Exploring the optimum percentage of

water for a bottle rocket

Author: Toya Furuyama

Published: July 2024
Word count: 3982
 Table of contents

1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 2

2. Background information.................................................................................................. 4

3. Practical portion................................................................................................................... 6

3.1 The experiment............................................................................................................. 6

3.2 Findings.................................................................................................................... 9

4. Data Analysis................................................................................................................ 10

4.1 Work done per unit mass........................................................................................ 10

4.2 Maximum displacement......................................................................................... 13

5. Collective data from the experiment:......................................................................... 14

6. Theoretical portion.............................................................................................................15

6.1 Work done after Phase 1...............................................................................................15

6.2 Finding maximum displacement.................................................................................. 17

7. Compiled data.....................................................................................................................27

7.1 Comparison graph........................................................................................................ 28

Conclusion...............................................................................................................................28

Evaluation............................................................................................................................... 29

References............................................................................................................................... 30

Appendix................................................................................................................................. 31

1
 1. Introduction

Rockets have always been fascinating with their ability to achieve what was once thought to

be unachievable. However, its design seems rather inefficient. This is because to launch a

small payload, a relatively massive body of fuels made of heavy material is needed1. We

would imagine that this extra weight of fuel and material will make it harder to launch the

rocket in the first place.

A way to investigate this on a smaller and safer scale is through water bottle rockets.

Although they have different types of fuels, they both have similar issues when it comes to

optimum percentages of fuel.

As seen above, to launch, the inverted bottle rocket with water is placed on a launch rail with

a cork2 attached to its opening. As air is pumped into the bottle from the

1
Foundation, Wikimedia. “Payload Fraction.” Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias, 2010.
https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/185431.
2
the outer bark of the cork oak, used widely as stoppers for bottles
Dictionary.com. “Cork Definition & Usage Examples.” 2024. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/cork.
2
cork, the compressed air pressure will exceed the static friction between the cork and the

bottle nozzle. This would push the cork out and expel the water within the bottle, generating

thrust from Newton's third law of motion3.

However, when there is too little water within the bottle rocket, the compressed air inside the

bottle will push out all of the water within the bottle too quickly and the remaining

pressurized air will be wasted. This leads to the bottle not flying as far. On the other hand,

when the bottle is filled with too much water, the pressure from the compressed air will be

insufficient to push all water within the bottle out. This leads to the water remaining in the

bottle, making it heavier, disrupting its flight pattern and not reaching as far.

1.1 Research question

The fascination with optimizing led to my research question: What is the optimum percentage

of water that makes a bottle rocket fly the furthest?

1.2 Objectives

This paper will find an answer by comparing a practical experiment and a theoretical

calculation that investigates the optimum percentage of fuel. Each of those will look to

answer the question in two ways. The first is by calculating the total work done per mass by

the compressed air during the launch of the bottle. This is because "work done per unit mass"

refers to the amount of energy expended to move a certain amount of mass over a certain

distance4. This would mean that more work done per

3
NASA. “Newton’s Laws of Motion.” NASA, August 7, 2023.
https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/newtons-laws-of-motion/#:~:text=His%20third%20law
%20states%20that,words%2C%20forces%20result%20from%20interactions.
4
EngineerExcel. “Specific Work Explained.” EngineerExcel, December 8, 2023.
https://engineerexcel.com/specific-work/#:~:text=Specific%20work%20is%20defined%20as,a%20per%20unit%2
0mass%20basis.
3
mass leads to more energy spent moving that certain amount of mass, therefore the further the

mass will reach. The second way of answering the question is by directly calculating the

maximum displacement reached by the bottle rocket after the launch.

2. Background information

To proceed with the calculations, the measurements of the bottles are needed and some extra

information is needed:

Nozzle diameter and area:

The volume of the rocket:

Mass of empty rocket:

2.1 Rocket phase in flight

The bottle rocket goes through 3 phases5:

The first phase5 is the water-propelled stage that lasts until all water within the bottle is

expelled. This is when the bottle containing pressurized air pushes the cork out and water

exits through the nozzle. This release of water provides thrust that pushes the rocket forward.

The air pressure gradually decreases, reducing the water's exit velocity and decreasing thrust.

However, the velocity of the rocket is still increasing. This means the end of the first stage is

usually when the bottle rocket has its maximum velocity.

