This is Rocket Science
In partial
fulfillment of the
requirements
for SCI 2310:
Leadership in
Science and
Mathematics
A Project about Leadership in Science and Mathematics
By James Freiheit, Michael Herriage, Sheharyar Khan, Austin Wegner
McMurry Center for Mission Outreach with Science and Technology (MCMOST), McMurry University, Abilene, Texas 79697
Class Schedule
Introduction
In our LEV class, Leadership in Science and Mathematics
(SCI 2310), a major course component was to work with Clyde
high school students on the science TAKS test. Passing the
eleventh grade TAKS test is a high school graduation
requirement for students in Texas. From our initial visit with
teachers at Clyde High School and the data they provided us
from the previous year’s tenth grade TAKS exam, we
determined that chemistry and physics were subjects that
needed to be reinforced. We also learned that Clyde had three
science TAKS classes in which the teachers were very eager to
accept our help.
Field Trip to McMurry
Day 1
To give the students encouragement for the TAKS test
and to foster a college-going environment, we invited Clyde
students to come to McMurry for a morning. While they were
here, Dr. Keith launched several of his larger, more impressive,
Estes rockets. Then, the students participated in physics and
chemistry demonstrations. The McMurry Office of Admission
gave them a tour of the campus. We finished the field trip by
playing Jeopardy! using TAKS questions.
On our first day at Clyde, we introduced the rocket concept
to the students. This involved showing off the rocket and
discussing its shape as well as its parts and their purpose. We used
deflated and inflated balloons to demonstrate balanced and
unbalanced forces (Figure 1) and showed them how to make a
free-body diagram. Finally, the concepts introduced were
summarized using Newton’s three laws of motion.
Figure 3. Data collect during the bench test, showing force vs. time that the
motor is burning.
Days 4 & 5
Using data collected from the bench test (Figure 3), the
students completed a worksheet using TAKS equations to calculate
and predict the height reached by the rocket, as well as information
on its velocity and energy.
Objectives
Our primary objective was to improve the Clyde students’
TAKS scores by helping them to understand certain
fundamental concepts in chemistry and/or physics. We also
hoped to inspire these students in their learning by showing
them how much fun science can be.
Day 6
Figure 1. James Freiheit and Michael Herriage demonstrate forces
with a balloon.
Day 2
We paired the students up, gave Estes E2X Generic Bulk
Pack rocket kits to each group, and assisted them in constructing
the rockets (Figure 2).
After waiting for a day with calm winds, we were finally
able to launch the rockets (Figure 4). Four to five rockets were
launched during each period. For each launch, the students took
turns collecting various data. One student pressed the button to
launch the rocket. Another student stood a premeasured distance
away and used the angle-measuring device to measure the angle to
the rocket at its peak. Two other students used stopwatches to
measure the time the rocket traveled going up and down.
Conclusions
Our initial goal of designing a project to help high school
students learn concepts they generally struggle with on the
TAKS was accomplished. We also wrote a teacher’s guide
which includes a day-by-day outline for teaching a class on
rocketry, the worksheets we developed to help reinforce their
understanding of various concepts, and information about what
supplies were used and how much they cost. This guide is
available in PDF format at http://MCMOST.mcm.edu.
References
Process
To gain a further understanding of the students’ needs, we
met with their teachers. From the meeting we gathered useful
information, including TAKS data from the previous year, the
teachers’ opinion of the students’ greatest needs, which students
needed the most help, and an indication of how motivated the
students were. Compiling the TAKS data from the previous
year, we determined which concepts the students needed to learn
the most. One of the Clyde teachers also gave us an article
entitled “Teaching Content Outrageously: Instruction in the Era
of On-Demand Entertainment.”
Out next step was to brainstorm “outrageous” ideas similar
to that of the article but related to chemistry and/or physics. We
wanted to find something that would give a “bang” and keep
them interested while also teaching the needed concepts. Some
of these ideas were construction, cooking, “Mythbusters”, and
rocketry. In the end, we chose rocketry as our project because it
covered most of the desired concepts. We decided which TAKS
equations and rocket experiments we wanted to use and then
designed worksheets that reviewed this material.
