VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY

HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCE
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REPORT OF GENERAL PHYSICS

STUDYING MOTION OF A ROCKET

Lecturers: Prof. Huynh Quang Linh

Prof. Nguyen Thi Minh Huong
Class: CC05
Group members:
Tran Doan Binh An 2352017
Hoang Duc Hieu Anh 2352030
Pham Duc Anh 2352060
Pham Quoc Binh 2352125
Ly Ngoc Chau 2352133
 CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 1: THEORY...................................................................................................4
1. Newton’s Laws of motion.........................................................................................4
2. Linear Momentum.....................................................................................................4
3. Application of conservation of momentum and Newton’s Law to find rocket
motion equation.............................................................................................................5
CHAPTER 2: METHODS................................................................................................7
1. Overview of Matlab program....................................................................................7
2. Establishment of Matlab code...................................................................................7
CHAPTER 3: RESULTS...................................................................................................9
1. Determination of motion equation............................................................................9
2. Representation of graph of rocket motion.................................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................10
APPENDICE....................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................12
INTRODUCTION:
Project 11: Studying the motion of a rocket
1. Content
- The rocket can move forward by a stream of propulsion gas from one end of the rocket. This
propellant flow is generated by the reaction that burns the fuel contained in the rocket, so its
mass decreases with time. The Newton's second law equation for rocket motion can be expressed
as follows:
dv dm
m =−v ' −mg
dt dt
where m is the mass of the rocket, v' is the velocity of the gas stream.
- Solving this equation we can determine the rocket's acceleration from which we can derive its
equation of motion.
- This project requires students to use MATLAB to graphically represent the motion equation of
the rocket.
2. Requirements
- Students should have basic programming knowledge of MATLAB.
- Learn about symbolic calculation and graphical interpretation in MATLAB.
3. Tasks:
Write Matlab program to:
- Input the fuel combustion speed dm/dt, the rocket's mass, the rocket’s initial position, the
rocket's gas propulsion speed.
- Use the symbolic calculation to determine the equation of rocket motion and represent it
graphically.

