Straw Rocket Activity with Free Printable

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Straw Rocket STEM Activity + Free Printable Template

Make a straw rocket and turn a simple hands-on activity into a STEM experiment. In this straw rocket activity, kids will build and launch a paper rocket, then experiment with launch angle, mass, and force to see how each affects the rocket’s flight. Grab the free straw rocket printable template and lesson worksheets and use the activity to explore Newton’s Laws of Motion, variables, measurement, and the engineering design process.

How to Make a Straw Rocket

Straw Rocket Materials

Here is the list of materials you’ll need to make a straw rocket:

• Straw rocket template included in the free straw rocket activity printable
• 1 Wide straw
• 1 Narrow straw
• Paper clips
• Tape and/or glue
• Crayons
• Scissors
• Tape measure or yard stick
• Pencil

Straw Rocket Instructions

Straw rockets are easy to make. You will need to make sure the edges are taped well without gaps. If there is a gap, the air blown into the straw will escape and prevent lift-off.

Print out the rocket template. If using the black and white version, color in the rocket.

Cut out along the outside lines of the straw rocket template without cutting apart at the tip. Then put the wider straw or pipette in to fit between the two rockets.

Tape the wider straw or pipette to the non-patterned side of the rocket. It’s important to REALLY seal up the edges, including the areas around the flame.

Cut the thinner straw to 6” length. Slide the thinner straw into the straw in the rocket and blow. The air blown into the straw provides the launch force that sends your rocket flying.

Then, slide one paper clip to the nose cone.
Once you get some measurements with the paper clip during this experiment, then remove the paper clip. What happens?

The Science Behind Straw Rockets

Newton’s Three Laws of Motion & Straw Rockets

In this straw rocket activity, kids will build and launch straw rockets, investigate launch angle, mass, and launch force, and use Newton’s Laws of Motion to help explain what happens.

We have provided a straw rocket template, along with instructions, explanations, and activity pages to record “lab results.”

Allow time to let your children take this straw rocket activity further and explore some of their own ideas and rocket designs.

NASA has a great history of rockets that makes a nice addition to this study.

Straw Rocket Activity & The Three Laws of Motion

Forces are all around us. We live with gravitational force all the time. Forces are all around us. A force is a push or a pull that can change an object’s motion. When you push a door, kick a ball, or launch a rocket, forces are at work. Gravity is also a force, pulling objects toward Earth.

Most people remember Sir Isaac Newton for his work explaining gravity and motion. Newton also gave us his Three Laws of Motion.

Newton’s First Law of Motion states that objects at rest tend to stay at rest, and objects in motion tend to stay in motion at the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an outside force. This is sometimes referred to as the Law of Inertia.

Inertia is an object’s resistance to a change in its state of motion, whether at rest or in motion.

Newton’s Second Law of Motion states that the greater the mass of an object, the more force is required to produce the same acceleration.

Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that when one object exerts a force on another object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite force on the first.

In this activity, you’ll build and launch a straw rocket and investigate how launch angle, rocket mass, and launch force affect the distance it travels. As you experiment, you’ll use Newton’s Laws of Motion to help explain what happens to your rocket.

Now, let’s launch a straw rocket and put Newton’s Laws of Motion into action!

Oh, and once you finish this straw rocket activity, check out this Mexican jumping bean marble activity that also looks at Newton’s Laws.

 Demonstrating Newton’s First Law of Motion with Straw Rockets

Building the Straw Rocket

DOWNLOAD THE ROCKET TEMPLATE AND OTHER PRINTABLES FOR THIS LESSON–SEE BELOW.

Test the Straw Rocket Launch Angle

The distance traveled with each launch is going to vary depending on how much force is used when breathing out to launch the rocket. The angle of the rocket at launch will affect how far it travels. Lastly, the mass of the rocket will affect the distance traveled.

The Center of Mass & Your Straw Rocket

Why did we add the paper clip to the nose cone of the straw rocket?

Every object has a center of mass, the point where its mass is balanced. By adding a paper clip to the nose of our straw rocket, we shift the center of mass closer to the front of the rocket.

Moving the center of mass toward the nose can help the rocket fly more steadily instead of tumbling through the air. This is why your straw rocket may fly better with the paper clip on its nose.

Try removing the paper clip and launching your rocket again. What happens? Does the rocket travel a longer or shorter distance? Does it fly as straight? What effect does adding mass to the front of the rocket have on its flight?