Pogrow, Stanley. “Teaching Content Outrageously: Instruction
in the Era of On-Demand Entertainment.” Phi Delta
Kappan 91 (January 2009): 379-383.
http://www.esteseducator.com/
http://www.nar.org/SandT/NARenglist.shtml
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index3.aspx?id=3839&menu_id3=79
3
Figure 4. Launching a rocket at Clyde High School.
Figure 2. Students from Clyde High School building their rockets.
Days 7 & 8
Day 3
There were several tasks for this day. First, a bench test of
the motor was performed. Using a force sensor connected to a
tablet computer, the students collected data on the force and
duration of the burn (Figure 3). Next, the students collected data on
the masses of the rockets they built and on the burned and
unburned motors. Finally, the students constructed anglemeasuring devices.
Using trigonometry, TAKS equations, and data collected
from the launch, the students worked through another worksheet to
calculate how high the rocket actually went and information on its
actual velocity and energy. They compared these results to their
predictions and discussed possible reasons for the differences. On
our last day working with the students at Clyde, we used actual
TAKS questions from previous exams to show how the concepts
we had been using with rockets would apply to the real TAKS test.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the teachers, administrators, and
students of Clyde High School for their enthusiastic support for
our project. We appreciate the help given by Ms. Kinslow, Ms.
Walton, Ms. Owens, Mr. Fuqua, Ms. Howard, and Mr. Ogle at
Clyde High School. We learned much from observing and
working with their classes.
Laser Sails
Austin Wegner
Todd Neer
McMurry University
Solar Sails
Today, the weight of a space shuttle at launch is approximately
95 percent fuel. What could we accomplish if we could reduce
our need for so much fuel and the tanks that hold it?
Lasers
A solar sail-powered spacecraft does not need traditional propellant for power, because
its propellant is sunlight and the sun is its engine.
How does it work?
The reflective nature of the sails is key. As photons (light particles) bounce off the
reflective material, they gently push the sail along by transferring momentum to the sail.
Because there are so many photons from sunlight, and because they are constantly
hitting the sail, there is a constant pressure (force per unit area) exerted on the sail that
produces a constant acceleration of the spacecraft.
Equations
Where F=Force (in N), P=Power (in W), A=Surface Area (in m2),
c = Speed of Light (in m/s), a=Acceleration (in m/s2),
and m=Mass of Object (in kg)
What is needed to make a Solar Sail
Two main components:
Laser light is different from normal light because it is coherent, which means that the light is
emitted in a narrow beam. Using lasers to accelerate the spacecraft has several advantages over
using the sun’s light. First, the distance between the Earth and the craft is smaller than the
distance between the craft and the sun. Second, the laser can be focused on and aimed toward
the craft.
At the Earth’s orbit, the radiation pressure of the sun
is 4.6 μP. For the failed Cosmos 1 solar sail, this
would have caused an acceleration of 0.0005 m/s2.
After 1 day, it would reach 45 m/s (100 mph), and
after 3 years, it would reach 45,000 m/s (100,000
mph). At this speed it could have reached Pluto in 5
years. A laser could produce a pressure 100 times
greater. Imagine how much faster it could have gone
if it used lasers instead!
The sun can only be used for acceleration. If lasers
were placed in the farther reaches of the solar
system, they could be used for braking as well as for
acceleration.
Put It All Together
An Idea?
What we propose is that if we could combine the solar sail concepts, laser light source,
and Lagrangian points we can plan one of the most efficient methods of space travel.
Concept
To go to a higher orbit (travel farther away from the object), you angle the solar sail
with respect to the laser so that the pressure generated by photons is in the direction of
your orbital motion. The force accelerates the spacecraft, increases the speed of its orbit
and the spacecraft moves into a higher orbit. In contrast, if you want to go to a lower
orbit (closer to the object), you angle the sail with respect to the laser so that the
pressure generated by the photons is opposite the direction of your orbital motion. The
force then decelerates the spacecraft, decreases the speed of its orbit and the spacecraft
drops into a lower orbit.
