Curated OER
Paper Airplanes
Students study paper airplanes. In this lesson 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. Students weigh their...
Curated OER
Build Your Own Car
Learners design and build their own cars. In this physics instructional activity, students test their car's speed and make changes when necessary. They graph data and analyze results.
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.
DiscoverE
Build a Bobsled Racer
Host a design challenge of Olympic proportion! Junior engineers build their own bobsleds using simple materials. The activity focuses on kinetic and potential energy and how the center of mass affects motion on a downhill track....
Curated OER
Want to Drag?!
Students use the Metric system and engineering software to design a scale model car. In this scale model car making lesson, students design a scale model car using computer software, the Metric system, and properties of aerodynamics....
Cornell University
Physics of Flight
Up, up, and away! Take your classes on a physics adventure. Learners explore the concepts important for flight. They experiment with the Bernoulli Principle while learning the forces that act on airplanes in flight.
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...
Curated OER
What a Drag
Middle schoolers 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...
Curated OER
Kites of Japan
High schoolers perform research into the designs of Japanese kites in order to appreciate them for their aerodynamic designs. The appreciation builds student interest in order to produce their own similar designs.
Curated OER
"Art History Kites"
Here is a great art activity that can be connected to several different subjects. Kids get creative as they create kites that are inspired by a famous artist or period in art history. They begin the process by choosing their inspiration,...
Curated OER
Mach Number Problem Set
High schoolers read a textbook about aerodynamics. They find out the definition of Mach number. They complete problems designed to demonstrate their ability to solve Mach number equations.
Curated OER
Wind Tunnels
Students build a simple wind tunnel and test out 2 glider wing shapes at different angles of attack. They record their observations and results just as engineers do. There also is a "virtual wind tunnel" they can try to test aerodynamic...
Curated OER
Intermediate Sentence Completion 10
Provide your English language learners with some additional practice completing sentences. They have to select the word that makes the most sense in 12 sentences. This sheet is designed for intermediate learners, as some of the...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Airplane Parts/Functions Problem Sets
Students label and describe the functions of the parts of an airplane. They access a NASA Web-based textbook and read a series of lessons before labeling the parts of an airplane.
Curated OER
Aircraft Motion
Young scholars, after reading an explanation from a NASA Web-based textbook, demonstrate an understanding of the text by applying it to the calculations involving the motion of an airplane.
Curated OER
Aircraft Motion
Pupils, after reading an explanation from a NASA Web-based textbook, demonstrate an understanding of the text by applying it to the calculations involving the motion of an airplane.
Curated OER
Dimensional Analysis Problem Set
Learners, after studying various pages of a NASA Web-based textbook, use dimensional analysis to verify actual aeronautic equations.
Curated OER
Center of Gravity Problem Set
Young scholars read a NASA Web-based text, then demonstrate an understanding of the text by using it to complete an activity on the center of gravity of a commercial cargo airplane.
Curated OER
Energy Problem Set
Learners 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.
Curated OER
Build a Paper Plane
Students study the history of the paper plane. In this design lesson students create several types of paper planes and determine if there is a difference in mean flight distances.
DiscoverE
Build a Better Boomerang
This isn't the boomerang you're used to. Scholars first see how a commercial boomerang works. They then cut out a four-wing boomerang and test its flight to compare it to that of the commercial boomerang.
Teach Engineering
May the Force Be With You: Drag
Do not let friction drag you down! The 11th segment in a series of 22 focuses on the fourth force acting upon an airplane—drag. Pupils learn about the effects and causes of drag.
Curated OER
The Wright Stuff
For this lesson, students design an exhibition on the history of aviation for a science museum. For homework, they write short stories envisioning the future of flight in the year 2014.