5
R Barrio-Perotti1, E Blanco-Marigorta1, J Ferna ́ndez-Francos2 and M Galdo-Vega1. Theoretical and
experimental analysis of the physics of water rockets. Universidad de Oviedo: IOP PUBLISHING, 2010.
6
Typical ballistic flight: A perfectly parabolic flight pattern

4
The second5 phase is the air propulsion stage when the leftover pressurized air that remains

inside the rocket is expelled. As the leftover air is still pressurized, the difference in air

pressure causes air to exit quickly creating additional thrust on the rocket. For this paper, the

air propulsion will not be calculated as it is usually negligible. This is because the main

component of thrust for a water bottle rocket is the momentum from the outgoing water. Due

to air being 1.3 kg/m3 and water being 1000 kg/m3, the momentum that the air can supply is

only 0.13% that of water. Therefore the effects of the second stage are negligible.

The final phase5 is the typical projectile motion where the rocket is launched with an initial

velocity and angle and follows a typical ballistic trajectory6.

5
R Barrio-Perotti1, E Blanco-Marigorta1, J Ferna ́ndez-Francos2 and M Galdo-Vega1. Theoretical and
experimental analysis of the physics of water rockets. Universidad de Oviedo: IOP PUBLISHING, 2010.
6
Typical ballistic flight: A perfectly parabolic flight pattern

5
 3. Practical portion

3.1 The experiment

For the practical simulation to be ideal we need to make the rocket move effectively and

smoothly when launched. To achieve this, the center of mass of the rocket was moved to the

front half of the rocket by filling the head of the second bottle with acrylic sealant7 to ensure

a stable flight. In addition, the tip of the rocket should be pointed to reduce as much air

resistance as possible.

◦
To launch, the inverted bottle rocket is placed between two wooden planks at an angle of 35

which will guide the rocket to a straight path. Without the guide rails, the flight pattern may

vary as seen below.

7
Acrylic sealant: Acrylic sealers are made from acrylic resins and used for sealing cracks and gaps.
8
A one way valve is a valve or pump that allows only one way flow of air
9
Reference sheet: A sheet that shows a known distance at a distance from the camera
6
By attaching the open end of the bottle to a cork with a one-way valve8, we are able to pump

air into the bottle and build up air pressure.

Having all of these components, the experiment should be set up like this:

To reduce errors of perspective, the rocket was launched at quite a distance away from the

camera. In addition, The camera should be aligned with the center of the reference sheet9, and

the side of the rocket launch platform aligned with the start of the reference sheet.

The footage of the rocket was shot in HD 240fps meaning each frame is 1/240 seconds.

7
Acrylic sealant: Acrylic sealers are made from acrylic resins and used for sealing cracks and gaps.
8
A one way valve is a valve or pump that allows only one way flow of air
9
Reference sheet: A sheet that shows a known distance at a distance from the camera
7
3.1.1 What to measure

According to multiple websites, the optimum percentage of water filled for optimum launch

ranged from 30-50% of the bottle. Knowing this, the experiment will investigate from 30%

with 2 % increments until 50% which are these fractions10:

3.1.2 Methodology

1. The percentage or fractions of the total volume of the rocket will be filled with water

2. The cork is then inserted and the bottle is placed invertedly

3. Then a slow-motion camera looking at the reference sheet is turned on

4. Another camera is also turned on to film the gauge as the water is pumped until the

rocket is launched

5. Once the rocket lands, stop both cameras

6. Repeat 3 more times per fraction/percentage

7. Repeat for other percentages

To reduce the risk of the rocket hitting other people, the area was cleared so that no one could

get hurt.

3.1.3 Assumptions

This experiment will assume that the flight of the bottle rocket is perfectly 2 dimensional

with the air density and wind speed within the area of experimentation constant.

10
Uknown. “Drag.” whiteboxlearning.com. Accessed March 9, 2024.
https://www.whiteboxlearning.com/c/application/water-rocket/r1l0304.html#:~:text=Drag%20is%20one%20of%20t
he,force%20that%20resists%20forward%20motion.
8
 3.2 Findings
Initial pressure

The video taken of the gauge was analyzed to find the pressure right before launch. However,

since the gauge was not precise with an incremental increase of 0.2 bars, it made the data

from the gauge inaccurate. The average pressure within each rocket was 1. 9 ± 0. 2 bars.

Note: 1 bar is similar to 1 atmospheric pressure.

Anomalies

In the experiment, when the bottle was filled 50% with water, the rocket couldn't fully expel

all the water affecting its flight. In addition, the data for when the bottle was filled 46% was

far from the trend therefore both are anomalies and will be disregarded in this paper.

3.2.1 Overall trajectory

Within Logger Pro, the slow motion video is inputted, and the position of the rocket tip is

marked every 10th frame as seen in the image below:

The program will display the horizontal distance and vertical distance coordinates of each

point placed. When the horizontal and vertical displacement is graphed separately with

respect to time, the influence on the motion can be seen.

9
As you can see, the points on the horizontal displacement graph are close but not perfectly

linear. It seems to be slightly curved down showing the influence of air resistance on the

horizontal motion. On the other hand, the vertical displacement graph looks very close to a

perfect parabola which can imply that the influence of air resistance in the vertical direction

is negligible.

4. Data Analysis
As stated before, in order to find the optimal percentages of water for a bottle rocket to fly the

farthest, the work done per unit mass by air and the maximum distance reached by the bottle

per percentage of water filled are needed.

4.1 Work done per unit mass

As the compressed air within the bottle is the source of energy for the bottle rocket11, the total

work done by the air onto the water can be assumed to be fully transferred into kinetic and

gravitational potential energy. To calculate this, we need to find the change in kinetic energy

which needs the final/max velocity after all water is displaced. We also need the change in

gravitational potential which needs to have the values for the change in height before and

after all water is ejected. The values can then be divided by the rocket's mass to get the work

done per unit mass by compressed air.

11
Michael de Podesta. Water Rocket Booklet. Teddington: National Physical Laboratory, 2007.
10
4.1.1 Finding maximum velocity in phase 1

To find the maximum velocity through the video, the initial acceleration of the rocket was

analyzed by marking every 5th frame of the launch as seen in the picture below.

Again since the video was taken from afar and the quality was abysmal, this data is fairly

inaccurate. This data is then taken into logger pro to interpolate, giving us the displacement

time graph which looks something like this:

The graph could be seen to be an exponential function. However, to find the maximum

velocity at the end of the first phase, we need the time in which the rocket finished expelling

11
the water to match the exponential graph. This can be done by counting how many frames it

takes for all the water to leave the rocket. This data for ejection time looks like this:

The ejection time of the rocket is then set to the x-axis and the gradient of the point where the

displacement-time graph and the time of ejection intersect is the maximum velocity reached

by the rocket.

4.1.2 Change in potential energy

This can be calculated by calculating the change in height before and after all the water has

left the rocket. This can be done by counting how many grids the rocket shifted up from

before and after water expulsion. Note: 1 grid is 10cm

12
 4.1.3 Total work done per unit mass

Ideally, work done can be represented using the equation:

Where W is work done, ∆𝐾𝐸 is the change in kinetic energy, and ∆𝑃𝐸 is the change in

potential energy. Since the initial velocity of the rocket was also zero, we have the equation:

Where mf, 𝑚𝑖is the final and initial mass of the rocket and vf is the maximum/final velocity

after water is ejected. By dividing everything by mass we can get the work done per unit

mass:

Where 𝑉 is the total volume of the rocket, 𝑓 is the water filling fraction12, and ρ𝑤 is the

density of water. By plugging numbers in, the net work done per unit mass on the rocket can

be calculated.

4.2 Maximum displacement

With the help of the Logger Pro Demo program, the maximum distance reached by the bottle

was determined easily. Here is a figure of the analysis for the maximum distance reached:

12
filling fraction is the fraction of the bottle filled with water
13
By setting a reference distance, a starting point, and marking the final position of where the

rocket has landed, the software calculates the distance it reached on the top left of the screen

on a table.

5. Collective data from the experiment:

The values for total work done per unit mass by air and maximum displacement measured

were maximum when the bottle was 34% filled.

14
 6. Theoretical portion

We are now going to find the optimal percentages of water needed for a bottle rocket to fly

the farthest through theoretical calculations of the work done per unit mass by the

compressed air and the maximum distance reached by the bottle.

