Overview
So far, Physics has been my favorite science class I've taken yet. I don't know if it is because of the whole project-based concept, or if it is just a fun kind of science for me. Physics is pretty much the science of motion and the action of and reaction of different objects. We have already studied Newton's laws, different equations for solving time, distance, etc. variables, and more. For me, physics is a reason to get up early in the morning and go to school. It is very fun, and a great interactive way to learn about science.
Bottle Rockets
The main project we have worked on yet was the Bottle Rocket project. A bottle rocket can be defined as an object (composed of plastic bottles) propelled like a rocket, only it is simply pressurized by air, and semi-filled with water as a propellant. I am working on a very unique kind of rocket with my chosen science partner, Kohler McInnis. We have already put together a Bottle Rocket from our very own design with 2 propulsion bottles each connected to PVC piping, used as a second propulsion system that spurts water out from one level up. We could only attach 2 fins, though, because with only 2 bottles, the planes wouldn't allow more than 2 fins to be placed evenly around the diameters of the bottles. The idea is that the PVC piping will be plugged with rubber stoppers attached to kite string, which will be held firmly to the ground. When the rocket takes off, the idea is that the stoppers will come unplugged, and the rocket will boost into the air. Now, the parachute system is very complicated, and has a very small chance of working. The idea is that the parachute is inside a third, smaller bottle, on top of the 2 propulsion rockets, with a parachute bunched up inside near the opening on top, where the nose cone's supposed to go. The nose cone has duct tape around it that will catch the air when the rocket falls, and, being attached to the parachute by a string, will be forced out, pulling the parachute with it.The bottle containing the parachute itself has slits that allow air to help force the parachute out of the bottle as the rocket begins to fall. The parachute itself is a plastic bag with a hole in the top, which is attached by the main strings to a model rocket's plastic parachute. Hopefully, with all these parachute designs, the complex rocket will float smoothly to the ground without breaking.
The Bottle Rocket Pre-Sketch
The genius idea for our great rocket began with this simple sketch. This sketch copy was our first copy of the rocket, and it was revised many times. Although it has no exact measurements, and lacks a required list of materials, I think it well describes the idea of our rocket.
The Cat Can Challenge
The cat can challenge was pretty much just a lab we did in Physics to find where a marble will fall, so we could place an empty can of cat food in that exact location, and, after all the math we did, we would hopefully catch the marble in the cat can. In our lab, we did particularly good, considering the fact that we hit the cat can each time we changed the altitude of the tables, meaning we caught it each time with a different altitude of 1 table, 2 tables, and a short coffee table. So, after doing all the math involving hang time, velocity, etc., one could say my lab partner and I had a successful lab.
Here is a simple sketch of how it all worked:
Here is a simple sketch of how it all worked:
