Topics Concepts Citizen science Teacher PLD Glossary

Rocket forces

Diagram showing the forces acting on a rocket during lift-off.

A rocket has three main forces acting on it during lift-off. The resultant force is the sum of these. The rocket will speed up (or slow down) in the direction of the resultant force.

Published: 30 November 2011Size: 88.34 KB

Referencing Hub media

Explore related content

Appears in Related resources

Teacher PLD

Rockets teaching sequence – unit plan

Rocket science includes ideas of forces and motion, how rockets work and some of the challenges for those wanting to...

Article

Investigating rockets – introduction

Rocket science includes ideas of forces and motion, how rockets work and some of the challenges for those wanting to...

Article

Lift-off

A rocket will launch and keep speeding up as long as the force pushing it upwards (thrust) is greater than...

Activity

Introduction to rockets and space

In this activity, students view a slide show presentation introducing some rockets, their purposes and distances travelled in space.

Article

Rocket aerodynamics

Rocket aerodynamics is the study of how air flows over a rocket and how this affects drag and stability.

Article

Calculating rocket acceleration

How does the acceleration of a model rocket compare to the Space Shuttle? By using the resultant force and mass,...

Your Email address

See our newsletters here.

News Events About Contact us Privacy Copyright Help

Curious Minds is a Government initiative jointly led by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Ministry of Education and the Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor.