rocket safety practice

Bend a paperclip back and forth until it breaks. Why did it break?

Answer explanation

It breaks because of the stress on the metal increases and fractures it.

A 2 liter bottle undergoes similar stresses to what the paperclip does as it is pressurized and unpressurized. What do you think will eventually happen to the water bottle after repeated uses?

Answer explanation

After repeated uses, the bottle will explode because of the pressure.

 How many times can a water bottle be pressurized safely?

Answer explanation

A water bottle can be pressurized safely roughly 10-15 times

What is a practical method to keep track of how many times a bottle has been used? What should you do with the old bottle?

Answer explanation

You can use a journal to write down how many times a bottle has been used. To prevent it from blowing up, you should throw away the old bottle.

What pressure can a 2 liter bottle be safely pressurized to before it breaks?

Answer explanation

It can be safely pressurized at 80 PSI before it breaks.

What is normal air pressure in this room in PSI? What is PSI? What are the metric units for air pressure?

Answer explanation

The normal air pressure in the is room is 14.7 PSI. PSI is a unit of measurement used for measuring air pressure. The metric units for air pressure are PA (pascal) and are a force of one newton per square meter.

In our launches we will reach a MAXIMUM air pressure of 80 PSI. How much more than normal air pressure is that? How much lower is that from maximum air pressure possible for bottles? This difference is called a safety factor.

Answer explanation

It is 65.3 PSI more than normal air pressure. The bottle is 10 PSI lower than the max air pressure for bottles.

  Why do you think a launch pad needs to be securely attached to the ground as the string is pulled?

Answer explanation

The launch pad needs to be securly attached to the ground string because you don’t  want the rocket to take the pad up in the air with it. 

Why should everyone be 25 feet back from a pressurized rocket which is ready for launch?

Answer explanation

This way everyone cannot get hurt if the rocket explodes or something goes wrong.

Why is there a countdown to launch?

Answer explanation

A countdown to launch is to there to keep everything organized, and it lets others know to keep their distance at the time of the launch.