The Mission
Taking solar sail spacecrafts with lasers attached we can send the lasers out into larger
orbits and place them in the 4th and 5th Lagrangian points of the planets in the solar
system. These Lagrangian points will essentially become orbital checkpoints for our
space travel mission.
•Continuous force exerted by light source
•A separate launch vehicle
Lagrangian Points
A second spacecraft is needed to launch the solar sail,
which would then be deployed in space.
The force of gravity between two objects depends on the mass of the two objects, and the square
of the distance between them. In any system of three bodies, you will always be able to find
exactly five places where the force of gravity of two of the objects acting on a third object
balance in such a way that they corotate. These five points are called Lagrangian points. At
these locations, the third object will be able to remain stationary relative to the other two
For a planet and sun, three of the points, L1, L2, and
L3 lie in a line along the planet and sun. These points
act more as saddle points, so an object could move
out to the side.
L4
Picture Sources
http://www.gcsescience.com/pun3.htm
http://science.howstuffworks.com/solarsail2.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_sails
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasers
60°
L3
L1
60°
L5
L2
The other two points, L4 and L5 lie 60° ahead and
behind the planet. These two points are much larger
the first three points, as well as more stable because
they are more like wells.
The figure above shows a (not to scale) idea of where the lasers would be placed in
Lagrangian points 4 and 5 of the planets. The red dots on the orbits represent the lasers.
Once these lasers are in place throughout our solar system we could possibly send a
large solar sail spacecraft into space and have it accelerated through the checkpoints into
the depths of our solar system.
May Term 2008 Astronomy Trip Results
Michael Herriage, Jeanette Schofield, & Aaron Ward
Department of Physics, McMurry University, Abilene, Texas 79697
Introduction
Astraea
Pluto
Saturn
In May of 2008, Dr. Keith and three McMurry students
travelled to Flagstaff, Arizona to observe the stars for a
week on the National Undergraduate Research
Observatory’s (NURO) 31" Telescope. We spent our nights
at the observatory taking data and went sightseeing during
the day. For four of the five nights we were there, we used
the telescope to take images of the night sky (on the fifth
night, it snowed and we were unable to collect any
data). These images were used for two different purposes:
blinking and stacking.
Astraea is an asteroid in the main asteroid belt. The
asteroid was first discovered in 1845 by Karl Ludwig
Hencke. We observed Astraea because its well-known
location allowed us to easily practice locating a moving
object.
The image on the right was taken approximately three
hours after the image on the left. By blinking the images
back and forth quickly, we were able to locate the
asteroid. In the images below, Astraea is the bright dot
inside the blue squares. It can easily be seen that Astraea's
location relative to the background stars changed in just a
few hours.
Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh at
Lowell Observatory. While on the trip, we stopped by Lowell
Observatory and were able to see the actual device that
Tombaugh used to discover Pluto. The device, which is
called a blink comparator, is shown below.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and is classified
as a gas giant. One of Saturn's most distinctive features
are its rings which are composed of many small particles
orbiting the planet.
We took images of Saturn to get practice in stacking
images. Normally, images taken of Saturn are sharper and
do not have a yellow tint. The reason why are images are
so fuzzy is due to the combination of a cloud cover the night
the images were taken and the fact that we should have
taken more images of the planet.
Blinking
Blinking is a technique often used in astronomy to locate
a moving target. When two images are blinked together,
they are overlapped and then flashed back and forth
quickly. Stars are very far away from Earth so they will not
move in the images. However, objects that are much closer
(such as an asteroid in the asteroid belt) will be able to be
identified moving in the images. Since there is a lot of noise
captured in images taken of the night sky, it is best to take
images of the target object at a couple different periods of
time.
