On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers showed the world that man could fly. Their invention of the airplane astounded everyone; poor people, rich people, and especially the middle-class people. At first it was not as great a hype as some other inventions during its time because of how dangerous flying still was. But through various twists and turns, the airplane was able to become a great success in the 1920s and even gaining the rank of being one of the most important inventions of the 1920s.

The Airplane Click on this link to learn more and watch cool movies.

Virtual Museum: The Invention of the Airplane

Duration:

5 days

Objectives:

Students will :

Conduct an experiment in which they change the size, weight, and wing structure of paper airplanes to see how each plane flies.

Know that designing a solution to a simple problem may have constraints, such as cost, materials, time, space, and safety.

Materials:

Paper for making paper planes

Key Vocabulary:

aerodynamic, thrust, wingspan, speed. altitude, distance, launch, pilot, flight, duration

Procedures:

1. Students will  participate in a paper airplane design contest. Ask students what has been their prior experience flying paper planes. Make a list on the board of their responses. 2. Demonstrate the construction of a basic paper airplane. Ask students to follow your example. How to Make a Simple Paper Airplane,   Build the Best Paper Airplane in the World 3. Conduct a contest by dividing the class into groups and letting the groups compete. The winners from all the groups should then compete against each other. Let students participate in setting the starting line. 4. When results are in, encourage students to account for the differences in speed and direction of their planes. Help students understand that an important variable is the way each student handled his or her plane. Explain that for the next competition, you will keep that variable constant by using only one “pilot.” In the next competition, though, the pilot will fly many different styles of paper planes to see which design goes farthest or fastest. 5. Discuss with the students in what ways they can vary their original plane design. They should suggest at a minimum making the paper planes larger or smaller, making them lighter (by cutting holes?), or bending or curving the wings in various ways. 6. With one student attempting to use the same thrust for each plane he or she speeds on its way, note with the class how long each plane stays aloft and how far it travels. 7. Proceed to discuss with students what they learned from this activity—and what further work they would have to do before being sure of what accounts for speed, altitude, and distance.

 Assessment:

You may not want to assess students on the airworthiness of their planes but rather focus on how well the students participate in class discussions regarding the paper planes.

Home Learning:

Students will design their own airplane at home and complete the following DATA SHEET.

DATA SHEET

Name ____________________________ Date __________________

Type of plane ____________________________ (ie. paper clip plane)

Distance flown:

Trial 1 __________

Trial 2 __________

Trial 3 __________

Trial 4 __________

Trial 5 __________

Shortest trial ______________

Next __________________

**Next __________________

Next __________________

Longest trial __________________

Average (**) __________________

Other information:

Extension Activity:

Make several different designs of planes. Give students the opportunity to “pilot” them, each student working with all the planes, “launching” them all the same way, so that he or she can see how design affects altitude, duration of flight, and distance.

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