GENERAL PHYSICS 11

BALLOON
ROCKET
LAB
REPORT
PREPARED BY

KRITSANAWIT BOONKERD
PHUTTINAN CHANTAPRAM
YANIN GASEMSIN
1101
WINNER
 INTRODUCTION

               In this experiment, we focus on The Newton’s Third law

concept. It’s said that “For every action, there is an equal and
opposite reaction” which means how much you push on something,
it pushes back on you just as hard as yours. The objective of this
experiment is to learn Newton’s Third law through balloon rockets.
We will tie a rope on 2 chairs then, blow the balloon and stick it with
cut straw and tied it with rope. After that, we will release the
balloon’s air and calculate the speed of it. If we fill a lot of air in the
balloon then, the balloon will move very fast when releasing the air.

OBJECTIVE
           As Newton's Third Law states that for every action, there is an
equal and opposite reaction which include the action and reaction
which are in opposite direction, have the same magnitude and are
acting on different objects, we want to investigate the action-
reaction relationships.

Balloon Rocket Lab Report 01

 SET UP

Balloon Rocket Lab Report 02

 MATERIAL

(IconFinder, 2018)                              (IconFinder, 2018) (BIcon, 2016)

Chairs                                    Straws Air Pumper

(oNline Web Fonts, 2016)                    (Icons8, 2018)                       (NounProject, 2017)

Tapes                                Balloons Big and Small
Ropes

(Icon-Icons, 2016)                          (IconFinder, 2018)

Timer                                    Ruler

Balloon Rocket Lab Report 03

 PROCEDURE
1.Set up 2 chairs on the
table, one on the right
another on the left.
2.Thread the loose end of
the small rope through the
straw.
3.Tied the small rope
between 2 chairs.
4.Blow up the balloon.
5.Keeping balloon’s opening
shut.
6.Stick it with a straw on the
rope by the tape.
7.Move the straw to the end
of the rope.
8.Prepare the timer.
9.Release the balloon’s
opening and start the timer.
10.When the balloon stops,
stop the timer.
11.Use ruler to measure the
distance of the balloon.
12.Calculate speed of the
balloon.
13.Repeat step 1-12 but, use
big rope instead.

Balloon Rocket Lab Report 04

 ANALYSIS

Data and Calculation

           According to data collected, the fastest balloon, not including

the group race, was the balloon with a smaller size which traveled
2.27 meter per second. Because the surface area is less than other
balloons, the small balloon was able to reduce its air resistance, so
its speed was the highest.
           As it is stated in Newton's third law, for every action, there is
an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, in this experiment, when
we released our finger of the ballon, the air in the balloon came out.
The air in the balloon pushes in the opposite direction that the
balloon goes. The force acting back to the air force makes the
balloon move in the opposite direction of the air with the same
force. 

Air Force Balloon's Movement

Action Reaction

Balloon Rocket Lab Report 05

 QUESTIONS
a. Does the shape of the balloon affect how
far (or fast) the Rocket travels?

The shape of the balloon affects the speed of the

balloons when they are traveling. We tried using
a big balloon with more air comparing to a small
balloon with less air. The bigger balloon traveled
farther but slower becuase it has more force (the
air) and more surface area which creates more air
resistance.

b. Does the length of the straw affect how far

(or fast) the Rocket travels?

The balloon travels slower when it is attached to a

long straw rather than a short straw. As mass is
inversely proportional to the force and
acceleration. When we increase the mass on the
object, the object travels slower according to the
speed.

Balloon Rocket Lab Report 06

 QUESTIONS
c. Does the angle of the string affect how far
(or fast) the Rocket travels?
The angle of strings affects the distance that the
balloon traveled because of the gravity. If the
balloon starts from the lower angle, the gravity will
pull the balloon while it's moving which cause it to
use more force and has less distance. On the other
hand, if the balloon starts on a higher angle, the
gravity will pull the balloon cause it to move faster
to the finish line.

d. What do you think is going to happen

when you let go of the balloon opening

The balloon will go forward with acceleration which

the distance and speed will depend on the gas or
the air in the balloon. However, the direction of the
balloon swirled a bit due to the unsteady air
released.
If the balloon is half inflated, it goes faster,
however, in a more straight direction.

Balloon Rocket Lab Report 07

 CONCLUSION
           In conclusion, the force of the air's
direction is opposite to the direction that
the balloon went. As there always is an
equal and opposite reaction, the force of
the air is the action and the balloon moving
forward is the reaction with the same
amount of force.

RECOMMENDATION
                To reduce the errors during the experiment, we should have
ropes that are already cut with exact length, so we can calculate the
speed with more accuracy than using a ruler to measure the length of
the rope. We also should be more precise and accurate when taking
the time, so we can have the least errors in doing the experiment as
possible. We also should measure the diameter of the balloons before
letting them go because we can use the data to calculate and to
compare the sizes of the balloon which affect their velocity,

Balloon Rocket Lab Report 08

REFERENCES
What is Newton's third law? (n.d.). Retrieved October 26, 2018, from 
       https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/forces-newtons-
       laws/newtons-laws-of-motion/a/what-is-newtons-third-law

Schrecker, I. (2014, June 04). The Effect of Straw Length on Distance

      Traveled. Retrieved October 26, 2018, from https://prezi.com/z7zq-
      xuj7tq7/the-effect-of-straw-length-on-distance-traveled/

Newton's Third Law. (2017). Retrieved October 26, 2018, from

      https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newtlaws/Lesson-
      4/Newton-s-Third-Law

B. (2015, February 22). MAKE A BALLOON ROCKET. Retrieved October

      26, 2018, from https://sciencebob.com/make-a-balloon-rocket/

Identifying Action and Reaction Force Pairs. (2017). Retrieved October

      26, 2018, from https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newt
      laws/Lesson-4/Identifying-Action-and-Reaction-Force-Pairs

Balloon Rocket Lab Report 09

 WORK LOG
PHUTTINAN
21/10/2018
- Reading about Newton’s third law + typing introduction and procedure
22/10/2018
- Finish the procedure and the answer for 4.c, and Recommendation
- Send the files to Namtip

YANIN
25/10/2018
- Started making the template for the lab report
- Making edits in Phuttinan's work and put the procedure, answer and
the recommendation in the report
26/10/2018
- Finished writing the answers, analysis, conclusion
- Put the files together

KRITSANAWIT
22/10/2018 - Reading about Newton’s third law and writing equipment
22/10/2018 - Writing objective and 4d
23/10/2018 - Finish writing and sent to Namtip

Balloon Rocket Lab Report 10