Primary Rocket Car Project

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Primary Rocket Car Project

• Science, ICT, Design and Technology

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We saw this on the internet and wonderedHow
does that work?

• Click zippy to start it starts in a few seconds

Source of the video http//www.zippy-online.co.u
k/projects/rocket/
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The Science

• What provides the force to power the rocket
  car?
• Issac Newtons third law of motion states that
  action and reaction are equal and opposite.
• So the force leaving the back of the rocket
  car is equal to the force that will propel the
  rocket car forward. Easy!
• How is the force generated?

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Water and air power

• Start to fill a bottle full of any substance
  and eventually the pressure forces the gas out of
  the bottle. Think about that shaken bottle of
  coke when the cap is released! The gas is
  released along with a good quantity of coke.
• The force of the gas and the liquid will
  propel the bottle in the opposite direction.
• The rocket car uses this principle but
  replaces the carbon dioxide with air and the coke
  with water.

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The Design and Technology

• Construct a chassis with axles and wheels to
  support a 2 litre drinks bottle.
• It must roll freely and be of a sturdy
  construction that will allow the rocket car to
  survive being tested several times.
• You may wish to consider aerodynamics.

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The ICT

• Conduct several tests using different
  combinations of air and water in the rocket car,
  record the distance travelled in a spreadsheet
  and plot a graph of your results.

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The Challenge

• To explore the air to water combination which
  will propel the rocket car over the furthest
  distance.
• The only variable you can change is the volume
  of air and water.
• Which variables must be kept the same?
• GOOD LUCK!

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We got it to work!
Movie 1
Movie 2