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Activity
Exploratorium

Balancing Ball

For Teachers 6th - 10th
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,...
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Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

The Everyday Science of Sports

For Teachers Pre-K - Higher Ed
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wright Again: 100 Years of Flight

For Teachers 5th - 8th
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...
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Activity
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Teach Engineering

Better By Design

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

Airplane Tails and Wings: Are You in Control?

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
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...
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Activity
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Teach Engineering

Building-Testing-Improving Paper Airplanes: Head's Up!

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

Take Off with Paper Airplanes

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
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...
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Activity
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Teach Engineering

What a Drag!

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
Stop and drop what is in your hand! Pupils investigate how form effects drag in the 12th part of a 22-part unit on aviation. Groups create equally weighted objects and determine which one falls the fastest by collecting data.
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Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

May the Force Be With You: Drag

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
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.
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Activity
DiscoverE

Build a Better Boomerang

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Physics of Flight

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
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.
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Lesson Plan
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Tech Museum of Innovation

Ant-Man Saves the Day

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Provide Ant-Man with a flying device to aid in fighting crime. The first installment of a five-part unit has learners designing and building a flying device for Ant-Man. They write a narrative essay describing the engineering process...
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Unit Plan
Henry Ford Museum

Physics, Technology and Engineering in Automobile Racing

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Start your engines! This five-lesson unit introduces physics and Newton's laws through automobile racing. Each lesson includes background information, a student worksheet, and an answer key. There are also culminating project...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Blow-and-Go Parachute

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Learners 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...
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Take a Ride in Honor of National Bike Month

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Tap into the joy of bicycling with these suggestions to make a celebration of National Bike Month a blast.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Graphing the Four Forces

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bubble-ology and Bernoulli

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Students explore aerodynamics and Bernoulli's principle by devising ways to keep bubbles aloft.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Physics of Flight

For Teachers 4th - 6th
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...
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Activity
DiscoverE

Hoop Glider

For Students 3rd - 12th
Fly into an engineering lesson sure to get your scholars' interest off the ground. Young pupils create hoop gliders out of straws and paper hoops. Adjusting the size and number of the hoops lets them investigate the effect on flight...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forces, Controls And Aircraft Systems

For Teachers 10th - 12th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Kite Experiments and Building Information

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students build their own kite following certain procedures. In this physics activity, students explain the aerodynamics concepts involved in flying kites. They trace the development of aviation.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Aerodynamics

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students explore aerodynamics. In this aerodynamics lesson plan, students study the flight patterns of three paper airplanes and discover the underlying principles of aerodynamics. Resources and grade level modifications are present.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aerodynamics And Me

For Teachers 7th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Design a Parachute

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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...