Students design and test airplanes to understand the concept of lift and how it affects flight.

Objectives

• Students will use paper airplanes to discover "lift" and how this force effects flight.
• Students will design an experiment using the scientific process.

Procedure

• Students will create a concept map showing what they already know about airplanes and how they fly.
• Teacher will crumple up one sheet of paper and hold it out at arms length, along with a second sheet of paper. Elicit student predictions about which sheet will hit ground first. Drop each sheet. Discuss student predications. Have students tell you why the balled up piece hit first and what stopped the flat one from falling as quickly. Discuss lift and have the students brainstorm a definition for classroom use.
• Students will research schematics for creating paper airplanes on the Internet. Students then write a hypothesis on the flight characteristics of the plane they create. They may also research flight, if they choose, to get a better understanding of lift.
• Students make paper airplances from schematics and test their hypothesis. Students create an experiment on how they will measure the lift of each plane. Once they have designed the experiment they can proceed to gather data.
• Students will use spreadsheet data to show experiment results.
• Students then redesign their airplane based on experiment results.
• Students use a word processor to write a reflections paper on the process.

Sunshine State Standards

• SC.H.3.4.6
• SC.H.1.3.5
• SC.C.2.3.3
• SC.C.2.3.7

NETS Profiles for Technology Literate Students

• Apply productivity/multimedia tools and peripherals to support personal productivity, group collaboration, and learning throughout the curriculum
• Select and use appropriate tools and technology resources to accomplish a variety of tasks and solve problems.
• Research and evaluate the accuracy, relevance, appropriateness, comprehensiveness, and bias of electronic information sources concerning real-world problems.

Materials

• Inspiration software
• Word processing software
• Spreadsheet software
• 8.5 x 11 paper
• Learn2 Make Paper Airplanes http://www.tutorials.com/06/0646/0646.asp
• What Makes an Airplane Fly http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/fltmidfly.htm

Alternatives/Extensions

• Presentations may be filmed and imported into an iMovie.
• Students may use the digital snapshots to create a slide show to present to the class.

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