Water Rocket Design Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Water Rocket Design - Research Paper Example The typical construction of a water rocket consists of household materials such as discarded plastic bottles, water, duct tape etc. Typical water rockets are constructed out of plastic bottles. The plastic bottles may be used individually or in combination after cutting out their bases and joining them together. Water is filled inside the plastic bottle rocket body but some space is left empty. The plastic bottle filled with water and partially empty is then turned upside down and sealed. This aids preserving the water inside. Compressed air or other gas injected into the water filled plastic bottle pressurizes the water inside. Typical sources of compressed air include bicycle pumps or portable air compressors. Similarly, other gases such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen may be used using compressed gas cylinders. However, using nitrogen may be dangerous given the high compression ratios used to store nitrogen. The compressed gas tends to provide the means to store potential energy ins ide the rocket body. The stored potential energy is releasable from the rocket when desired. The mass fraction of the water rocket increases with the use of water. This allows the provision of greater impulse when compressed air and water escape from the water rocket body. In addition to water, other additives are also used to increase the mass fraction of water rockets. ... This paper will look into the construction of water rockets to teach students mathematical principles while looking into learning styles, safety and other pedagogical considerations. Water Rocket Design Principles Water rockets are a direct application of Newton’s third law of motion describing action and reaction. The release of compressed gas and water allows the rocket to lift itself skywards for considerable distances. The exact physics behind water rockets depends in large part on the stored energy inside the rocket and the air drag encountered by the moving rocket. However, a lack of standardized construction techniques means that a number of different physics models are used to delineate how water rockets operate. The final outputs from a water rocket include the total height achieved as well as the total duration of flight. These outputs depend on a number of different inputs including the pressure of compressed gas, the volume of water used, the nozzle configuration a nd the weight of the water rocket body. The relationship between these inputs and outputs are expressible in a variety of different ways. Various models are available to delineate the relationship between these inputs and outputs. However, none of the available models guarantees a high degree of accuracy so these models can be best used as approximations. Mathematical Relationships In order to simplify the relationship between the inputs and outputs for a water rocket, students were presented with a simple water rocket mathematical model. The physics behind water rockets requires exploration of advanced concepts such as (Gommes, 2010): incompressibility of water; compressibility of