*Note:
- Students can use other non-symbolic approaches.
- Submitting report has to contain text explaining the content of the program and the entire code
verified to run properly in Matlab.
CHAPTER 1: THEORY
1. Newton’s Laws of motion
1.1. Newtonian Mechanics
- The velocity of an object can change (the object can accelerate) when the object is acted on by
one or more forces (pushes or pulls) from other objects. Newtonian mechanics relates
accelerations and forces.
- Forces are vector quantities. Their magnitudes are defined in terms of the acceleration they
would give the standard kilogram. The direction of a force is the direction of the acceleration it
causes. The net force on a body is the vector sum of all the forces acting on the body.
- The mass of a body is the characteristic of that body that relates the body’s acceleration to the
net force causing the acceleration. Masses are scalar quantities.
1.2. Newton’s First Law
- If there is no net force on a body, the body remains at rest if it is initially at rest or moves in a
straight line at constant speed if it is in motion.
- This law is also known as the law of inertia. (Inertia is the tendency of an object to remain at
rest or remain in motion)
- Reference frames in which Newtonian mechanics holds are called inertial reference frames or
inertial frames. Reference frames in which Newtonian mechanics does not hold are called non
inertial reference frames or non-inertial frames.
1.3. Newton’s Second Law
- The net force ⃗ Fnet on a body with mass m is related to the body’s acceleration a by
⃗
Fnet =m ⃗a
which may be written in the component versions
F net , x =m a x F net , y =m a y F net , z=ma z
- The second law indicates that in SI units: 1N = 1kg.m/s2
- A free-body diagram is a stripped-down diagram in which only one body is considered. That
body is represented by either a sketch or a dot. The external forces on the body are drawn, and a
coordinate system is superimposed, oriented so as to simplify the solution.
1.4 Newton’s Third Law
If a force ⃗
F BC acts on body B due to body C, then there is a force ⃗
FCB on body C due to body B:
⃗
F BC =−⃗
F CB
2. Linear Momentum
2.1. Definition
Linear momentum is defined as the product of a system’s mass and its velocity. Momentum is a
vector quantity (since velocity is) and is represented by the symbol ⃗p:
⃗p=m ⃗v
2.2. Newton’s Second Law of motion in terms of momentum
The net external force on a system is equal to the rate of change of the momentum of that system
caused by the force:
⃗ d ⃗p
Fnet =
dt
2.3. The impulse-linear momentum theorem
- Let ⃗
F (t) be the force applied to an object over some differential time interval dt. The resulting
impulse on the object is defined as:
d ⃗J ≡ ⃗
F (t)dt
If F ave is the average magnitude of ⃗ F (t) during the collision and ∆t is the duration of the
collision, then for one-dimensional motion:
J=F ave ∆ t
- Applying Newton’s second law in momentum form to a particle-like body involved in a
collision leads to the impulse—linear momentum theorem:
⃗ pi=∆ ⃗p = J⃗
pf −⃗
- When a steady stream of bodies, each with mass m and speed v, collides with a body whose
position is fixed, the average force on the fixed body is
−n −n
F ave = ∆ p= m∆v
∆t ∆t
where n/∆t is the rate at which the bodies collide with the fixed body, and Av is the change in
velocity of each colliding body. This average force can also be written as
−∆ m
F ave = ∆v
∆t
where ∆m/∆t is the rate at which mass collides with the fixed body.
2.4. Conservation of linear momentum
- Requirements for momentum conservation
+ The mass of the system must remain constant during the interaction.
+ The net external force on the system must be zero.
→ A system of objects that meets these two requirements is said to be a closed system (also
called an isolated system).
- Law of conservation of linear momentum:
The total momentum of a closed, isolated is conserved:
⃗
P=constant (momentum for a system is symbolized by ⃗ P)
This can also be written as ⃗Pi=⃗ Pf
3. Application of conservation of momentum and Newton’s Law to find rocket
motion equation
3.1. Rocket Propulsion
- The rocket is an isolated system in terms of momentum. Therefore, the source of the propulsion
of a rocket must be something other than an external force. The operation of a rocket depends on
the law of conservation of linear momentum as applied to an isolated system, where the system
is the rocket plus its ejected fuel.
- In addition to this analysis in terms of momentum, we can also understand this phenomenon in
terms of Newton’s second and third laws.
- Suppose at some time t the magnitude of the momentum of a rocket plus its fuel is (M+∆m)v,
where v is the speed of the rocket relative to the Earth. Over a short time interval ∆t, the rocket
ejects fuel of mass ∆m. At the end of this interval, the rocket’s mass is M and its speed is v+∆v,
where ∆v is the change in speed of the rocket. If the fuel is ejected with a speed v e relative to the
rocket (ve is usually called the exhaust speed), the velocity of the fuel relative to the Earth is v-v e.
- Because the system of the rocket and the ejected fuel is isolated, we apply the isolated system
model for momentum and obtain
∆ p=0 → pi =p f →(M +∆ m)v=M (v+ ∆ v )+∆ m(v−v e )
Simplifying this expression gives
M ∆ v =v e ∆ m
- If we take the limit as ∆t goes to zero, we let ∆v → dv and ∆m → dm. The increase in the
exhaust mass dm corresponds to an equal decrease in the rocket mass, so dm = -dM. Notice that
dM is negative because it represents a decrease in mass, so -dM is a positive number. Using this
fact gives
Mdv =v e dm=−v e dM
Now divide the equation by M and integrate, taking the initial mass of the rocket plus fuel to be
Mi and the final mass of the rocket plus its remaining fuel to be Mf . The result is
Mi
v f −v i=v e ln ( )
Mf
which is the basic expression for rocket propulsion.
3.2. Solution to problem mentioned in the introduction
Task: The rocket can move forward by a stream of propulsion gas from one end of the rocket.
This propellant flow is generated by the reaction that burns the fuel contained in the rocket, so its
mass decreases with time. The Newton's second law equation for rocket motion can be expressed
as follows:
dv dm
m =−v ' −mg
dt dt
where m is the mass of the rocket, v' is the velocity of the gas stream.
Determine the equation of rocket motion and represent it graphically.
Solution:
- The direction of motion is upward
- The coordinate origin is set on the ground
- Mass of the rocket at time t:
m t
dm
k= →dm=−kdt →∫ dm=−∫ kdt → m=m0−kt
dt m 0 0

