The Balloon Rocket

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Rocket
Balloon
The
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Balloon Rocket

• This is an activity in which students use a
  number of the science processes to collect and
  treat data.
• In addition to process skills, students have the
  opportunity to deal with some fundamental science
  ideas such as
• action-reaction - inertia - variable
• resistance - energy
• This is also a good activity to illustrate some
  of the basic tenets of science methodology, such
  as repeatability of observation and testing of
  premises.

3
Balloon Rocket

• Be sure to review the reading on the Science
  Processes .
• Answer all questions posed during the activity.

4
Materials Needed

• A balloon
• About 10 - 15 meters of stout string
• A plastic soda straw
• Masking tape
• A meter stick
• Writing materials

5
Step 1

• Attach one end of the string so it can be
  stretched tightly across a span of about 10
  meters. Here Ive stretched it across my living
  room between two door handles.

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Step 2

• Inflate the balloon and attach the straw to it
  with a piece of masking tape.
• Be careful to align the straw along the length of
  the balloon.

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Step 3

• Thread the loose end of the string through the
  straw.
• Draw the string up tightly and fasten it securely.

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Step 4

• Inflate the balloon then release it.
• Watch as it flies along the string.
• In addition to sliding along the string, what
  other motions do you see?

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Step 5

• How far did the balloon go before it stopped?
• What caused it to stop?
• If you tried it again would it go the same
  distance? If so, why? If not, why not?

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Step 6

• Repeat launching the balloon rocket until you
  feel that you have enough data to be able to
  predict its behavior.
• Be sure to operationally define such things as
  your points of measure. For example, are you
  measuring from the end of the straw? Which end?
  It doesnt matter as long as you are consistent.

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Step 6 Continued
Lets see a piece of video so you can compare
how your rocketballoon worked! Just click on the
picture to see!!!
w
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Step 7
As mentioned in the previous slide, consistency
is very important in science. We believe that
nature is understandable and even predictable
given enough data. But the data must be very good
data and the way to get good data is to be
precise in observation. This is why science seems
so concerned with measuring virtually everything
possible about a phenomenon. With our activity
here, we must measure not only the outcomes (how
far the rocket traveled) but also the inputs
(those things that caused the rocket to travel
in the first place). Clearly, inflating the
balloon is an input. How could this variable be
measured and controlled? Are there other
variables that need to be controlled? Collect a
subset of data again, trying to control inputs.
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Step 8

• To the discussion board post a narrative that
  explains the science behind the balloon rocket.
  Use terms such as
• energy input and output - resistance - inertia
• variable - action - reaction
• Also include a paragraph outlining which process
  skills were used and how.

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You have completed this activity!