Topographic Map Project
This is a to-scale replica of pioneer park. We paced out the perimeter of the park in footsteps, transferred them into feet, transferred that into inches to then plot on the map. We got the angles of each corner by using a compass. After that we plotted trees, power lines, and playgrounds by using a GPS and plotted longitude and latitude. We drew a grid on our map to accurately draw the outline. To make it a topographic map, we used a laser and measuring stick to measure the height of different areas of the ground. We eventually found the lowest and highest point, and also made lines where the height of the ground was the same. That is what makes a map a topographic map. We also paid close attention to how normal maps are formatted and what they included, and tried to replicate that as best we could. After this we just might make the cut in the map making business!
The Rocket Project
The exhibition went well, but there was definitely room for improvement. The wind decided to make an appearance and took a toll on all of our rockets. On our first launch our umbrella didn’t deploy because the wind pushing northeast over-powered the wind force that the rocket gets when falling back to earth. The standard PSI for all the rockets at the exhibition was 80, but we had previously only tested it at 110. We were imagining it would have more time for the umbrella to deploy than it actually had. The second time we launched the wind was calmer and we pumped up the PSI to 110, and it worked. Of course, it didn’t work exactly like I had imagined it in my head, but when does anything? The umbrella acted like a bird and kind of flapped its ‘wings’ to slow the rocket down. I think it made a flapping motion because it would open to slow itself down, and then would close because it got slow, then opened again because it would speed up again and it needed to slow down. Also, on the first launch two of our three fins fell off in landing, so when we relaunched it, it only had one fin. Surprisingly only having one fin didn’t make as much of a difference as I thought. I thought that having only one fin would either make it spin or would make it lean to one side or tip over. As it turns out, launching with one fin acted the same as it would with three fins, but that could be because of the higher PSI. If I had the option of doing this project all over again, I would look more into the different types of umbrellas. We thought that an umbrella was an umbrella, and that the lightest one would be the best. Little did we know until the day before exhibition that there were two types of umbrellas: spring-loaded and traditional. We had been using a spring-loaded one for the duration of the project and then having a cone to come off and open up the umbrella via the spring. The day before the exhibition we discovered traditional umbrellas that would open up when the wind hit it. Using this method we wouldn’t have to have a cone to pop off to release the umbrella. So next time I would go straight to the traditional umbrella and spend more time on the rest of the rocket, specifically the fins. We glued all of the fins on at the same time and with not very much glue. If I were to redo this project, I would glue one fin on a day so that it could glue straight and it wouldn’t be as much of a hassle. Also, I would bring more of my own glue sooner so that we could use as much as we wanted. Some of the aspects that I would change about my rocket would be cutting off the handle of the umbrella to lose some of the weight and potentially make it lighter so that it would go higher. Some design ideas that I would like to steal would be the two stage rocket by Brandon and Jake, and the helium balloon rocket by Cayton and Bryce. If we didn’t have wind, Brandon and Jake’s would have been really neat to see work. Cayton and Bryce thought way outside of the box to come up the helium balloon rocket and, again, if not for the wind, theirs would have been awesome. All together exhibition went well but if I had chance to do it over again I think it would go much better.
Physics Behind The Rocket
Newton’s First Law
"An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force". With our rocket we had a lot of unbalanced forces acting on it. For instance when it was flying through the air the rocket put more force on the air and gravity then it put back on the rocket to let it fly up into the air. Once the rocket stopped being propelled and air and gravity had the same force acting on it as the rocket, it stopped flying up in the air. Then fell down to the ground because gravity was the bigger force.
The rocket did not stay in motion at the same speed because of all the outside forces acting upon it like wind, gravity, and air friction. To conclude the rocket goes the direction with the least amount of force acting on it. Making it go up, down, right, and left in different circumstances.
Newton’s Second Law
“The acceleration of an object is proportional to the net force and inversely proportional to the mass of the object being accelerated. [F=ma)”. Basically this means that the force is equal to mass multiplied by acceleration. This law applies to rocketry by saying that the larger the force given to the rocket, the faster it will accelerate. So for our rockets, the higher the PSI of CO2 is, the higher it will go and the faster it will accelerate. The force that makes the rocket go up is the pressure that is collected in the bottle of our rocket by pumping the CO2 into the (half filled) water bottle. This pressure accelerates the gases in one direction, and the rocket in the other. The acceleration is also effected by the mass of the rocket. A small lightweight rocket will accelerate much faster than a large, heavy rocket. All in all, Newton’s second law tells us why our rocket goes at a certain speed and a certain height.
Newton’s Third Law
Newton’s third law describes that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the case of our rockets, they are able to be launched into the air because the water and carbonized air exerts an opposite and equal force on the bottle when the trigger is released. This in turn, boosts the rocket with the energy from the ground, up into the sky.