6.1 Work done after Phase 1

Since the expansion of gas is assumed to be extremely quick within a bottle rocket with no

time to exchange heat with its surroundings, we can assume the expansion is adiabatic13. This

means we assume there is no energy lost via heat. Therefore the area under the pressure to

volume curve for this adiabatic expansion will be equivalent to the work done by gas.

14
The heat capacity ratio is heat capacity at constant pressure to heat capacity at constant volume.
11
Michael de Podesta. Water Rocket Booklet. Teddington: National Physical Laboratory, 2007.
15
Therefore, work done by the gas can be represented as:

Since the expansion is adiabatic it follows the law:

Where P is the pressure, V is the volume, γ is the ratio of principal14 specific heat and K is a

𝐾
constant. By substituting 𝑃 = γ
into equation (1) we get
𝑉

By integrating, expanding, and solving for K, we get the equation11:

Where f is the fraction filled with water. By dividing this by the initial mass of the rocket we

get11.

Where m0 represents the mass of the rocket without water and ρ𝑤𝑉𝑓 is the density and

volume of water representing the mass of the water within the bottle. By plugging each value

into the equation, we can get a graph that looks like this.

14
The heat capacity ratio is heat capacity at constant pressure to heat capacity at constant volume.
11
Michael de Podesta. Water Rocket Booklet. Teddington: National Physical Laboratory, 2007.
16
The graph hits a peak at 0.31 meaning that the bottle gets the most work done per unit mass

when it is 31% filled. Which is 3% off from the optimum percentage filled found by

experimentations.

6.2 Finding maximum displacement

Since phase 3 is a typical projectile motion, to find the maximum displacement of the rocket,

the maximum velocity at the end of phase 1 is needed. This means the time of ejection of

water from phase 1 needs to be calculated.

6.2.1 Ejection time of water

To calculate the time taken for water to be ejected, we need to calculate the average velocity

at which the water leaves the bottle. To calculate this average exit velocity, Bernoulli's

equation for incompressible flow can be used (given that the rocket follows the conservation

of mass and conservation of energy)15:

15
BYJUS. “Bernoulli’s Principle & Bernoulli Equation - Definition, Derivation, Principle of Continuity,
Applications, Examples and Faqs.” BYJUS, May 24, 2023. https://byjus.com/physics/bernoullis-principle/.
17
Where p(t) represents the pressure at time t, pa represents the pressure of atmospheric air, ρw

represents the density of water and g is the gravitational field strength which is 9.81ms-2. In

addition, h(t) and h2(t) are the heights of the water surfaces with u0(t) and u(t) are the velocity

of the water inside and outside the bottle at time t.

Since the inner cross-sectional area is greater than the area of the nozzle, u0(t) can be assumed

to be zero16. In addition, since the difference in height between the top of the water surface in

the bottle and the water surface at the bottom of the bottle is relatively small compared to

other calculated values, they will be assumed to be zero16. This gives us:

By rearranging to get the velocity u(t) relative to the bottle:

For simplicity, using equation (2), the initial escape velocity and the final escape velocity will

be measured to calculate an average velocity of the escape of water. By plugging the initial

air pressure within the rocket right before launch(from section 3.2 Findings) into equation

(2), we can calculate the initial velocity.

To calculate the final escape velocity of water, the final remaining pressure is needed.

Therefore Poisson's equation of adiabatic gas expansion will be used16:

16
Unkown. “Investigating a Water Rocket - Extended Essay.” sphsdevilphysics, 2012.
http://sphsdevilphysics.weebly.com/uploads/5/0/7/1/5071691/physics_exenteded_essay_sample_d_35_of_36.pdf
18
Where P1, V1 is the initial pressure and volume and p(t), V(t) is the pressure and volume at

time t. With γ is the ratio of the specific heat of air which is 1.4. By rearranging this equation

we can get the relationship between initial and final pressure inside the rocket.

Where P1, P2 represents the initial and final pressure and Vf,, Vi represents the final and initial

volume of air in the rocket. Therefore by plugging in the new value of pressure into the

equation for the final water exit velocity, we can get the final exit velocity of the water as

seen below.

By adding them together and dividing them by 2 we can get the average value for escape

velocity.

