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Water Rockets: First Derivatives
Building and Using Clinometers
Clinometers are instruments that measure the height of objects. The instructions below
will explain how to build and use one.
PROTRACTOR
Building you clinometer:
1. Items you will need: ruler or straw, protractor,
thin string (thread or fishing line), a small
weight.
STRAW OR
RULER
2. The straw and protractor will be
perpendicular to each other. Put the string
through the hole and the zero degree point
on the protractor and tie it off or tape it to
the protractor.
3. Tape or glue the protractor to the
straw (or ruler). If you plan on using
the rulers and protractors again as separate tools, use tape
instead of glue.
4. Attach weight to end of string.
STRING WITH
WEIGHT
ATTACHED
Using your clinometer:
1. Stand far enough away from the object you are measuring so you can easily see the
top of it.
2. Looking through the straw or down the ruler, point the clinometer at the top of the
object. As you move the clinometer up, the string and weight will start to move down
the protractor.
3. When the clinometer is lined up with the top of the object, use your other hand to
grab the string so that it stays where it is along the clinometer and read the angle
that the string is lying against or, have another person read the angle that the string
is lined up with.
4. Measure how far you are from the object you are measuring.
5. You can use trigonometry to figure out how high the object is:
tan  
height
distance from object
Water Rocket: Clinometers
Height of object = height
of you + height of object
from previous equation
Teacher Notes
© 2004 The University of Texas at Austin and the GE Foundation
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