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WEIGHING IN ON STOMP ROCKETS

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The purpose of this experiment is to find out if a heavier person will make a stomp rocket fly higher( stay in the air longer) than a lighter person.

PURPOSE

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If a heavier person steps off of a kitchen chair onto a stomp rocket launch pad, then the rocket will have a higher and longer flight than when a lighter person steps off the chair onto the launch pad.

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HYPOTHESIS

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  • Scale
  • 4 people of different weights
  • Kitchen chair
  • Stopwatch
  • 1 Stomp rocket
  • Stomp rocket foot pump with air tube connected to launch pad

MATERIALS

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  • Use the scale to weigh 4 people.
  • Record the weight of the 4 people, and predict which person will make the rocket fly highest ( stay in the air the longest).
  • If a heavier person steps off of a kitchen chair onto a stomp rocket launch pad, then the rocket will have a higher and longer flight than when a lighter person steps off the chair onto the launch pad.
  • Have each person carefully step down off the chair and land with only one foot onto the stomp rocket launch pad. No jumping up, pushing off the chair, or landing with 2 feet which would add their strength and not just evaluate how only their weight affects the rocket’s flight.
  • Each person will step off the chair onto the launch pad 3 times.
  • Use the stopwatch to time the rocket’s flight from the moment it launches to the moment it hits the ground.
  • Record the time of each flight in a table with each person’s weight.
  • Explain why the weight of a person affects how long a stomp rocket will stay in the air and fly.

PROCEDURE

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Weight of

Person (lbs)

Launch 1

Flight Time (seconds)

Launch 2

Flight Time (seconds)

Launch 3

Flight Time (seconds)

Average Flight Time

Rank Flight by Average Time

1 = Longest

4 = Shortest

72.2

2.48

2.40

2.56

2.48

4

114.2

2.55

2.56

2.52

2.54

3

140.4

2.60

2.65

2.62

2.62

2

215.6

2.88

2.84

2.81

2.84

1

DATA TABLE

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GRAPH DATA

WEIGHT OF PERSON IN POUNDS

FLIGHT TIME IN SECONDS

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PHOTOS

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In conclusion, my hypothesis was correct. The heavier people made the rocket go higher, and stay in the air longer, than the lighter people because the more weight pushing down on the launch pad pushed the rocket up with more power. The heavier weight caused the air to move faster through the launch pad which created more air pressure pushing through the tube to launch the rocket with more power, causing it to stay in the air the longer, and fly higher. The lighter weight created less air speed, less air pressure, and less launch power, which made the rocket fly in the air a shorter time and less high.

CONCLUSION

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The stomp rocket works the same way as a hand pump used to fill a ball up with air. A person stepping down onto the stomp rocket launch pad is like a person pushing down on the pump. Air is pushed into the ball from the pump the same way air is pushed into the rocket’s launch pad. This increases the air pressure inside the ball which causes it to grow larger just like it increases the air pressure in the launch pad tube that pushes the rocket up. The harder the launch pad or the pump is pushed down, the faster the air pressure increases. This makes the ball fill up with air faster, and it also causes a faster launch speed which makes the rocket stay in the air longer and fly higher.

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