- The Newton's second law equation for rocket motion:

dv dm
m =−v ' −mg
dt dt
dm
→ d v=−v ' −gd t
m
v m t
dm
→∫ dv=−v ' ∫ −∫ gdt
0 m0 m 0

m m0 m0
→ v=−v ' ln −¿=v ' ln −¿=v ' ln −¿
m0 m m0 −kt
y t

- Motion equation of the rocket: dy =vdt → ∫ dy =∫ vdt

y0 0

[ ( ) ]
t
m0
→ y− y 0=∫ v ' ln −¿ dt
0
m0−kt
→ y= y 0 + v ' ln
( m0
m0−kt ) (
t+ v ' ln
m0
m0−kt) 1 2
+ v ' t− g t
2
CHAPTER 2: METHODS
In order to meet the requirements of the project, we use a program called Matlab. Methods of
using Matlab to solve the problem will be shown in following section.
1. Overview of Matlab program
- Matlab is a programming platform designed specifically for engineers and scientists to analyze
and design systems and products that transform our world. The heart of Matlab is the Matlab
language, a matrix-based language allowing the most natural expression of computational
mathematics.
- Matlab combines a desktop environment tuned for iterative analysis and design processes with
a programming language that expresses matrix and array mathematics directly. It includes the
Live Editor for creating scripts that combine code, output, and formatted text in an executable
notebook.
2. Establishment of Matlab code
2.1. Basic Matlab functions used
Operator/
Syntax Purpose
Function

Semicolon (;) clear all; End a statement

% %Clear memory Give a comment

Parentheses ( ) x = int(y,x,a,b) Enclose function arguments and array indices

Arithmetic
+-*/^ Do the arithmetic
Operators

Create symbolic scalar variables and functions, and matrix

syms syms x
variables and functions

input x = input(‘ ’) Request user’s input

disp(x)
disp Display value of variable or the string of characters
disp(‘ ’)

log y = log(x) Return the natural logarithm ln(x) of each element in array x

Calculate the integral of function y over variable x from a to

int int(y,x,a,b)
b

Plots over the specified interval. Specify the interval as a

fplot fplot(f,xinterval)
two-element vector of the form [xmin xmax].

Add the specified title to the current axes or standalone

title title(‘ ’)
visualization

xlabel(‘ ’) Label the x-axis

label
ylabel(‘ ’) Label the y-axis

grid on
grid Display or hide axes grid lines
grid off
Table 2.1. Basic functions and operators
2.2. Explanation of commands of the code
- Display on the screen “The direction of motion is upward”
disp('The direction of motion is upward');
- Display on the screen “The coordinate origin is set on the ground”
disp('The coordinate origin is set on the ground');
- Display on the screen “The second law of Newton equation for rocket motion is expressed
as:”
disp('The second law of Newton equation for rocket motion is expressed as: ');
- Display on the screen “m*dv/dt = -v’*dm/dt - mg”
disp('m*dv/dt = -v’*dm/dt - mg');
- Enter the mass m of the rocket
m = input('Enter the mass of the rocket (kg): ');
- Enter the velocity v_prime of the gas stream
v_prime = input('Enter the velocity of the gas stream (m/s): ');
- Enter the rate of change of mass with respect to time dm_dt
k = input('Enter the rate of change of mass with respect to time (kg/s): ');
- Enter the initial position y0 of the rocket
y0 = input('Enter the initial position of the rocket (m): ');
- Assign g = 9.81
g = 9.81;
-Declare variable t
syms t
- Calculate the velocity of the rocket at time t
v=v_prime*log(m/(m-k*t))-g*t;
- Determine the time t1 when the rocket runs out of gas
t1 = m/k;
- Determine the rocket motion equation
y = y0 + int(v,t,0,t);
- Display on the screen “The motion equation of the rocket is” and variable y
disp('The motion equation of the rocket is: ');
disp(y);
- Display on the screen “The rocket runs out of gas at t=” and variable t1
disp ('The rocket runs out of gas at t= ');
disp (t1);
- Sketch a graph representing position y with respect to time t ranging from t=0 to t=t1
fplot (y,[0 t1]);
- Give a title to the graph
title ('Position - Time graph represents the motion of the rocket');
- Give a name to x-axis and y-axis
xlabel ('Time (s)');
ylabel ('Position (m)');
- Turn on the grid system
grid on;
CHAPTER 3: RESULTS
Using Matlab program to find the motion equation of Falcon 9 Rocket, we have received the
results as follow
1. Determination of motion equation

