Exploratorium
Balancing Ball
Demonstrate lift to the class that is studying aerodynamics. In the stream of air produced by a blow dryer, little physicists place a wad of tissue paper and a spherical figure to compare. Or, if you have a vacuum cleaner and beach ball,...
Discovery Education
The Everyday Science of Sports
Physical science juniors will enjoy this sensational enrichment on aerodynamics, especially if they are also sports fans! With a focus on physical features and behaviors, collaborative groups make observations on five different golf...
Curated OER
Wright Again: 100 Years of Flight
Aspiring aeronautical engineers demonstrate different forces as they construct and test paper airplanes. This lesson plan links you to a website that models the most effective paper airplane design, an animation describing the forces...
Teach Engineering
Better By Design
Which modification is the best? Using the scientific method, pairs determine the effects of each control surface on the distance of a glider's flight. The activity, section 16 in a 22-part unit on aviation, allows pupils to gain a better...
Teach Engineering
Airplane Tails and Wings: Are You in Control?
Keep everything under control. The lesson, the 16th segment in a 22-part unit, provides a more detailed look at the parts of a plane, specifically the control surfaces. Pupils learn about the construction of the wings and the tails and...
Teach Engineering
Building-Testing-Improving Paper Airplanes: Head's Up!
Take foldables to all new heights. Pupils build and fly different types of paper airplanes in the 14th portion of a 22-part unit on aviation. Groups collect data on distance and flight time for each plane and compare the data from the...
Teach Engineering
Take Off with Paper Airplanes
Let's go fly a kite ... oops, a paper airplane! The 13th segment in an aviation unit of 22 relates the parts of an airplane to paper airplanes. Pupils learn the functions of the control surfaces of a plane to really make their knowledge...
Curated OER
Blow-and-Go Parachute
Students design a skydiver and parachute constraption to demonstrate how drag caused by air resistance slows the descent of skydivers as they travel back to Earth. They experience how gravity pulls the skydiver toward the earth and how...
Curated OER
Take a Ride in Honor of National Bike Month
Tap into the joy of bicycling with these suggestions to make a celebration of National Bike Month a blast.
Curated OER
Graphing the Four Forces
Using the Cartesian coordinate system, future flight experts plot points to determine whether or not an airplane will fly. With the four forces of weight, lift, drag, and thrust represented in different quadrants, your physics learners...
Curated OER
Bubble-ology and Bernoulli
Students explore aerodynamics and Bernoulli's principle by devising ways to keep bubbles aloft.
Curated OER
The Physics of Flight
Three activities allow young flight engineers to understand the 4 principles of flight (weight, lift, thrust, and drag), to construct a glider, and to create a propeller. Multicultural history and literature are integrated by reading...
Curated OER
Forces, Controls And Aircraft Systems
Students are introduced to the physics of flight through video and PowerPoint presentations. They construct and fly model gliders and compete for height, distance, time, etc.
Curated OER
Kite Experiments and Building Information
Students build their own kite following certain procedures. In this physics lesson plan, students explain the aerodynamics concepts involved in flying kites. They trace the development of aviation.
Curated OER
Exploring Aerodynamics
Students explore aerodynamics. In this aerodynamics lesson, students study the flight patterns of three paper airplanes and discover the underlying principles of aerodynamics. Resources and grade level modifications are present.
Curated OER
Aerodynamics And Me
Seventh graders design, construct, refine, and test cars that they build on the computer screen. They find the density of several objects using the techniques used to find volume. They measure various common objects to become more...
Curated OER
Design a Parachute
Students engage in a discussion about what a parachute is and how it works. They create a parachute using different materials that they think will work best. The students test their designs, which will be followed by a class discussion...
Curated OER
TE Activity: Heavy Helicopters
Students study the concepts of weight and drag while making paper helicopters. They measure how adding more weight to the helicopter changes the time for the helicopter to fall to the ground. They apply what they examine to the work of...
Curated OER
What a Drag
Students learn examples of friction and drag, and suggest ways to reduce the impact of these forces. The equation that governs common frictional forces is introduced, and during a hands-on activity, students experimentally measure a...
Curated OER
Forces on an Airplane and Resulting Motion
Students read from a NASA Web-based textbook, then students demonstrate an understanding of the text by answering questions about the forces on an airplane and their resulting motions.
Yale University
Airplane Mathematics
The history of aerodynamics is rich with experimentation and international collaboration. Author Joyce Bryant relays this dynamic past and provides math word problems using the formula of lift, the force that makes airplanes fly. She...
Curated OER
Airplane Wings
Students examine the aerodynamics of a wing and how it generates lift. In this flight lesson students complete several experiments including how to build a paper plane and how airfoils affect performance.
Curated OER
Build Your Own Car
Students design and build their own cars. In this physics lesson, students test their car's speed and make changes when necessary. They graph data and analyze results.
Curated OER
Paper Airplanes
Young scholars study paper airplanes. In this instructional activity on aerodynamics, students print out the folding directions for making paper airplanes and after making the planes test their paper airplanes to see how well each flies....