4TH SIX WEEK LAB - paper airplanes
Problem: How does the length of the airplane affect it's flight time?
Research:
Research:
- There are different forces that get a paper airplane to fly and land.
- The push you give the plane when you throw it is called the thrust.
- The air under and over the airplane is providing a force called lift to the plane. This keeps the plane moving in the air.
- As the plane moves through the air, the air also pushes against the plane, slowing it down. This force is called drag.
- Finally, the paper planes weight brings it to a landing.
- Weight is the force of earth's gravity on the paper airplane.
- Bernoulli's Principle was that as air travels faster, across a surface, the air pressure against it is reduced.
- This means that the air passing above the wing surface must match the air passing below the wing’s surface at the same time.
- Bernoulli's Principle was discovered by swiss scientist and mathematician Daniel Bernoulli.
- Real Airplanes have rudders and elevators.
- Pilots control the directions of these.
- An airplane in flight changes direction by movement around one or more of its three axes of rotation.
- Hypothesis: The longer the airplane, the more the flight time.
Independent Variable: Length of Paper Airplane
Dependent Variable: Flight time
Materials:
_Paper - Ruler
- Stopwatch
- Pen/pencil
- Scissors
Methods:
- Using a piece of paper, make a paper airplane.
- Measure the length.
- Find a constant height.
- Let go of the airplane in the air.
- Start stopwatch.
- When airplane hits the floor, stop stopwatch.
- Record data.
- Repeat steps 4 to 7 multiple times.
- Cut the paper airplane by 2 cm.
- Repeat steps 4 to 7 multiple times.
- Cut the paper airplane by another 2 cm.
- Repeat steps 4 to 7 multiple times.
Analysis: The graph shows the data of the time of flight in relation to the length of the paper airplane. As the length decreases, the bars are decreasing as well, showing that the flight time that it takes for the paper airplane to hit the floor gets shorter relatively.
Conclusion: The length of the paper airplane affects the flight time by decreasing it. When the airplane was 30 centimeters long, the flight time was 1.2 to 1.3 seconds. Once the length decreased to 28 centimeters, the time dropped down to 1.1 to 1.0 seconds. After the length decreased even more to 26 centimeters, the time relatively went down to 0.9 to 0.8 seconds. As the length gets shorter, the mass is decreasing as well, which makes the airplane fly faster. When there is less mass flying, the time it takes to travel through air wouldn’t be much, considering the fact that there is less than there was before. This is supported by the data in which from 30 centimeters to 26 centimeters, the time decreased by 0.5 seconds.
Conclusion: The length of the paper airplane affects the flight time by decreasing it. When the airplane was 30 centimeters long, the flight time was 1.2 to 1.3 seconds. Once the length decreased to 28 centimeters, the time dropped down to 1.1 to 1.0 seconds. After the length decreased even more to 26 centimeters, the time relatively went down to 0.9 to 0.8 seconds. As the length gets shorter, the mass is decreasing as well, which makes the airplane fly faster. When there is less mass flying, the time it takes to travel through air wouldn’t be much, considering the fact that there is less than there was before. This is supported by the data in which from 30 centimeters to 26 centimeters, the time decreased by 0.5 seconds.
Recources:
- Maranowski,
Michelle, PhD. "How Far Will It Fly? Build and Test Various Paper Planes."
How
Far Will It Fly? Build and Test Various Paper Planes.
Science Buddies, 7 Dec. 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. <http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Aero_p046.shtml?fave=no> - "Household
Science for Kids: Paper Airplanes." Household
Science for Kids: Paper Airplanes.
N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. <http://www.fatlion.com/science/paperairplanes.html>. - "How
a Plane Is Controlled." Aeronautics.
N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/fltmidcont.htm>.