Paper Towel Roll Rockets (Chelsey Traylor)

Author(s)

Chelsey Traylor, 8th grade Physical Science teacher

NGSS Engineering Standards

MS-PS2-1: Apply Newton's Third Law of Motion to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects

MS-ETS1-3: Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.

MS-ETS1-4: Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be acheived.

Materials needed

paper towel roll, glue, ruler, protractor, mission report sheet, cellophane, tape, construction paper

Procedure

1. Each group of students will be given their space flight mission which explains what conditions they will encounter during their flight. (These conditions can include specific altitudes of height, land on their "planetary" target, carry loads, or test a rocket recovery system.)

2. The groups will be given the materials listed above to design and construct a paper rocket to fly at a specific altitude, land on a target, carry loads, or test a rocket recovery system.

3. Each group will be testing their rocket using a pop rocket launcher to meet the specific condition they were assigned.

4. The student groups will re-design their rocket one more time by using different materials from the list above or changing the design of their rocket. (See Mission Proposal attachment)

5. The students will re-test their design and observe any differences in their designs and its success of its flight under their given flight conditions. (See Post-Flight Report)

6. The students will compare and contrast the similarities and differences in their rocket design and how it flew under the specific conditions.

Questions

• Q: Why are rockets designed with specific missions in mind? One rocket cannot meet the needs and requirements of every aspect of a spacce flight mission. However, simple space crafts such as satellites and unmanned objects do not need large rocket boosters or a specific body type. If the rocket is being used to collect space samples, the space shuttle would need a largo place to carry the weight and volume of the samples collected.

• Q: What design feature(s) of your rocket has the greatest effect on the flight performance? Rockets need to be designed to create as little air resistance as possible. If your tail fins or a blunt nose will increase the amount of drag (friction). This will cause the rocket to slow down quickly. Another design feature that can effect the flight is the weight of the rocket. The more weight, the rocket will have a lower flight path in comparison to a lower weight rocket. However, if the rocket is too light, it will fly too high.

• Q: NASA had many failed unmanned rocket launches. In what ways are your experiences with the activity similar to NASA's unsuccessful rocket launches? Just like NASA, each student group tests their design to find what has caused the launch to be unsuccessful. They will change their design of their rocket like NASA and test again.

Photos

• Photos of Engineering Project

Movies

References

NASA Rocket Science 101 - Build a rocket for a specific space mission

Info Please - Information about rocket design