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Pacifier Online: Bird Flight Basics
This site provides a simplified explanation of the physics of flight. Site provides information about lift, drag, weight, thrust, Bernoulli's Principle, and much more.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Turbulence: One of the Great Unsolved Mysteries of Physics
Tomas Chor dives into one of the prevailing mysteries of physics: the complex phenomenon of turbulence.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Flying With Style
As students begin to understand the physics behind thrust, drag, and gravity and how these relate these to Newton's three laws of motion, groups assemble and launch the rockets that they designed in the associated lesson.
American Association of Physics Teachers
Com Padre Digital Library: Open Source Physics: Projectile Motion With Angry Birds
Analyze the path of a bird's flight as it attempts to obliterate pigs in the well-known game, Angry Birds. Comes with lab activities, a video, and a simulation. The latter requires software called Tracker, which is free to download.
Physics Aviary
Physics Aviary: Drone Delivery Lab
This lab is designed to have students find the relationships that govern the behavior of a package that has been released by a drone that is flying horizontally. Students will have control over the drone's height and horizontal speed....
Physics Aviary
Physics Aviary: Projectile Lab
This lab is designed to have students find the relationships that affect the horizontal distance travelled by a projectile. Students will be able to modify the starting height, initial speed and angle at which the projectile is fired....
Physics Aviary
Physics Aviary: Ground to Ground Soccer Kick Lab
This lab is designed to have students find the relationships that govern the behavior of a soccer ball that is kicked on an angle. The ball will start on the ground and end on the ground. Students will have control over the speed of the...
Physics Aviary
Physics Aviary: Vertical Motion of Firework Lab
This lab was designed to give students an environment that they could relate to that would let them test how launch speed and time of flight affect the height of an explosion and the speed at the time of the explosion.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Flight to Mars: How Long? Along What Path?
Demonstrate how, with the use of orbital mechanics, a space mission to Mars can be planned. Using no more than algebra, Kepler's laws and the formula for the energy of an object in a Kepler orbit, the exercise derives the time for an...
Physics Classroom
The Physics Classroom: Vectors and Projectiles: The Plane and the Package
Consider a plane moving with a constant speed at an elevated height above the Earth's surface. In the course of its flight, the plane drops a package from its luggage compartment. This animation depicts such a situation. The path of the...
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: Physical Science
The Discovery Channel provides numerous lesson plans dealing with the physical sciences. Content is organized by grade level, but all lesson plans include suggestions for adaptations for older or younger audiences.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Physics of the Flying T Shirt
Students are introduced to the physics concepts of air resistance and launch angle as they apply to catapults. This includes the basic concepts of position, velocity and acceleration and their relationships to one another. They use...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Physical Science: Bernoulli's Law
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Bernoulli's law and using air pressure to fly.
Physics Aviary
Physics Aviary: Practice Problems: Spring Constant From Projectile Flight
Students must find the spring constant of a spring based on the distance a projectile travels when fired by the spring.
Georgia State University
Georgia State University: Hyper Physics: Rockets
HyperPhysics site with dealing with the mathematics of rocket flight. The site is interactive and allows the user to input data. This is a rather high level site and, while any student could use it to get answers, to understand some of...
University of Minnesota
The Physics of Flight: Bernoulli's Principle
Discusses air flow around the wing of a plane and its effect upon the lift and drag forces. Focuses on the application of Bernoulli's principle to wing design and the subsequent airfoil shapes.
Science Museum, London
Making the Modern World: What Is Stress?
This website gives an overview of stress, its causes, and the physical and psychological results. Case studies and a glossary are included.
NASA
Nasa: Shuttle Reference
This site from NASA goes into great detail about the physical makeup of the Space Shuttle, and includes sidebars with further information about NASA and the manned space program.
MadSci Network
Mad Scientist Network: How Do Planes Fly Upside Down?
Question and answer regarding the physics principles that apply to a plane flying upside down.
NASA
Nasa: Beginner's Guide to Aerodynamics
Includes exhaustive information and a wealth of activities pertaining to aerodynamics and the physics of flight.
PBS
Pbs the Life of Birds: Bills, Beaks and Food
This lesson plan explores how natural selection has influenced the development of features that contribute to successful feeding (bills, wings, talons, etc.), as well as identifying those characteristics that enable birds to obtain the...
Curated OER
Science Kids: Science Images: Forces of Lift
This diagram shows the forces of lift that affect the wing of an aircraft. Lift, thrust, weight and drag all affect the flight of the aircraft as well as the angle of attack.
PBS
Pbs: Nova: Top Gun Over Moscow
An online exhibit investigating the sensations experienced by a cockpit pilot in a Russian aircraft. Focuses on G-forces and apparent weightlessness.
Canadian Museum of Nature
Canadian Museum of Nature: How Do Birds Fly?
Have you ever wondered about how birds are able to fly? View three 3D animations to see a bird take off, flap in flight and glide. This is an excellent resource to develop an understanding of the physical forces that make this one of the...