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Raptor Force
Students observe a video about pilots, their desired traits, and explore the similarities between a bird and an airplane. Using paper, wood or foam, they design create an aircraft to be flown in a competition to see which plane will fly...
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Airplanes
Fourth graders experiment with gravity and lift by building paper airplanes. In this physics lesson, 4th graders compare the falling rate of a crumpled vs. flat sheet of paper. Then after class discussion and demonstration of Bernoulli's...
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Dayna Lykins, Leanna Prater
Fourth graders compare and contrast gliding flight and true flight. They investigate the basic principles of aeronautics. The class participates in activities to observe lift and the effect of air. Students design and fly their own...
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What Makes a Kite Fly?
Ninth graders compare the nature of forces of gravity, lift, thrust, and drag. They select proper materials for making a kite and attach a proper tail. Students interpret and summarize the observations made during the flight of the kites.
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Flight Home
Students experiment to investigate the role in fixed-wing flight. They watch as air and water flow around surfaces to examine the dynamics of airflow around an aircraft wing.
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Exploring the MapleCopter
Study explore the motion of maple seeds and design experiments to explain their spinning flight patterns. They make observations, explain ideas of motion, use models, analyze previous reports and experiments, identify relevant factors...
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Four-Wing Paper Boomerang
Pupils build a four-wing paper boomerang. In this aeronautics lesson, students construct a paper boomerang and identify the forces at work during flight.
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Soda Straw Rocket Activity
Students construct a rocket using soda straw. In this physics lesson, students determine the nose cone length that produces the best rocket. They explain the importance of using a control in an experiment.
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Look Ma! I'm a Rocket Scientist!
Students use a ball to push and pull to demonstrate the concept of force. In this force lesson plan, students talk about the importance of force in space and use balls to demonstrate this phenomena.
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Sled Kite
Pupils make and fly a sled kite out of plastic garbage bags, dowel rods, and more. In this kite lesson plan, students plan the kite to have symmetry and make adjustments as they test it.
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Balloon Rocket
Students observe a balloon rocket and how it relates to Newton's Third Law of Motion. In this balloon rocket lesson plan, students make a balloon rocket out of balloons, clothespins, straw, fishing line, and duct tape.
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Magnus Effect
Students examine the Magnus effect and its history. In this forces instructional activity students investigate the lift of a rotating cylinder.
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Electric Circuits
Middle schoolers model the flow of electrons in a circuit, draw diagrams of an electric circuit and build an electric circuit. Students explain how to tell when the path of an electric circuit is complete, and test the conductivity of a...
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Upside-Down Wings
Young scholars use FoilSim to demonstrate that the graphic analysis of the airflow around one object can be used to hypothesize airflow graphs for objects as they are elongated from a sphere to an airfoil shape.
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Wing Area
Students demonstrate an understanding of the text by applying it to the calculations involving the area of a wing. They use an online textbook to help them calculate the area of the surface of wing planforms.
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Energy Problem Set
Young scholars calculate the potential energy of a glider, the kinetic energy of a moving glider and the change in velocity when potential energy changes to kinetic energy.
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Untitled Document Aerospace Team Online:
Students explain the historical significance of use of the scientific method in developing the first airplane and appreciate the process involved in developing a new technology.
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Applications of Hyperbolas
In this hyperbola worksheet, 10th graders solve and complete 6 different problems. First, they determine the cross-section of a hyperbolic paraboloid curve. Then, students find where the cone intersects the ground in hyperbola as...
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Paper Helicopters
In this paper helicopter worksheet, learners design and experiment making a paper helicopter to explore how some things fall and how varying the size of the rotor blades affect the way a helicopter spins.
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A New Regime: The Beginning of SupersonicFlight
Students learn through multimedia about the history of supersonic flight and the men who made it possible.
NASA
The X-1 Paper Glider Kit
After reading an interesting account of how the X-1 aircraft was designed, built, and utilized, young engineers try their hand at constructing a paper glider version of the airplane. They cut out the plane out of a nicely designed...
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Start the Space Flight Time Line
Students research space flight exploration and technology. In small groups, they research a significant event from early time until the start of the space age. A class time line is created from the research groups.
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Balsa Wood Airplane Flight and Speed Correlation
Ninth graders calculate the average speed of their balsa wood airplane. For this physics lesson, 9th graders build their own airplane and make necessary modifications to to make it fly straight. They interpret distance and time graph...
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The Law of Inertia
Students practice the 4 question strategy to form more questions and develop further experiments. The four questions are engage, explore, explain, and elaborate. They use the 4 question strategy on an investigation involving the mass...