In the Bottle Rocket Launcher project students are tasked with designing and building rocket launchers and bottle rockets that can fly up to 100 feet in the air.  Watch the video to the left of this text for more details about the scope and sequence of the project.

Academic Skills and Content: This project is aligned to the following Next Generation Science Standards:

• HS-PS2-1. Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration.
• HS-ETS1-2. Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.

Additionally, productive group work and collaboration are taught and assessed.

Final Product: In this project, students build and test a bottle rocket and rocket launcher, and justifying their design choices using their knowledge of physics.  Their content knowledge regarding the mechanics of forces at play in the rocket is assessed through a traditional quiz.

Suggested Duration: 4 weeks

 

 

Created with the support of the California Department of Education California Career Pathways Trust