Experimental Design Diagrams Name HR

A. What affect will the amount of water we put in the top bottle have on the distance of the rocket
flight?
B. If we change the amount of water in the 20 oz. Bottle, then the flight distance will change because
the weight in the front of the rocket will carry it father when there is more water in the rocket.

Distance of Rocket Flight Depends on Amount of Water in Top Bottle

Amount of water Distance of Rocket Flight (m) Average Distance
in 20 oz. Bottle (m)
(ml)
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
0ml 55 23 51 43
100ml 42 38 45 41.7
200ml 33 33 33 33
Source: Shelby Buikema and Hannah Johnson, May 7, 2010

C. We will keep controlled: the shape of the cardboard wings, the size of the cardboard wings, the
amount of air pressure in rocket (75 psi) , the amount of water in the bottom part of the rocket (250
ml), and we will keep the cap on for all trials.
D. Materials-
Rocket: 2 pop bottles, duct tape, water, cardboard wings (6x4)
Rocket Launcher
Air Compressor (75 psi)
Measurement Stick (Meters)
A Large Open Area to Conduct the Experiment
E. Procedure-
1. Gather all materials needed
2. Construct a rocket by duct taping a small 20 oz. Pop bottle on top of a 2 Liter bottle. You then tape
on the cardboard wings (Right triangles 6inx4in).
3. Fill the rocket with water (250 ml in bottom bottle, and amount needed in top)
4. Fill with 75 psi of air in the bottom bottle.
5. As soon as you can, release it.
6. Measure (m) and record your data
7. Repeat steps 3-6 until you have completed all 3 water amounts (0ml, 100ml, 200ml) and 3 trials of
amount
8. Clean up

Rocket Flight Depending on

Amount of Water.

Flight
Distance
(m)

Amount of water in 20oz. Bottle

F. Conclusion
1. Our data does not support our hypothesis because we thought that the rocket would go further
when there was more water in the top, but in fact, the rocket went the furthest with no water in
the top. The rocket went 43 m with no water, and only 33 m with 200ml.
If we were to do this experiment over, we would do our experiment inside so that the would
would not be a factor of the flight distance. We would also want to fix the rocket after every
fight. When the rocket hit the ground, it tended to become a little squished, and they may have
affected the flight distance.