Rocket ascending against gravity

A question is this type if and only if it involves a rocket or firework launched vertically upwards against constant gravitational acceleration, requiring integration of the variable mass ODE (with gravity term) to find speed at a given time or when fuel is exhausted.

6 questions · Challenging +1.5

Sort by: Default | Easiest first | Hardest first
OCR MEI M4 2010 June Q1
12 marks Challenging +1.2
1 At time \(t\) a rocket has mass \(m\) and is moving vertically upwards with velocity \(v\). The propulsion system ejects matter at a constant speed \(u\) relative to the rocket. The only additional force acting on the rocket is its weight.
  1. Derive the differential equation \(m \frac { \mathrm {~d} v } { \mathrm {~d} t } + u \frac { \mathrm {~d} m } { \mathrm {~d} t } = - m g\). The rocket has initial mass \(m _ { 0 }\) of which \(75 \%\) is fuel. It is launched from rest. Matter is ejected at a constant mass rate \(k\).
  2. Assuming that the acceleration due to gravity is constant, find the speed of the rocket at the instant when all the fuel is burnt.
Edexcel M5 Q5
14 marks Challenging +1.8
5. A rocket is launched vertically upwards from rest. Initially, the total mass of the rocket and its fuel is 1000 kg . The rocket burns fuel at a rate of \(10 \mathrm {~kg} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\). The burnt fuel is ejected vertically downwards with a speed of \(2000 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\) relative to the rocket, and burning stops after one minute. At time \(t\) seconds, \(t \leq 60\), after the launch, the speed of the rocket is \(v \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\). Air resistance is assumed to be negligible.
  1. Show that $$- 9.8 ( 100 - t ) = ( 100 - t ) \frac { \mathrm { d } v } { \mathrm {~d} t } - 2000 .$$
  2. Find the speed of the rocket when burning stops.
Edexcel M5 2002 June Q5
14 marks Challenging +1.8
5. A rocket is launched vertically upwards from rest. Initially, the total mass of the rocket and its fuel is 1000 kg . The rocket burns fuel at a rate of \(10 \mathrm {~kg} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\). The burnt fuel is ejected vertically downwards with a speed of \(2000 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\) relative to the rocket, and burning stops after one minute. At time \(t\) seconds, \(t \leq 60\), after the launch, the speed of the rocket is \(v \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\). Air resistance is assumed to be negligible.
  1. Show that $$- 9.8 ( 100 - t ) = ( 100 - t ) \frac { \mathrm { d } v } { \mathrm {~d} t } - 2000$$ (8)
  2. Find the speed of the rocket when burning stops.
    (6) \section*{6.} \begin{figure}[h]
    \captionsetup{labelformat=empty} \caption{Figure 1} \includegraphics[alt={},max width=\textwidth]{4c585ec7-7b3e-4ff8-b7c2-83f58ad82ae9-4_316_929_391_573}
    \end{figure} A rough uniform rod, of mass \(m\) and length \(4 a\), is rod is held on a rough horizontal table. The rod is perpendicular to the edge of the table and a length \(3 a\) projects horizontally over the edge, as shown in Fig. 1.
Edexcel M5 2016 June Q6
12 marks Challenging +1.8
6. A firework rocket, excluding its fuel, has mass \(m _ { 0 } \mathrm {~kg}\). The rocket moves vertically upwards by ejecting burnt fuel vertically downwards with constant speed \(u \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 } , u > 24.5\), relative to the rocket. The rocket starts from rest on the ground at time \(t = 0\). At time \(t\) seconds, \(t \leqslant 2\), the speed of the rocket is \(v \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\) and the mass of the rocket including its fuel is \(m _ { 0 } ( 5 - 2 t ) \mathrm { kg }\). It is assumed that air resistance is negligible and the acceleration due to gravity is constant.
  1. Show that, for \(t \leqslant 2\) $$\frac { \mathrm { d } v } { \mathrm {~d} t } = \frac { 2 u } { 5 - 2 t } - 9.8$$
  2. Find the speed of the rocket at the instant when all of its fuel has been burnt.
Edexcel M5 Q2
10 marks Challenging +1.2
A rocket, with initial mass 1500 kg, including 600 kg of fuel, is launched vertically upwards from rest. The rocket burns fuel at a rate of 15 kg s\(^{-1}\) and the burnt fuel is ejected vertically downwards with a speed of 1000 m s\(^{-1}\) relative to the rocket. At time \(t\) seconds after launch \((t \leqslant 40)\) the rocket has mass \(m\) kg and velocity \(v\) m s\(^{-1}\).
  1. Show that $$\frac{dv}{dt} + \frac{1000}{m} \frac{dm}{dt} = -9.8$$ [5]
  1. Find \(v\) at time \(t\), \(0 \leqslant t \leqslant 40\) [5]
Edexcel M5 2012 June Q2
10 marks Challenging +1.2
A rocket, with initial mass 1500 kg, including 600 kg of fuel, is launched vertically upwards from rest. The rocket burns fuel at a rate of 15 kg s\(^{-1}\) and the burnt fuel is ejected vertically downwards with a speed of 1000 m s\(^{-1}\) relative to the rocket. At time \(t\) seconds after launch \((t \leqslant 40)\) the rocket has mass \(m\) kg and velocity \(v\) m s\(^{-1}\).
  1. Show that $$\frac{dv}{dt} + \frac{1000}{m}\frac{dm}{dt} = -9.8$$ [5]
  2. Find \(v\) at time \(t\), \(0 \leqslant t \leqslant 40\) [5]