Curated OER
Drag Problem Set
Students read an explanation from a NASA Web-based textbook and then demonstrate an understanding of the text by applying it to calculating drag of both full-sized and model gliders.
Curated OER
Airplane flight
High schoolers learn the basic concepts about airplane flight. They learn the reason jetliner wings are swept back and why jet engines have replaced propellers in high-speed flight.
Curated OER
Lift/Velocity Relationship Problem Set
Students, after reading an explanation from a NASA Web-based textbook, demonstrate their ability to use, graph (using a graphing calculator), and interpret a text equation.
Curated OER
Vectors in Relative Velocities Problem Set
Students, after reading an explanation from a NASA Web-based textbook, demonstrate an understanding of vector addition and the text by applying them to the determination of vector components and relative velocities.
Curated OER
Fundamental Terms
Students explore Newton's Laws of Motion and how they apply to flight.
Curated OER
Lift Equation Problem Set
Students, after reading an explanation from a NASA Web-based textbook, demonstrate an understanding of the text by using it, along with FoilSim, to complete an activity to graph and interpret the lift equation.
Curated OER
Thar She Blows!
Young scholars identify the advantages and disadvantages of wind farms and turbines. They examine how weather conditions can affect their effectiveness and how engineers are trying to solve the problem. They discover how engineers use...
Curated OER
By Bernoulli, Where's Gravity?
Students observe a 1/4 inch by 2 inch piece of paper that is held vertically downward under the bottom lip, noting that the paper is pulled down by gravity. They predict what happens to the paper if air is blown out. After air is blown,...
Curated OER
Intermediate Sentence Completion Exercise 31
In this intermediate sentence completion exercise 31 instructional activity, learners complete 10 sentences interactively by selecting the word(s) given, with immediate feedback.
Curated OER
#22c Airplane flight #22d Airplane flight--How High? How Fast?
Students discuss the application of frames of reference to an airplane flying with a constant velocity v through the air.
Curated OER
Size Effects Problem Set
Students, after reading the Size Effects page from a NASA Web-based textbook, demonstrate an understanding of Size Effects by answering questions.
Curated OER
The Lift Equation Problem Set
Students, after reading the Lift Equation page from a NASA Web-based textbook, demonstrate an understanding of the lift equation by answering questions.
Curated OER
Using 3-D Models for Code Validation with FoilSim
Students use FoilSim to complete the activity to create tables of data sets comparing the lift values for a 3-D model of a symmetrical wing section to the values predicted by the FoilSim software.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Up, Up and Away! Airplanes
The airplanes unit begins with a lesson on how airplanes create lift, which involves a discussion of air pressure and how wings use Bernoulli's Principle to change air pressure. Following the lessons on lift, students explore the other...
NASA
Nasa: Aerodynamics Index
Are you studying or teaching Aerodynamics? This page acts as an index to all the terminology related to this topic. Clicking on any title will open a page with a colored slide and a scientific explanation of the contents. Animated,...
Smithsonian Institution
National Air and Space Museum: Wright Brothers: Interactive Experiments
Three interactives in an online exhibition about the Wright Brothers. The first is an engineering activity on the forces of flight, and is accompanied by a lesson plan for Grades 6-8. The second is a gallery of original artifacts related...
Library of Congress
Loc: Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers
Over 49,000 digitized primary documents having to do with the Wright brothers and their work with flight. A timeline of the brothers' work, a family tree, and other special presentations are offered.
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: Inventors and Inventions 2: Air and Space
After discussing important flying inventions, students explore technological design by making paper airplanes.
NASA
Nasa: Beginner's Guide to Aerodynamics
Includes exhaustive information and a wealth of activities pertaining to aerodynamics and the physics of flight.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Take Off With Paper Airplanes
This lesson introduces students to the art of designing an airplane through paper airplane constructions. The goal is that students will learn important aircraft design considerations and how engineers must iterate their designs to...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Makes Airplanes Fly?
Students begin to explore the idea of a force. To further their understanding of drag, gravity and weight, they conduct activities that model the behavior of parachutes and helicopters. An associated literacy activity engages the class...
Science Struck
Science Struck: Events That Led to the Invention of the Airplane
Discover the history of the first airplanes and flying machines, and how the Wright brothers constructed their first successful airplane.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Project Ideas: Whirl Y Bird vs. Whale Y Bird
Improve the design of a very simple aircraft, the whirlybird, and learn about hydrodynamics and biomimicry in this science experiment. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract, objective, and...
Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE)
Smile: Lab Activity: Aviation
This site from the Illinois Institute of Technology provides a student lab activity in which the flight of a paper airplane is investigated and studied. Designed for primary grades, but easily adaptable for junior high students.