Rocketry Math

One of the stops the tour made before going to the Golden Spike National Park was to look at all sorts of rockets, motors, and parts.  The big rockets seen in the background is Space Shuttle reusable solid rocket motor while the two medium sized ones in the left front are the Trident 1 and the Minuteman I.

This is the type of unit one could coordinate with the science department by looking at the mathematics involved in launching model rockets and build and launch them.  In addition, have the Social Studies teacher add in the history of the United States Space program while the English teacher could have students read one of the numerous books on this topic.

Estes Rockets has a lovely 97 page pdf with lessons on launching rockets, finding the center of mass, finding the center of pressure, rocket stability, math and rocket flight, aerial photography, and launching payloads.  It includes the lesson plans, student worksheets, and overheads although we tend to project straight onto boards.

The lessons have all the mathematics and explanations needed to complete the unit so if you aren't sure about the equations needed, they are here.  This is also geared for grades 5 to 12.  If you work with students who are of a lower grade or their skills are not where they should be, this site has a guide for elementary grades but it explains in more detail on how to find the height of a rocket in the air, determine its speed, and acceleration and flight.

The second packet would make a good introduction since as it explains things with lots of nice diagrams and it integrates reading into the classroom.  Now if you look here, Estes Rockets also offers additional cross curricular suggestions for integrating rockets in most subjects.  This page also lists all the curriculum packets they've made.

Let's not forget NASA for information on Rocketry and math.  Many of these lesson are on things like thermal protection or how to keep your rocket from burning up.  Although this thermal protection challenge is more science, it does include information on the math being used in the unit.  This makes it easy to connect with real life applications.

The NASA lessons cover all grades from K to 12 so if you are not a high school teacher there is something for you and all the lessons include a math connection.  The thing through this all is that we are almost to the 50th anniversary of the landing of Apollo on the moon.  They didn't have the computing power available we have to day and for those early flights, they relied on human calculators to make sure the math was correct.

Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a wonderful day.