Unit Organizer

Unit Organizer

Grade Six

GCO’s (General Curriculum Outcomes) #’s: GCO 2: Students will develop the skills required for scientific and technological inquiry, for solving problems, for communicating scientific ideas and results, for working collaboratively, and for making informed decisions.

Big Ideas: There are, basically, four forces of flight: lift, drag, thrust and weight. The figure below shows how these four forces are related for straight and level flight. Lift force point upward, opposite to the weight/gravity. Thrust pushes the plane forward, as drag slows it down. The lift force must be greater than the weight and the thrust more powerful than the drag for the plane to fly.

Unit Focus: Students will investigate both the factors of wing shape and angle of attack (angle that the air is blown at the wing, or the orientation of the wing with respect to the air blowing on it) in their investigations.

Grade Level SCO’s: (303-32) Describe the role of lift in overcoming gravity and enabling devices or living things to fly.

(301-17, 205-1, 204-7) Plan, carry out, demonstrate and describe how lift is affected by the shape of a surface.

Cross Curricular Links: Math Makes Sense, Grade Six: “Flight School”.

Overview of the Unit: Heavy, solid objects do not normally stay aloft. How do heavy flying devices, like commercial planes, lift off the ground?

In this unit we will examine the various wing shapes and their characteristics, including angle of attack.

Prior Knowledge: It is assumed the students have been introduced to Bernouilli’s Priciple, and how wings can be tested in wind tunnels, just prior to this lesson. Alternately, this unit should be covered right after this experiment in order for students to understand what is happening with heavier-than-air aircraft. They are therefore aware that in order to produce lift, the shape of the wing is very important, with a more rounded upper surface and a flatter bottom and an “angle of attack” (the angle the root of the wing makes in relation to the airflow “hitting” the wing.)

Students will be designing a glider, testing the wing shape that will work best to have the glider travel the longest distance and/or stay in the air as long as possible. By experimenting with at least two different shapes students will be able to answer the following questions:

1)  What is meant by the term “lift”?

2)  How does the shape and length of a wing impact on the distance a glider will travel?

3)  How does lift affect the ability for a glider to fly and glide?

Technology Integration:

Building an Experimental Glider

http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~flight/build1.html

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/lift1.html

http://wright.nasa.gov/airplane/shape.html

http://wright.nasa.gov/airplane/incline.html Scroll down to the Applet. You can increase the Angle of Attack on the wing until it stalls.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter Planes that allow wing shape to be altered during flight:

Materials/Resources: Poster board/ticket board, construction paper, plastic drinking straws, modeling clay, glue, tape, scissors, pictures of gliders, reference materials on gliders and flight.

Description of Lessons/ Procedure:

Ø  Discuss with the students the term “lift” and what it means in relation to flying devices. Discuss with students what they know about ”gliders”. Share pictures and/or illustrations of various types of gliders.

Ø  Provide students with the materials to build a glider and have them construct two. If they work in pairs or groups of up to four they will have several models to observe, but their data and conclusions will be based on their own two constructed models.

Ø  Find a space where the gliders can be flown. In order to minimize the variables; a long/wide/windless space is recommended. It can be done outside on a calm day, or inside a large gym. Hallways are not ideal because the data will be affected by possible impact with the wall.

Ø  Have students compare the wing span of the glider to the distance it travels.

Ø  Each student should have another glider prepared with a different wingspan and length of fuselage in order to make conclusions.

Ø  During the experiment students are encouraged to observe the characteristics of successful glider models flown by their peers.

Assessment Activity:

1.  Diagram of my glider including the length of the wing span and the body of the glider (in cm). List of the materials used.

2.  Diagram of my second glider including the length of the wing span and the body of the glider. List of materials used.

Distance Traveled in meters and centimeters:

Try #1 / Try #2 / Try #3 / Mean Distance
Glider 1
Glider 2

Time in the Air (time “Aloft”) in seconds

Try #1 / Try #2 / Try #3 / Mean Time Aloft
Glider 1
Glider 2

3. Describe the distance the gliders traveled in relation to the length of the wing span and/or body length. Discuss the time your glider stayed aloft. Make some Inferences about distance versus time in the air considering the shape of the two different gliders you created.