin words: pro meaning before or forwards and pellere meaning to drive. Propulsion means to push forward or drive an object forward. A propulsion system is a machine that produces thrust to push an object forward. On airplanes, thrust is usually generated through some application of Newton's third law of action and reaction. A gas, or working fluid, is accelerated by the engine, and the reaction to this acceleration produces a force on the engine.

 

This activity is a simple but exciting demon­stration of Newton's Laws of Motion. The rocket lifts off because it is acted upon by an unbalanced force (First Law).

This is the force produced when the lid blows off by the gas formed in the canister. The rocket travels upward with a force that is equal and opposite to the downward force propelling the water, gas, and lid (Third Law). The amount of force is directly proportional to the mass of water and gas expelled from the canister and how fast it accelerates (Second Law).

 

Computer drawing of an airliner showing the thrust vector.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text Box: Materials and Tools: Heavy paper (stock or construction paper), Plastic 35 mm film canister (the film canister must have an internal-sealing lid), Student sheets, Cellophane tapes, Scissors, Effervescing antacid tablet: Alka-Seltzer, Paper towels, Water, Eye protection   Instructions 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

 

 

 

 2a. Propulsion

1.      Build the rocket out of construction paper and a film canister as shown on the following page.

2.    Turn the rocket upside down and fill the canister 1/3 full of water.

3.    Drop in antacid 1/2 tablet.

4.    Snap lid on tight

5.    Stand rocket on launch pad

6.    Stand back

7.    Hold an altitude (angle) contest to see which rocket can fly the highest.

8.    Make a graph of water versus height of rocket to make conclusions

 

2b. Space Transportation History - NASA Information Challenge

9.    Using the NASA "Space Transportation, Past, Present and Future," disk.

 

 

Discussion:  Propulsion experiment

·        How does the amount of water placed in the cylinder affect how high the rocket will fly?

·        How does the temperature of the water affect how high the rocket will fly?

·        How does the amount of the tablet used affect the flight?

·        How does the length or empty weight of the rocket affect how high it will fly?

·        How would it be possible to create a two-stage rocket?

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 


                         2. SPACE TRANSPORTATION REPORT SHEET

            Space Transportation History Questions - NASA

 

   2a. Make a bar graph of water versus height of rocket to make conclusions

  

Height OF ROCKET

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text Box: More Information: Experiment taken from Rockets: A Teacher's Guide with Activities in Science, Mathematics, and Technology, NASA http://www.nasa.gov http://www.eventscope.org/Eventscope/main.htm http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/bgp.html www.home.integrityonline.com/passerotti/soda_bottle_rocket/soda_bottle_rocket.html  

 


 

 

 

2b. NASA INFORMATION CHALLENGE

 

People

 

1.          What are the three main jobs on the Shuttle today?

 

2.        Who was the first woman Space Shuttle Commander?

 

3.        Who was the first African American woman in space?

 

4.        Who was the first man that touched the moon?

 

5.        Which female astronaut is a Huntsville High graduate?

PAST EVENTS

6.        When was the first U.S. Manned Space Flight?

7.  When was the first human lunar landing?

8. What is the name of the lunar landing site?

9. How many astronauts have walked on the moon?

 

PRESENT

 

10.            How much does the space shuttle weight at launch?

 

11.             What is the only non-reusable component of the shuttle space transportation system?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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