The center of mass adds stability to the rocket. This is why the rocket flies better when we have the paper clip on the nose cone.

Dependent and Independent Variables

If your child is not familiar with dependent and independent variables, let’s review:

An independent variable is the variable that is intentionally changed in an experiment. In the three parts of this activity, we will change the launch angle, the mass of the rocket, and the launch force, or how forcefully you blow into the straw. We will change only one variable at a time.

The dependent variable is what we measure to see how it responds to the change. In all three parts of this experiment, the distance the rocket travels is our dependent variable.

Let’s Test it Out

Now it’s time to experiment! We’ll change three things, one at a time: the launch angle, the mass of the rocket, and the launch force. After each launch, we’ll measure the distance the rocket travels and use our results to explore forces, motion, and Newton’s Laws of Motion.

Three Laws of Motion Experiment Procedures

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Each child or, if working in groups, each group will need:

• A measuring tape
• A straw rocket
• The instruction sheets
• The lab worksheets
• Paper clips
• Optional: masking tape to mark a spot on the floor to always stand so distance can be measured with a consistent starting point.

Fill in the First Law of Motion on the Lab Worksheet.

Place a piece of masking tape on the floor to mark a place to stand at each launch.

Practice launching the rocket ensure there are no air leaks on the sides and that the launcher (straws) are working properly.

Launch the rocket straight ahead without any upwards angle. Then, measure the distance it traveled.

Record the distance on the lab sheet.

Angle the straw up slightly (about 45 degrees). Launch the rocket and measure the distance it traveled.

Record the distance on the lab sheet.

Angle the straw up past the previous launch angle. Launch the rocket and measure the distance it traveled.

Record the distance on the lab sheet.

There is an extra space on the recording sheet if you do another test.

Fill in the What Happened? Section on the Lab Worksheet. (Which traveled farthest? Which traveled the shortest distance? What do you conclude?)

What Happened?

As we mentioned above, Newton’s First Law of Motion states that objects at rest tend to stay at rest, and objects in motion tend to stay in motion at the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an outside force.

The rocket stays on its launcher and at rest until a force (your child blowing on the launcher) acts upon it. The rocket then moves off of the launcher and flies until the friction of the air and the gravitational force acts upon it and sends the straw rocket to the ground.

Test the Straw Rocket’s Mass

Newton’s Second Law of Motion and the Straw Rocket Activity

Newton’s Second Law of Motion states that the greater the mass of an object, the more force it will take to accelerate the object.

Follow the instructions on the What to Do pages for testing angle, mass, and launch force or the amount of air blown into the straw for testing the Three Laws of Motion.

In this test, we change the mass of the rocket by adding paper clips. If we try to keep the launch angle and launch force approximately the same each time, we can observe how increasing the rocket’s mass affects the distance it travels.

Questions to Ask After the Second Test

When mass was added to the rocket, did it travel a greater or shorter distance? Why do you think that happened?

What forces were acting on the rocket when you launched it and as it traveled through the air? Launch force, gravity, and air resistance.

To review, what was the independent variable (the variable we changed)? The mass of the rocket.

What was the dependent variable (what we measured)? The distance traveled.

How does Newton’s Second Law of Motion help explain what happened in this part of the experiment?

Test the Straw Rocket’s Launch Force

Third Law of Motion and the Straw Rocket Activity

Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that when one object exerts a force on another object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite force on the first.

When you blow into the straw, the moving air pushes against the inside of the rocket, helping launch it from the straw. At the same time, the rocket pushes back on the air with an equal force in the opposite direction. This interaction is an example of Newton’s Third Law of Motion.

In this test, we changed the launch force, or how forcefully we blew into the straw, and measured the distance the rocket traveled. When we increased the launch force, we observed how that change affected the rocket’s motion and the distance it traveled.

Questions to Ask After the Third Test

When greater air pressure/launch force was added to the rocket, did it travel a greater or shorter distance? Why do you think that is?

What forces were acting on the rocket both when you launched it and when it was traveling through the air? Gravity, air pressure from blowing on the launcher, and air resistance as it traveled through the air.

To review, what was the independent variable (the variable we changed)? The launch force/air pressure.

What was the dependent variable (what we measured)? The distance traveled.

Related post: 50+ STEAM Activities

 

This is a great resource for tons of engineering project ideas!

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