This semester was dedicated to learning how to build water bottle rockets, and the

science and math behind it. Our goal was to create a rocket out of 2 liter plastic bottles, that
would end up flying high, and gently falling to the ground using a backslider, without crashing.
We built our rocket by (after several attempts), using only one 2 liter bottle. We had a sleeve with
three fins that attached to the rocket, as well as a plastic light tube, which served as the
backslider for our nosecone. The design was simple, but efficient, and our rocket had a
successful launch and landing.
Engineering Design Process:
● Ask: Our problem was to create a rocket out of a plastic, 2 liter, water bottle that could
launch and land without exploding or crashing. The constraints came from our materials,
and that we needed to keep the bottle light, so it would fly higher. Also, our skill set held
us back, as we needed to have a simple design that we could build well.
● Research: We researched, using google, youtube and my teachers, to learn how best we
could make our rocket. We learned the different rocket shapes, and how the fins help, and
how it balances, using our research
● Imagine: With our research, we wrote down different ways we could complete our
rocket. We came up with various ideas, and changed/modified them multiple times.
● Plan:We made several different versions of our blueprints. After researching, we would
write what we wanted, and they revise it to work with what we thought we could
complete. Our final blueprint was what we ended up with, and it worked best.
● Create (prototype): We did not have a prototype. We should have made one, as it might
have made it so we didn’t go through three different rockets before our final, but we only
had our blueprint.
● Test: Our rocket went through many tests. The first one exploded during pressure testing,
as the pressure chamber had a leak. The second attempt leaked during pressure testing, as
the pressure chamber was not properly air-tight. The third was stabbed mysteriously by
some idiot. We learned from each one, what works and what doesn’t, and applied that to
our final model.
● Improve: We improved our rocket with every new model. After the first one blew up, we
tried to make our splice (between two bottles) tighter and leak-proof, as well as more
resistant to pressure. After the second one leaked, we decided that we would have more
success using only 1 bottle, as the splice was our main issue. Our final product passed the
pressure test and launched beautifully.

Math
 Math is a vital part of launching rockets. Two concepts that are important for discussing
rockets are quadratics and motion.
Quadratic functions are equations with a highest power of 2, along with powers of 1 and
0. The function describes a rocket's height as a function of time. Acceleration, initial velocity,
and initial position are the three terms. Its position is its height in accordance with the time
elapsed. Its velocity refers to the speed of the rocket at specific points of the rocket’s palabora.
Acceleration is a product of gravity after there is no more thrust, creating change in the speed of
the rocket as it flies.
In all, the quadratic function describes the rocket as it launches from the initial height,
reaches its vertex (the highest point), and falls back onto the ground. After the thrust from
launch, the velocity first decreases, until it reaches the vertex, (where velocity equals 0) then
increases as the force of gravity accelerates it down. Acceleration, however, is constant, and after
thrust ends, stays the same throughout flight. All of this is ignoring air resistance.
1 g is equal to 9.81 meters per second. Gravity is the largest force in a rocket's flight, and
the rocket experiences various gs throughout. After thrust, until it hits the vertex and falls back
down, from the frame or reference inside the rocket, the rocket goes into free fall, meaning that
there is no normal force. Having 0 gs would feel as though you are floating, because of the lack
of normal force pushing against you.

Physics
During our project, we had to learn and apply many physics concepts, including Newton's
first, second, and third laws.
Newton’s first law of motion involves inertia, normal force, and net force equilibrium. It
states that an object will continue to move or stay at rest unless acted upon by an external force.
The tendency for an object to stay in motion is called inertia. When a rocket is shooting
through the air after there is no more thrust, the only force acting on it is gravity (ignoring air
resistance). However, it will continue to rise because of inertia, which makes it keep moving
after the thrust has run out. It will not rise forever, because the external force of gravity pushes it
down.
Normal force is experienced when an object is resting on a surface. The ability to not fall
through the surface is thanks to normal force pushing up, perpendicular to the surface. When the
rocket lands, if there were no normal force, it would continue to fall through the earth, but
instead, the earth pushes up on it, so it stops falling once it hits the ground. Similarly, when the
rocket is at rest, such as pre-launch, it experiences net force equilibrium, meaning that the net
force is 0. This is because the gravitational force and the normal force are equal to each other,
which is why the rocket does not move.
Newton’s second law of motion states that an object will accelerate when acted upon by
an external force.
Force is what causes objects to accelerate. Newtons are kilograms per second squared,
which is the measure of force–mass times acceleration. A rocket has forces such as air drag,
gravity, and normal force, acting upon it throughout its life. The measurement of these forces is
done in newtons.
Friction is a type of force. It causes objects to slow down. Drag is the term for the
friction of air. A rocket experiences air drag/friction when it is moving through air. It will have
some drag when it launches, but if the parachute/backslider works properly, it will have more air
resistance as it falls.
Mass is a term for how much of something there is, or how hard it is to accelerate
something. Weight, however, is the gravitational force exerted on a mass. Mass is measured in
kilograms, but weight, because it is a gravitational force, is in newtons, or kilograms per second
squared.
Newton’s third law of motion is that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If
you push against something, it will push back with an equal force, creating a net force of 0. In
the case of rockets, the bodies are the rocket/pressure chamber, and the water. Together, they
create the system, where the water pushes out of the rocket and the rocket pushes back with the
same force.