Analysis & Conclusion
This section of the essay will provide analysis and conclusion in accordance with globally accepted standards (Harvard.edu, n.d.).
The main objective of these experiments is to ascertain the “optimum filling point” of the toy rockets that were acquired from the toy manufacturer “Rachet Rockets.” The reason for conducting the research and undertaking the experiments was to provide empirical scientific evidence to the toy manufacturer which could be used for the purpose of enabling the customers of Rachet Rockets to gain maximum height from the rockets.
For the first preliminary, I used measurement system of pound per square inch (PSI: NIST.gov, n.d.) for the purpose of analysing the relationship between the water level (forcing the water from the bottle) of the rocket and the PSI with respect to time. The second preliminary included ascertaining a PSI level at which the rocket will launch without being affected by the friction of the bung. The final preliminary included analysing the best time measuring system that could be used for the purpose of endeavouring to “reduce the range between the highest and lowest times.” After the preliminaries were conducted, the final launch took place. It is important to note that the purpose of the preliminaries was to identify potential issues, and in-turn overcome these issues leading up to the final launch; an evolutionary process was taking place.
The first test that I conducted was a rough experimental overview; I engaged in experiments with various water levels (ranging from 0 ml – 2000 ml) and various pressure levels (ranging from 4 PSI – 32 PSI). One of the lessons that I learned from this particular experiment was that I should limit the final testing to 1000 ml in order to prevent the air time result. Another important discovery was that I was unable to gain a consistent level of pressure. This was a constraint that needed to be addressed. The overall solution to this issues was to create a comprehensive rocket launcher (the details of which are in the essay). After launching the rocket with the newly created launcher in a “test launch”, the results were significantly improved from the first test. In particular, the consistency was much higher and the range was significantly lower (cut from just under 4 seconds to 1 second). The test launch proved to be a success; however, it uncovered another issue—that of unreliable time measuring mechanism. In order to overcome this issue, I researched on the best way to accurately measure short events in terms of time. Video recording is a highly accurate method, and I immediately decided that I would utilise the software package of Adobe Premium Elements (which allowed me to obtain a reading down to a hundredth of a second). The final preliminary results confirmed the fact that the utilisation of a video camera—for the purpose of recording time—is vastly superior to a stop watch for this type of experiment; the results indicated that at 400ml at a pressure of 30 PSI, the result was around 4 seconds for every launch.
For the final launch, the PSI remained at 30; in order to ascertain the most suitable quantity of water to obtain the desired object, I tested between 0 ml and 1000 ml. The empirical data that was derived from the experiment confirmed that the optimum filling point is 200 ml. The launch confirmed that the rocket stayed in the air for a mean time of 3.74 seconds. I am pleased with the thorough research and experimentation that I’ve conducted; the desired objective has been fulfilled.
References
Harvard.edu (n.d.) Ending the Essay: Conclusions [Online]. Available from: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/documents/Conclusions.html (Accessed: 18 January 2010).
NIST.gov (n.d.) Rules and Style Conventions for Expressing Values of Quantities [Online]. Available from: http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP811/sec07.html#7.4 (Accessed: 18 January 2010).