Rockets produce thrust inside their engines when rocket fuel burns. A lot of fuel is needed: the weight of the fuel at lift off is around six times the weight of the rocket! During the burning process (or 'combustion'), waste gases ('exhaust' gases) come out of the tail end ('nozzle') of the rocket down towards the Earth at very high speeds.
They have the effect of propelling the rocket in the opposite direction, upwards away from the Earth, as can be seen in the following video:
Using the data in the table, answer the questions below. Note that 'Final Mass' means the mass after the craft has been launched
| Vehicle | Lift-off Mass (kg) | Final Mass (kg) |
| Ariane 5 | 746,000 | 18,700 |
| Titan 23G | 117,020 | 4,760 |
| Saturn V | 3,038,500 | 131,300 |
| Space Shuttle | 2,040,000 | 132,800 |
| Concorde | 181,000 | 90,500 |
| Boeing 747 | 363,000 | 181,500 |
Next, can you drag each vehicle's point marker to the space below, to make a complete scatter diagram?
‘Concorde’ was a supersonic aeroplane. You can find out more about it at
Find Out More >Building rockets, and organizing rocket launches, is a very complex and expensive business. You will find out more about this in the research task below: