Emily

Day 1-Briefing

Today we were told what we were supposed to do in this Hydro Rocket class. We learned we are supposed to build a water powered rocket out of three plastic bottles, two tennis balls, foam board, plastic, and an assortment of other materials. Mrs. Nelson gave us examples of other student's work, and showed us how we would test them. She also gave us a few mind games to help us "think more like scientists".

Day 2-The Parachute

Today we started to make our parachutes, and I, unknowingly, chose the hardest to make of the three patterns we were given. So far, my parachute has started to look more like a tube with a big hole in one end than a parachute that's supposed to save my finished rocket from crashing to the ground with a CRASH BOOM CLANG CRUNCH. *sigh* Yesterday we started to design our hydro rockets, and almost every one had some futuristic addition, such as a laser or a fiery jet stream! I just sighed and got back to my own design.

Day 3-The Website

Today we went swimming and then spent time doing THIS. Yes, typing, typing, typing, clikkety clak clak clak. We haven't been doing anything with our rockets today, but I did find a cool link you can click on to go to a website that talks about parachute designs! Click here!

Day 4-The Parachute (continued)

I found a site on Google with a video of the "first manned water rocket launch"! Enjoy! Click here. Today we worked some more on our parachutes, and I gave up on my "very complicated parachute design". I opted for a simpler, yet sturdier version of the parachute. It is called a Tulip parachute, ( such as the ones you see in the picture at the right) and I finished the basic design in just under ten minutes! However, when I tested it, it went WAAAAAYYY over to one side, (*grumblegrumblegrumble*) so my parachute is still in progress.

Day 5-The Beginning (or . . . not)

Today I FINISHED my parachute and STARTED on the basic frame of my rocket. Yesterday, I drew the fins for my rocket on a sturdy foam board and cut them out with a scissors, but today I sanded the edges and attached them to my rocket with duct tape. Some of the other rockets are getting to look really great, even IF they don't have lasers and such.*sigh* To be honest, at this point I'm just hoping that my rocket will make it off the ground! I have recently found out from "unidentified sources" that my little brother's rocket is going to have a mini camera on it so it can take pictures during flight . . . assuming that it'll get off the ground . . .

Day 6-The Movie

I got a lot done today: the nose cone, the parachute, my fins, my design for the egg net, a doodle of a random thing or two . . . a pretty normal day. *cough cough* I am so tired because I stayed up 'till ten o'clock last night reading Fire Star.
We watched a movie today on the history of flight and all the basics; Amelia Erhart and all the other record breakers. We learned about the Atomic bomb that the US dropped on Hiroshima in World War II, and the other bomber plains that were used. We learned that different points of view could have effected this movie, like the US could have considered the Hiroshima bombing a wonderful thing because it won the war for them, but Japan could have considered it a HORRIBLE thing because thousands of their people lost their lives! *siggghhhh*

Day 7- The Rocket

Today I tested my rocket and IT WORKED PERFECTLY! So, I started on my egg pocket. We figured out today that we have to have an egg in our rocket to simulate a human. Luckily, we get materials to cushion the egg when it falls to the ground. I am weaving an "egg pocket" this does egg-zactly what ti claims to do--it creates a pocket for my egg so it won't break!
We studied a little on Newton's three laws, and I have taken number three to liking: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that if gravity is pushing you down, the Earth, in turn, is pushing you up! Isn't that awesome?!

Day 8-The Egg Pocket

I am continuing to make my egg pocket and I am not so sure anymore that it will fit. On the topside, we did go swimming again today and it was very refreshing in this hot weather.

Day 9-The Egg Pocket (continued)

Today I sewed my piece of weaving into a sort of hammock shape to cradle the egg. I punched holes into the base support for my egg pocket for the strings. I plan to attach strings to the hammock, then thread them through the holes in the base. By doing this, I can make sure that if the hammock swings one way, the string will prevent it from smashing into the side (and same with the opposite side of the hammock).
That's pretty much all I have to report today . . . um . . . uh . . . bye, I guess.

Day 10-The Rocket

I'M DONE!!!! . . . I think. If I find anything else I need to add to it, then i'm not done, but, still . . . So, anyway, I don't have much to report today, except that we went swimming and we watched a movie on the concept of flight and the forces that make it possible (FYI: gravity, lift, thrust and drag).
All I did after we got back from swimming was work on my egg pocket. I had a lot of trouble fitting it into my rocket at first, but I cut a lot of bulk off of the top of the bottle and managed it in the end! All I need now is an egg . . .

Day 11-The Website

We watched a movie on different types of pressure today, and it was cool because, unlike the other movies we watched, it was ANIMATED! We learned a lot about hydrolic pressure and how it works. We learned that a CAT bulldozer and others like it use hydrolic pressure to help them lift things.
I guess that's pretty much all I have done today, although everyone else is still working on building their rocket. They aren't done yet!

Day 12-Goin' Small

Today we built mini rockets out of film canisters, water and Alka-Seltzer. We made the fins and nose cone out of index cards, and blasted them off using a mixture of Alka-Seltzer and water. Katerina's had a leak so she didn't get a good result for any of her blast-offs. Mine and Jennifer's went pretty high on all four launches, and Evelyn's blasted off in her face and almost took out her eye. All in all, it was a pretty good experiment!

Day 13-Examples

Three people blasted off their rockets today because they had to leave early for some camp or something, and I got some great tips! 1. Your fins can't be even the tiniest bit off center or your rocket will either fly to the side or spiral out of control. 2. You can't have too much wight at the nose otherwise it will hinder the flight height, and you can't have too little weight or the parachute won't come out when the rocket hits apogee. Go figure. 3. You get pretty soaked if you're within six feet of the rocket when it blasts off. STEP BACK OR REGRET IT.
When I finish typing this I have to make a mini helicopter thingy that's supposed to help me understand flight better. *sigh*
Oh well. I am excited about one thing: IT'S BLAST OFF DAY TOMORROW!!!!!!!!

Day 14-Done

We are done and were thoroughly soaked in our water balloon fight. I am posting the results for my rocket launch below:

Distance from rocket: 100ft
Angle of altimeter: 58 degrees
Rocket height at apogee: 62ft
Time to apogee: 00:02:50
Time from apogee to ground: 00:02:50

Well, good luck understanding it! Bye for now!