16
Unkown. “Investigating a Water Rocket - Extended Essay.” sphsdevilphysics, 2012.
http://sphsdevilphysics.weebly.com/uploads/5/0/7/1/5071691/physics_exenteded_essay_sample_d_35_of_36.pdf
19
To calculate the time of ejection of water, we have to assume that the water leaving the bottle

is of a perfectly cylindrical shape and that all the water is ejected from the bottle. The volume

of the water leaving, Vesc, is the area of the nozzle An multiplied by 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 multiplied by time te

giving the equation:

Which can be rearranged to find time which is16:

Data for water expulsion:

6.2.2 Max velocity in phase 1

Now that we found the time for ejection, we can calculate the maximum velocity of phase 1.

The general equation for force in the direction of motion of the rocket will first be generated

then it will then be split and analyzed in the vertical and horizontal components. The equation

is:

16
Unkown. “Investigating a Water Rocket - Extended Essay.” sphsdevilphysics, 2012.
http://sphsdevilphysics.weebly.com/uploads/5/0/7/1/5071691/physics_exenteded_essay_sample_d_35_of_36.pdf
20
 𝑑𝑃
Where F is the external forces and 𝑑𝑡
is the change in momentum. By applying the formula

to these circumstances of the rocket, we can get16:

𝑑𝑣
Where 𝑑𝑡
is the change in velocity of the rocket, mr(t) is the mass of the rocket at time t,

𝑑𝑚𝑤
𝑑𝑡
is the mass flow rate of water and the uavg is the average velocity of the expelled water.

This equation can be split into the vertical component by multiplying by 𝑠𝑖𝑛(θ) and the

◦
horizontal component by multiplying by 𝑐𝑜𝑠(θ). Where theta is the launch angle of 35 .

The vertical component of maximum velocity in Phase 1

In the case of the vertical component of equation(4), the only external force acting on the

rocket is the gravitational force as we will be ignoring air resistance within Phase 1(as it is

only over a relatively small distance). Therefore the calculation for the vertical component

will take into account the weight of the rocket, giving us the equation:

16
Unkown. “Investigating a Water Rocket - Extended Essay.” sphsdevilphysics, 2012.
http://sphsdevilphysics.weebly.com/uploads/5/0/7/1/5071691/physics_exenteded_essay_sample_d_35_of_36.pdf
21
 ◦
Where 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑦 = 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑛35 which is the vertical component of 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 . With 𝑣𝑟 𝑦 being the

rocket's velocity in the vertical direction. After solving the equation for 𝑣𝑟 𝑦 at time t we will

get the equation:

Then, the ejection time will be marked on the x-axis, and the intersection is noted for the max

velocity of the vertical component similar to what we did in section 4.1.1.

The horizontal component of velocity in phase 1

As for the horizontal component of equation(4), as the air resistance is ignored, there will be

no external forces acting on the rocket. This gives us the equation:

◦
Where 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑠35 which is the horizontal component of 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 . With 𝑣𝑟 𝑥 being the

rocket's velocity in the horizontal direction. After a similar process from the previous

equation can be used to solve this equation. We get:

After getting both the velocities, vectors are added to achieve the max velocities in ms-1.

22
6.2.3 Calculating max displacement reached in the final phase

After all the water has been ejected, the bottle will follow a typical projectile trajectory. At

the beginning of the final phase, the mass of the rocket is mR and its maximum velocity is

vmax. The forces acting on the rocket at this stage are the weight of the rocket due to the

gravitational force from the earth and the air resistance that is opposing the rocket's motion17.

Since this last stage flies over a considerable length of distance, air resistance is no longer

negligible(as found in section 3.2 Findings) and has to be taken into account.

This is going to be solved as a projectile motion question with linear drag. The vertical

component of motion will be used to find the time of flight and the horizontal component of

motion will use the time of flight to calculate the final displacement.

To solve this linear drag problem, a vector diagram can be drawn similar to the one below17:

17
jng. “Projectile Motion: Linear Drag.” YouTube, July 19, 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBq07mCMXlc&t=468s.
23
Where v represents the velocity vector, -kv represents the acceleration by linear drag which is

opposite in direction to vector v with scale factor k and -g representing the gravitational

acceleration at the surface of the Earth. vx, vy represents the horizontal and vertical

components of velocity with -kvx, -kvy representing the horizontal and vertical components of

linear acceleration by drag.

