Taylor Dale's Build it
THE MISFIT ROCKET
Materials List:
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1 - #64 rubber band
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1/2 inch pipe installation - cut 30 cm long
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heavy string - 1 meter long
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3 - 8 inch zipties
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card stock/poster board - 9 cm each side
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protractor- print and cut out
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meter stick
Helpful Links:
Foam Rockets site
Create-a-graph site
To use the "x-y" option on this site:
1. choose the "x-y" option
2. click data on the right
3. title your graph, label x and y axis
4. enter data in "value" boxes where it says "point 1:x" (you can add or take away points by changing the point box under "data set"
5. click preview on the right side
6. if your graph is complete, click print/save on the right side and you can download the graph
How to make the rocket:
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Tie the string in a loop
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connect the rubber band with a zip tie to the string
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put the string and the rubber band in the foam pipe and take off the plastic and seal it
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pull the rubber band out just enough so the zip tie is about to show
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put another zip tie around the top of the foam pipe and pull it tight
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draw a 9cm square on paper/cardboard and cut it diagonally- this will be the fins of the rocket
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draw a line that is 3.25cm long on the fins one the top of one and the bottom of the other and cut those lines and put them together to make the fins
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make four 9 cm slits in the foam pipe to fit the fins in
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use another zip tie to put around the bottom so the fins are above the zip tie
The science behind the misfit rocket:
It starts with us! Yeah you made this rocket shoot to the moon. The rubber band created a force by its own elasticity. But we had to give the rubber band that force by stretching it backwards. Once we gave it the force by pulling it backwards it propelled forwards in an arch. The reason for the arch is GRAVITY that stubborn force will not let things go! The rocket has enough energy to propel it forwards but not for too long, gravity steps in and is too strong for the rocket to resist bringing it back down.
The difference between the misfit rocket and a real rocket is that the elasticity that propels our rocket is from the pulling and releasing of a rubber band where the energy that propels a real rocket is newtons third law of motion "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." The fire that comes out of the bottom of the rocket is pressing against the ground creating a force to propel the rocket upwards.