Fig. 3.1. Results shown by Matlab program

- Given the data of Falcon 9 Rocket (m = 5.105 kg; v_prime = 3000 m/s; k = -dm/dt = 2100 kg/s
and y0 = 0)
- We can determine motion equation based on integration of velocity with
m
v=v prime . ln ( )−¿
m−k . t
m
- We can also calculate the time Falcon 9 running out of fuel by the formula t 1=
k
2. Representation of graph of rocket motion

Fig. 3.2. Position-time graph of the rocket

- As can be seen from the graph, the change in position of rocket is small during the first 100
seconds when the process of combustion is occurring.
- The graph ends at t ≈ 238s due to depletion of fuel.
CONCLUSION
- This assignment help students to revise their knowledge of Physics A1 and apply Matlab to
some problem that is impossible to be manually solved. Specifically, we can determine the
Falcon 9 Rocket’s motion equation based on theory of Newton’s Laws and Linear momentum
and represent the motion by graph on Matlab.
- This assignment follows the subject’s theory (Physics A1) with simple analyzing for students to
conduct, therefore the result may be not accurate compared to the practical results.
- We would like to appreciate Mrs. Nguyen Thi Minh Huong for her support in our assignment
working as well as giving chance to us to work together in university environment
APPENDICE
APPENDIX 1. LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1. Basic functions and operator

APPENDIX 2. LIST OF IMAGES

Figure 2.1. Results shown by Matlab program
Figure 2.2. Position- time graph of the rocket

APPENDIX 3. FULL MATLAB CODE

%Set the initial conditions for the rocket
disp('The direction of motion is upward');
disp('The coordinate origin is set on the ground');
disp('The second law of Newton equation for rocket motion is expressed as: ');
disp('m*dv/dt = -v’*dm/dt - mg');
%Define the variables
m = input('Enter the mass of the rocket (kg): ');
v_prime = input('Enter the velocity of the gas stream (m/s): ');
k = input('Enter the rate of change of mass with respect to time (kg/s): ');
y0 = input('Enter the initial position of the rocket (m): ');
g = 9.81;
%Determine the equation of rocket motion
syms t
v=v_prime*log(m/(m-k*t))-g*t;
t1 = m/k;
disp('The motion equation of the rocket is: ');
y = y0 + int(v,t,0,t);
disp(y);
disp ('The rocket runs out of gas at t= ');
disp (t1);
%Graph the motion of the rocket
fplot (y,[0 t1]);
title ('Position - Time graph represents the motion of the rocket');
xlabel ('Time (s)');
ylabel ('Position (m)');
grid on;
REFERENCES
[1] David Halliday, Robert Resnick, Jearl Walker, Fundamentals of Physics (8th Edition),
Publisher Wiley, Paperback, 2007. Be accessed from:

[2] Openstax team, University Physics Volume 1, Openstax Publisher, 2016. Be accessed from:
[3] Raymond [Link], John [Link], Jr., Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern
Physics (9th Edition).

[4] A. L. Garcia and C. Penland, MATLAB Projects for Scientists and Engineers, Prentice Hall,
Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1996. Be accessed from: [Link]

[5] Matlab Documentation. Be accessed from: