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IB Criteria Assessed
Design
CriteriaassessedAspect
123
LevelawardedD
CCC6
DCPCEISM score
6/64/410/10
International Baccalaureate Physics4/PSOW
A Pneumatic Rocket
Aim:
A short blast of air from our school’s pneumatic rocket launcher can be used to propel a small paper rocket into the air. Yourecently built your own rocket and saw how it could be launchedwith different variables. Based on what you learned making your rocket, and while observing several rockets being launched, youwill design a lab that can be performed using our school’s rocketlauncher and any other simple equipment found in a normal physics classroom.
Apparatus:
•
Pneumatic rocket launcher made of PVC pipe
•
Foot powered air-pump
•
Paper rocket of your own construction*
•
Any other equipment needed that can be found in a normal physics classroom.
Design:
Design a procedure to test a factor that affects the flight of a small paper rocket when launched from a pneumatic PVC launcher powered by a small air-pump. This procedure should include a means of…..
•
Defining the Problem and selecting variables:
•
Controlling the Variables:
•
Developing a method for collecting data:* The standard design of the rocket to be built by students will consist of a body that is 20 to 30 cm inlength, with a small nosecone, and small fins on the back. All students made their own minor modifications. Any major modifications are welcome, but those should be clearly stated by thestudent.
 
FootPump
 
International Baccalaureate Physics4/PSOW
Allan Noland (a pseudonym)25/11/2007IBH1 Physics
Rocket Design LabDistance vs Angle for a Rocket
Problem:
How will changing the angle of launch affect thehorizontal distance traveled by a rocket?
Hypothesis:
Changing the launch angle of a rocket (with all other factors kept constant) willresult in differing horizontal distances traveled by the rocket. The horizontal distance traveledwill increase as the launch angle becomes closer to 45%, and will decrease as it gets further away. This will happen because of the combination of vertical and horizontal components of the rockets initial velocity. The graph of the distance against launch angle will resemble thefollowing:
Independent Variable:
Angle
that the rocket is launched at(measured relative to the ground).
Dependent Variable:
Horizontal
distance
traveled by therocket.
Controlled Variables:
•
Rocket used (in order to keep mass, surface area, wing/nose shape etc. constant)
•
Pressure used to launch rocket
•
How deep the rocket is placed on the launcher 
•
Weather (to be kept as constant as possible by performing all trials within a short timeframe)
•
Height that the rocket is initially launched from.Launch AngleDistance
 
International Baccalaureate Physics4/PSOW
Materials:
•
Pneumatic rocket launcher made of PVC pipe
•
Foot powered air-pump
•
Paper rocket
•
Protractor 
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Measuring tapeArjun Nandkishore
Method:
Using the diagram above:1.On the main body of the rocket, make a small pencil mark indicating 10 cms (from the bottom of the rocket).2.Place the rocket on the launcher so that the 10cm mark rests exactly on the tip of thelauncher (in other words, the rocket is placed so that exactly 10cm of it rest on thelaunching tube).3.Set the launch angle of 30 degrees (measured relative to the ground) for the rocketusing a protractor.4.To launch the rocket, pump the foot-pump 20 times (and, for successive trials, simplyincrease the pressure to an equivalent amount).5.Open the valve, allowing the rocket to launch.6.Record the horizontal distance traveled by the rocket.7.Repeat steps 2-6 for all necessary launch angles and trials.
θ  
Pressure GaugeFootPumpPVC pipeValveLaunchAngleRocket
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