Tsiolkovsky Rocket Equation
By Andrew Mattson | October 28th, 2022
Solving for the Rocket Equation..?
In December of 2021, I uploaded this video to YouTube for my Calculus 1 final project. Inspired by this video made by Scott Manley, and my fascination with rockets, I set out to complete Scott's video and do this "something called calculus" he references. I stared at this Wikipedia article for hours on end, contemplating my life choices and scribbling manically until I finally got it. Or... So I thought. Looking back, I glossed over some pretty major details. Furthermore, some of my math makes no sense at all.
Actually Solving for the Rocket Equation.
Upon receiving my grade for my Calculus 1 final project, I was in shock. I got 110%! My professor, Dr. Rachel Graham, left some comments on my project detailing something called the "Student Showcase." I marked my calendar, and when the form opened up, I submitted my project. I figured nothing would come of my submission. Surely it would be drowned out by much better projects, right?
Nope! A few months later, I was one of five chosen projects! Having entirely forgotten about my project by this point, I now had to present a video project somehow. I got to work essentially redoing my entire project from the ground up, but in slideshow form, fixing my math and making the topic more presentable (which led to more staring at that Wikipedia article, contemplating of life choices, and manic scribbling).
Then came the presentation day. I show up to a room of professors and college officials I've never met. The other presenters seem so prepared with notes; I have nothing! I do my presentation, and then I wait. Finally, the results are in... I got second place! What?! Here is the entire showcase to better explain my shock.
Needless to say, I learned a whole lot from this project. Having to revisit it and rebuild it for my showcase presentation allowed me to gain a depth of knowledge I would have never found otherwise. Plus, it was a great experience being a part of an actual competition and interacting with the showcase committee and my fellow presenters. Thank you, Dr. Graham, for encouraging me to enter my project into the showcase! Also, here's a shoutout to my fellow presenters: Thank you for making the competition so fun! I hope this project acts as encouragement to others. Put yourself out there! Sure, there's a chance you might not make it past the submissions stage. Then again, what if you do?