Finding time of flight

To get the time of flight, the vertical component must be calculated. By looking at The vector

diagram drawn above, we can see that gravity -g and the vertical component of air resistance

-kvy are the accelerations in the vertical direction, therefore giving us17:

By solving this particular equation we can get the velocity in the vertical direction17:

By solving for B, we can get the final equation for velocity in the y direction which looks

like

17
jng. “Projectile Motion: Linear Drag.” YouTube, July 19, 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBq07mCMXlc&t=468s.
24
We can then rearrange this equation to get the time for flight and let's assume that

𝑣𝑦 =− 𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑠𝑖𝑛θ at the end of the ballistic flight to get the equation:

Finding final displacement

To get the final displacement, we have to look at the horizontal components. Looking on the

right of the vector diagram, the horizontal component of acceleration can be described as17:

To solve for velocity in the horizontal direction, since the derivative of vx is a constant

multiplied by itself, a possible solution is17:

With an unknown constant A. By solving for A and integrating the velocity function in the

horizontal direction, we will get the function that will give us the final displacement of the

rocket.

By plugging in t from equation(5) and the value for constant k, we can get the final

displacement of the rocket.

17
jng. “Projectile Motion: Linear Drag.” YouTube, July 19, 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBq07mCMXlc&t=468s.
25
Finding constant k

To solve for the unknown constant k, we can look at the forces in the horizontal component.

from Σ𝐹𝑥 = 𝑚𝑎 we get:

Where C is the Drag Coefficient.

Which looks similar to:

𝐶
Therefore 𝑚
can be defined as k.

7. Compiled data

26
Which shows the calculated optimum percentage of water within a water rocket that enables

it to fly the farthest distance is around 32%.

7.1 Comparison graph

With the blue graph being the measured and the red graph being the calculated.

Conclusion

Even though the data procured may seem to be fairly different, both graphs comparing

practical and theoretical working have shown a similar peak percentage ratio to distance

reached. Both graphs are shown to have a peak of around 32-34% being the most optimal

volume of fuel for the rocket to fly the furthest. Although other investigations stated that the

optimal percentages were between 30-50, this experiment shows that the rocket doesn't fly as

well horizontally when filled more than 40% with water and is more optimum around

◦
30-35% when launched at an angle of 35 which is a fairly small range.

27
 Evaluation

Looking at the data, surprisingly, both methods show a similar pattern in which the practical

experiment is always 2% higher in terms of optimum percentage compared to the calculated

data.

Other than that, this investigation can be improved in many ways, especially the practical

portion. The main issues came from section 4.1 where the maximum velocity and time of

ejection were hard to find because the camera was too far away making the footage blurry.

This can be improved by having another camera close to the launch of the rocket to film a

high-quality slow-motion video of the initial stage which requires the most analysis. But

overall, the rocket's trajectory was satisfactory as it was close to having a perfect parabola.

Another interesting idea to tackle would be the optimum angle to launch a water bottle rocket

which could have many more factors that can be worth the time to investigate.

28
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Luberoff, Eli. “Graphing Calculator.” Desmos, 2024.

https://www.desmos.com/calculator.

Vernier, Logger Pro Demo V.3.16.2, Vernier Software & Technology, 1996.

29
 Appendix
Derivation of Section 6.2.2 : Maximum velocity in Phase 1 from
This equation was derived with the help from a paper called “Water Rocket Booklet” from
the National Physical Laboratory.

We can assume the expansion is adiabatic therefore the area under the curve for this adiabatic
expansion will be equivalent to the work done by gas. This means work done by the gas can
be represented as:

Since the expansion is adiabatic it follows the law:

Where P is the pressure, V is the volume, γ is the ratio of principal specific heat and K is a
𝐾
constant. By subbing in 𝑃 = γ
into equation (1) we get
𝑉

−γ+1
𝑉 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒
𝑊 = 𝐾[ −γ+1 ] 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒

𝐾 −γ+1 −γ+1
𝑊 = −γ+1
[𝑉 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙
−𝑉 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙
]

Initial volume if the final volume multiplied by a percentage filling fraction therefore
−γ+1
𝐾𝑉 −γ+1
𝑊 = −γ+1
[1 − (1 − 𝑓) ]
γ γ
As K is the initial conditions where 𝐾 = 𝑃(1 − 𝑓) 𝑉

Where f is the fraction filled with water. By dividing this by the initial mass of the rocket we
get.

30
 Derivation of Section 6.2.2 : The vertical component of velocity in Phase 1
This equation was derived with the help from a paper called “Investigating a Water Rocket”
which was a past Extended Essay done in May, 2012.

The calculation for the vertical component will take into account the weight of the rocket.
Which gives the equation:

𝑑𝑣𝑟 𝑦 𝑑𝑚𝑤
− 𝑚𝑟 (𝑡)𝑔 = [ 𝑑𝑡
𝑚𝑟(𝑡) + 𝑑𝑡
𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑦] 𝑠𝑖𝑛θ

Where 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑦 = 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑛θ which is the vertical component of 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 . With 𝑣𝑟 𝑦 being the

rocket's velocity in the vertical direction. Therefore after solving the equation for 𝑣𝑟 𝑦looks

something like:
𝑑𝑚𝑤
𝑑𝑣𝑟 𝑦 𝑔 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑡
= − 𝑠𝑖𝑛θ
− 𝑚𝑟(𝑡)
𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑦

Since 𝑑𝑚𝑤 = 𝑑𝑉𝑤 · ρ𝑤 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑟(𝑡) = 𝑉𝑤(𝑡) · ρ𝑤 + 𝑚𝑅 where 𝑉𝑤(𝑡) is the volume

of water at time t.

𝑑𝑉𝑤
𝑑𝑣𝑟 𝑦 𝑔 𝑑𝑡
· ρ𝑤
𝑑𝑡
= − 𝑠𝑖𝑛θ
− { 𝑉𝑤(𝑡)·ρ𝑤 + 𝑚𝑅
· 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑦}

𝑑𝑉𝑤
Since − 𝑑𝑡
= 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 · 𝐴𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑉𝑤(𝑡) = 𝑉𝑖 − 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔· 𝐴𝑛 · 𝑡 We get:

𝑔 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑦 ·𝐴𝑛· ρ𝑤
𝑑𝑣𝑟 𝑦 = − 𝑠𝑖𝑛θ
𝑑𝑡 + (𝑉𝑖−𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔·𝐴𝑛·𝑡)ρ𝑤+𝑚𝑅
𝑑𝑡

After some substitution and integration both sides from v(0) to v(t)

31
 𝑉𝑖·ρ𝑤 +𝑚𝑅 𝑔
𝑣𝑟 𝑦(𝑡) = 𝑉𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑛θ + 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑦 𝑙𝑛( (𝑉𝑖−𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔·𝐴𝑛·𝑡)ρ𝑤+ 𝑚𝑅
)− 𝑠𝑖𝑛θ
𝑡

Derivation of Section 6.2.2 : The horizontal component of velocity in Phase 1

This equation was derived with the help from a paper called “Investigating a Water Rocket”
which was a past Extended Essay done in May, 2012.

The calculation for the horizontal component will ignore the effects of air resistance therefore
the external forces acting on the rocket horizontally is zero. Which gives the equation:

𝑑𝑣𝑟 𝑥 𝑑𝑚𝑤
0= [ 𝑑𝑡
𝑚𝑟(𝑡) + 𝑑𝑡
𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑥] 𝑐𝑜𝑠θ
𝑑𝑣𝑟 𝑥 𝑑𝑚𝑤
0= 𝑑𝑡
𝑚𝑟(𝑡) + 𝑑𝑡
𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑥

Where 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑠θ which is the horizontal component of 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 . With 𝑣𝑟 𝑥 being the

rocket's velocity in the horizontal direction.

Therefore by solving to find 𝑣𝑟 𝑥 looks something like:

𝑑𝑚𝑤
𝑑𝑣𝑟 𝑥 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑡
=− 𝑚𝑟(𝑡)
𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑥

Since 𝑑𝑚𝑤 = 𝑑𝑉 · ρ𝑤 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑟(𝑡) = 𝑉𝑤(𝑡) · ρ𝑤 + 𝑚𝑅 where 𝑉𝑤(𝑡) is the volume

of water at time t.

𝑑𝑉𝑤
𝑑𝑣𝑟 𝑥 𝑑𝑡
· ρ𝑤
𝑑𝑡
= − { 𝑉𝑤(𝑡)·ρ𝑤 + 𝑚𝑅
· 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑥}

𝑑𝑉𝑤
Since − 𝑑𝑡
= 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 · 𝐴𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑉𝑤(𝑡) = 𝑉𝑖 − 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔· 𝐴𝑛 · 𝑡

𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑥 ·𝐴𝑛· ρ𝑤
𝑑𝑣𝑟 𝑥 = (𝑉0−𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔·𝐴𝑛·𝑡)ρ𝑤+ 𝑚𝑅
𝑑𝑡

32
 After some substitution and integration both sides from v(0) to v(t)

𝑉𝑖·ρ𝑤 +𝑚𝑅
𝑣𝑟 𝑥(𝑡) = 𝑉𝑖𝑐𝑜𝑠θ + 𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑥 𝑙𝑛( (𝑉𝑖−𝑢𝑎𝑣𝑔·𝐴𝑛·𝑡)ρ𝑤+ 𝑚𝑅
)

Derivation of Section 6.2.3 : Calculating max displacement

This equation was derived with the help from a video by jng called “Projectile Motion:
Linear Drag”.

The only acceleration in the horizontal direction was that of drag therefore giving the
equation:

𝑎𝑥 =− 𝑘𝑣𝑥

As for the x component, it is a homogeneous equation so the solution to this differential

equation is an exponential that looks like this.

−𝑘𝑡
𝑣𝑥 = 𝐴𝑒

Initially 𝑣𝑥 = 𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑐𝑜𝑠θ 𝑎𝑡 𝑡 = 0

𝐴 = 𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑐𝑜𝑠θ

−𝑘𝑡
𝑣𝑥= 𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑐𝑜𝑠θ𝑒

To get displacement:
𝑡 𝑓𝑙𝑦 𝑡 𝑓𝑙𝑦 −𝑘𝑡
∫ 𝑣𝑥 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑐𝑜𝑠θ ∫ 𝑒 𝑑𝑡
𝑡=0 𝑡=0

1 −𝑘𝑡 𝑡 𝑓𝑙𝑦
𝐷𝑥 = 𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑐𝑜𝑠θ[− 𝑘
𝑒 ]0

To get the time of flight, the vertical component must be calculated as well.

33
As for the vertical component of acceleration, it is a non-homogeneous equation so the
solution to this differential equation is a similar exponential with a particular solution.

𝐶
𝑎𝑦 =− 𝑔 − 𝑚
𝑣𝑦

In this case, the constant should match the gravitational field strength meaning that its
derivative must equate to 0. This gives us the particular solution for the velocity in the y
direction.
−𝑘𝑡
Therefore by setting 𝐵𝑒 =0

0 =− 𝑔 − 𝑘𝑣𝑦
𝑔
𝑣𝑦 =− 𝑘

Therefore we get a similar exponential solution of:

−𝑘𝑡 𝑔
𝑣𝑦 = 𝐵𝑒 − 𝑘

At t = 0, vy = vmax𝑠𝑖𝑛θ giving us
𝑔
𝐵 =− 𝑘
+ vmax𝑠𝑖𝑛θ

Therefore the final equation for velocity in the y direction after the max velocity is
𝑔 −𝑘𝑡 𝑔
𝑣𝑦 = ( 𝑘 + vmax𝑠𝑖𝑛θ)𝑒 − 𝑘

We can then rearrange this equation to get the time for flight:
𝑔
1 𝑣𝑦+ 𝑘
𝑡 = − 𝑘
· 𝑙𝑛( 𝑔 )
𝑘
+𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑠𝑖𝑛θ

At the end of the ballistic flight, let's assume that 𝑣𝑦 =− 𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑠𝑖𝑛θ

𝑔
1 −𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑠𝑖𝑛θ+ 𝑘
𝑡 = − 𝑘
· 𝑙𝑛( 𝑔 )
𝑘
+𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑠𝑖𝑛θ

Calculating the value of k:

34
To solve for the unknown constant k, we can look at the forces in the horizontal component.
from Σ𝐹𝑥 = 𝑚𝑎 we get:

Where C is the Drag Coefficient.

Which looks similar to:

𝐶
Therefore 𝑚
can be defined as k.

For water bottle rockets, the Drag coefficient ranges from 0.3 to 0.5. In this case we will use
the higher end of the spectrum which is 0.5 and plug it into the equation.

𝐶 0.5
𝑚
= 220/1000
≈ 2. 27

35