In years past, locating a moving object using blinking
techniques was time intensive. An astronomer would have
to manually move the telescope into position before taking a
picture of the night sky. Due to the Earth’s rotation about its
axis every 24 hours, the telescope had to be readjusted
often in order to keep track of the same group of
stars. After all of the images had been acquired, the
astronomer would use a device called a blink comparator to
locate any moving objects. Despite the fact that blinking
was very time intensive, it was used to discover various
asteroids and comets as well as Pluto.
Today, computers have made the process of finding a
moving target much faster. At the observatory, movement of
the telescope was controlled via computer and a camera
was mounted onto the telescope. Thus, by just inputting
coordinates for the desired area of study, the telescope
would automatically be moved to that location. We then
took images of the area using the NASACAM’s
programmable adjustments, controlling exposure time,
number of exposures, and filter types. A few hours later (or,
in the case of planets, a few nights later) we once again
took pictures of the same area.
Once we had collected enough data, we used Project
CLEA's (Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in
Astronomy) Astrometry of Asteroids software program to
blink them. To find the desired target, we uploaded two
different images of the same location, each taken at a
different time. CLEA automatically aligned the stars so that
the images would line up. After the stars were aligned,
CLEA blinked the images together.
During the trip, we started out by observing the wellknown targets of Astraea and Pluto. Then, we moved the
camera to three random locations in the hope of finding a
new asteroid or comet.
Seeing where Pluto was discovered inspired us to also
find Pluto ourselves. To do this, we had to take images of it
over a couple of nights. The reason for this is that Pluto is
moving much slower than an asteroid so we had to allow
enough time to pass for Pluto to move in relation to the
background stars. Pluto is the bright dot inside the small
square below.
Right Ascension: 12:50:03 / Declination: 12:48:20
Right Ascension: 10:17:52 / Declination: 12:28:16
Searching for a New Discovery
What to do When it Snows…
Asteroids and comets are found by astronomers looking
at unknown areas of the sky and trying to see if they can
find a new, undiscovered object. We took images of three
random areas of the sky in hopes of finding a new asteroid
of object. Unfortunately, we did not find anything new. The
images below are the three different areas that we looked
at.
To be able to observe the sky, the weather conditions
need to be just right. Rain or snow could damage the
observatory’s telescope. In addition, cloud cover caused
images taken of the night sky to be fuzzy. Thankfully, the
weather cooperated for most of the week and we were able
to gather a lot of data. However, on the last night of
observations, it snowed. Of course, we weren’t too upset…
Right Ascension: 12:55:04 / Declination: -5:53:24
Right Ascension: 12:55:04 / Declination: -4:53:24
Right Ascension: 12:55:04 / Declination: -3:53:24
Right Ascension: 12:55:04 / Declination: -5:53:24
Stacking
Stacking is a technique often used in astronomy to
improve the clarity of a celestial object in an image. When
an astronomical image is taken, there is a lot of noise. By
taking many images of the same object and combining
them, the noise in the images can be reduced and a clearer
picture of the desired object can be obtained. The more
images that can be taken of the desired object, the clearer
the final image will be.
To use stacking, we took multiple images, one after
another, with the same intensities for each image. We then
uploaded each image into an imaging software program
where each image was treated as a layer. Once all the
images were uploaded, we used Registax4 to “stack” the
images on top of each other, creating a single image. This
newly-created image showed the desired object with most
of the background noise removed.
In addition to noise reduction, stacking can also be used
to create colored images. The telescope had five different
lens settings: a red, green, or blue filter, an ultraviolet filter,
and no filter. By combining images taken in the red, green,
and blue filters, we were able to create colored images. We
dubbed these colored images "pretty pictures."
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Dr. Keith for putting up with us for a whole week and
showing us how cool observational astronomy can be.
The background picture is from http://www.cgtextures.com/.
Questions or Comments?
Please contact Michael at herriage.michael@students.mcm.edu,
Jeanette at schofield.jeanette@students.mcm.edu, or Aaron
ward.aaron@students.mcm.edu. An online version of this poster can be
found at cs1.mcm.edu/~schofield.jeanette/physics/ssp/mayTerm.ppt