Rocket Angles

Young scientists design a rocket to launch using Newton's Laws of Motion in order to discover for themselves the forces of motion. 

How do rockets fly? Teams design, build, and launch a rocket made from a two-liter bottle to explore forces on a rocket such as Newton's Laws of Motion.  During the design phase, young engineers draw a diagram of their rocket and...

How can you launch an object that isn't propelled by air? The resource provides directions to build a launcher to launch rockets made of two-liter bottles. The launcher, built mainly from materials found at the local hardware...

When going for distance, does it make a difference at what angle you launch the rocket? Teams of three launch foam rockets, varying the launch angle and determining how far they flew. After conducting the series of flights three times,...

Off they go — launching rockets is fun. The lesson plan contains templates to build paper rockets that can be launched from a PVC pipe launcher. Individuals or groups build the rockets and determine the shapes for their fins. Included...

Every year, the moon moves 3.8 cm farther from Earth. In the 11th part of 22, classes use the distance formula. They determine the distance to the moon based upon given data and then graph Galileo spacecraft data to determine its movement.

Using PVC pipe and aquarium tubing, build an altitude tracker. Pupils then use the altitude tracker, along with a tangent table, to calculate the altitude of a launched rocket using the included data collection sheet.

Blast off! An engaging hands-on activity has pupils create rockets powered by Alka-Seltzer. They learn about the physics behind these rockets throughout the process.

Force the plane through the air. The lesson introduces the force on an airplane that makes it go forward. Pupils learn how Newton's laws of motion apply to flight in the eighth segment of a 22-part unit on flight.

Students design, construct, and fly paper rockets that travel the greatest distance possible across a floor model of the solar system. They construct small flying rockets out of paper and propel them by blowing air through a straw.