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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

Equal and Opposite Thrust in Aircraft: You're a Pushover!

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
It's the law—every action requires a reaction, no matter how small. Pupils experience two demonstrations of Newton's third law of motion as it relates to thrust in the 10th segment of a 22-part unit on flight. Using their mathematical...
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Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

Balsa Glider Competition

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
Change one variable and try again. Teams build basic balsa gliders and collect data on their flight distances and times. Through collaboration, the team decides on two modifications to make to the basic design and collect data for the...
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Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

May the Force Be With You: Thrust

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Force the plane through the air. The lesson introduces the force on an airplane that makes it go forward. Pupils learn how Newton's laws of motion apply to flight in the eighth segment of a 22-part unit on flight.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Computing the Net Force

For Students 4th - 6th
Adorable little stick figures push and pull a cart of blocks to explain the push and pull of forces. Future physicists then define force and identify it in different situations on the worksheet that follows. Concepts covered include...
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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

Crash Course in Flight

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High school physicists demonstrate Bernoulli's Principle by blowing on different items and finding that they do not move in the expected direction! They apply Bernoulli's equation to the flight of an airplane. This well-organized lesson...
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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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Makes Airplanes Fly?

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Learners examine force and conduct activities that model parachutes and helicopters.  In this airplanes lesson students identify the forces that make airplanes fly higher and land. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Applied Science -Technology (6B) Pre Lab

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders discuss how simple machines overcome friction. In this simple machine lesson, 6th graders review the parts of a plane and how they make up for gravity and friction. They roll different objects down an inclined board...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Solid Rocket Boosters-II

For Students 9th - 12th
In this solid rocket boosters worksheet, students solve 2 problems using a grid showing a cross section of a proposed solid rocket booster. Students complete the grid and shade the rings of combustion in 15-second step intervals. They...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The Mathematics of Ion Rocket Engines

For Students 9th - 11th
In this ion rocket engines worksheet, students read about how heavy atoms are used to create the thrust in rocket engines. They solve 5 problems including determining the speed of atoms in a satellite, finding the average acceleration of...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Understanding the Four Forces of Flight

For Students 4th - 5th
In this four forces of flight worksheet, students read a 1 page article on flights, answer 5 questions with multiple choice answers, draw a line to connect the four forces to their definitions and answer 1 short answer scenario.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

MAKE IT FLY

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Learners utilize the process of scientific inquiry and technological design to explain thrust, weight, lift and drag in flight. They design an "airplane" to test the "mechanics" of flight. In addition, they brainstorm and sketch a design...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aqua-Thrusters!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students construct their own rocket-powered boat called an "aqua-thruster." These aqua-thrusters will be made from a film canister and will use carbon dioxide gas - produced from a chemical reaction between an antacid tablet and water -...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flight

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students are introduced to the four forces of flight--drag, lift, thrust, and weight--through a variety of fun-filled flight experiments. They "fly" for short periods and evaluate factors that might either increase or decrease their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aircraft vs. Spacecraft

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate differences between aircraft and spacecraft, and the differences in propulsion systems. They build pinwheel airplanes and balloon rockets. An interactive activity quizzes students on thrust.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Makes Thing Fly?

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders study lift, drag and thrust from a real flight instructor.  In this physical science lesson students build and fly paper airplanes and experiment with variations and design. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Airplanes

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders experiment with gravity and lift by building paper airplanes. In this physics lesson, 4th graders compare the falling rate of a crumpled vs. flat sheet of paper. Then after class discussion and demonstration of Bernoulli's...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Solid Rocket Boosters

For Students Higher Ed
For this rocket worksheet, students calculate the burn rate for solid rocket boosters depending on exposed fuel area and burn depth. This worksheet has 2 problems to solve.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Thunderbirds: Forces

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students investigate the concepts of thrust and how rockets are launched into the air. They watch a clip of the television show Thunderbirds, and draw a basic diagram of the Thunderbird ships, labeling it with arrows to identify the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learn to Build a Rocket in 5 Days or Your Money Back

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars discover the entire process that goes into designing a rocket for any customer. They study important factors such as supplies, ethics, deadlines and budgets. Also, students explore about the Engineering process, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Strawkets and Thrust

For Teachers K - 5th
Students investigate the effect of thrust on rocket flight. They construct two paper rockets, one with a smaller exit nozzle, and compare/contrast the distances traveled by the rockets.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Building and Launching Rocket Kits

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students, in groups, build and decorate rocket kits and then launch them.