Paper Airplane Lab Experiment

Questions: Have you flown a paper airplane before? (Hopefully not in this class) Do you always use the same type of paper? Do you always use the same design? Do you want it to fly straight or do tricks?

Introduction: We are going to design an experiment to test the flight capability of paper airplanes. You have to choose what you wish to test: distance, the ability to do trips. We need to think about how we are going to design and perform the experiment. What things do we need to think about?

Problem: What question are we trying to answer? We want to design an experiment to test how the design of an airplane affects its ability to fly. How does the design of an airplane affect its ability to fly?

Hypothesis: What do you think is going to happen? How do you think the design will affect its ability to fly? Will the length of the wingspan matter? Will the size of the rudder matter? Will the size of the elevators matter? Do the size of the ailerons matter?

Hypothesis: What do you think is going to happen? If the wingspan of the airplane is _________ , then ___________ _________________________.

Materials: What do we need to perform this experiment? Make a list of materials: Everything and anything we need to carry out the experiment.

Procedure: How are we going to perform the experiment? What do we need to do? What needs to be kept constant? What is our control? What is our independent variable going to be?

Procedure: Where are we going to perform the experiment? What are we going to observe? How? This should be written as a list of numbered steps.

Data: Data Table with measurements from the experiment. Type of airplane Flight Distance (m) 1 2 3 4 5 6 Average distance Data Table with measurements from the experiment. Include headings and labels.

Lab Report Write Up Must include: Hypothesis: One sentence about what you think will happen Abstract: one paragraph about why we did this experiment Procedure: Step by step explanation of what you did to perform the experiment.

Lab Report Write Up Data: Tables and Graphs Conclusion: Explain your results, Reject or accept hypothesis Questions: Answer the questions about the lab in complete sentences.

Hypothesis Statement saying what you expect to happen

Abstract Purpose Final results Background information Must be in complete sentences

Data Tables Graphs Calculations

Procedure Materials Step-by-step directions (can be bulleted list)

Conclusion Explain results in detail Is hypothesis proven or disproven? Give reason if disproven Sources of error

Conclusion What did you learn during the experiment? Is there anything that you should have or would have done differently? Must be in complete sentences Answers to questions

The answers to the questions must be in complete sentences! What is distance? How was distance involved in this experiment? What is displacement? Which is more important in this experiment, distance or displacement? What are you manipulating in this experiment? What is your independent variable? The answers to the questions must be in complete sentences!

The answers to the questions must be in complete sentences! What are you measuring? What was the dependent variable in this experiment? Should your results be the same as others? Why or why not? The answers to the questions must be in complete sentences!

Use buttons to navigate through the lab report Paper Airplane Lab Report Use buttons to navigate through the lab report Return to write-up page

Hypothesis: If the wingspan is larger then it will give the plane more lift so that it flies farther. Return to write-up page

Abstract: Planes depend on both thrust and lift to glide. Thrust is the forward movement of the aircraft. Lift is the difference in pressure above and below the wings that enables the plane to glide. Planes that fly longer typically have large wingspans and are flown with little thrust. Return to write-up page

Abstract: The goal of this experiment is to determine the airplane design that travels the farthest. The Interceptor was found to travel the farthest with an average distance of 6.23 meters. Return to write-up page

Procedures: Materials Origami paper Instructions Meter stick Masking tape Pencil notebook Return to write-up page

Get origami paper and folding instructions from table. Procedures: Get origami paper and folding instructions from table. Fold paper airplane according to instructions. Refold wings to stabilize flight. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the other designs. Return to write-up page

Gather notebook, meter-stick, pencil, and airplanes to take to runway. Procedures: Gather notebook, meter-stick, pencil, and airplanes to take to runway. Put down everything except your airplane. Stand on the runway start line. Stand in the same place each time. Return to write-up page

Procedures: With the airplane in hand, pull your arm back and throw the airplane down the runway. Make sure you throw it the same way each time. Measure the distance the airplane flew to the nose of the airplane using the meter stick. Return to write-up page

Procedures: Record your data in your notebook and pick up your airplane. Also record any problem you may have encountered. (Hitting people, bending the nose) Measure the distance the airplane flew to the nose of the airplane using the meter stick. Return to write-up page

Repeat steps 7 – 11 for 6 trials. Procedures: Repeat steps 7 – 11 for 6 trials. Repeat steps 7 – 12 for the other 2 airplanes. Pick up all of your materials and return to classroom. Return the meter sticks recycle your airplanes Return to write-up page

Data: Flying Wing Trial Flight Distance (m) 1 3.14 2 2.23 3 3.45 4 2.69 5 3.82 6 4.73 Average Distance 3.34 Interceptor Trial Flight Distance (m) 1 4.53 2 6.23 3 7.14 4 7.52 5 6.59 6 5.34 Average Distance Elephant Trial Flight Distance (m) 1 5.32 2 4.75 3 5.84 4 6.37 5 5.73 6 6.49 Average Distance 5.75 Return to write-up page

Data: Return to write-up page

Conclusion: My data shows that the Interceptor flew farther than the Flying Wing and the Elephant with an average distance of 6.23m. This disproves my hypothesis because its wingspan was smaller than the Interceptor’s.

Conclusion: I think that the distances for the Interceptor should have been closer together, but because I hit Suzie and bent the nose of the plane the distances varied. Also the Flying Wing did not fly as well as the other planes possibly because I did not give it any elevators.

Conclusion: If I did the experiment again I would try giving the Flying Wing some elevators to give it more lift. I would also make sure no one was on the runway when I threw the plane.

Conclusion: I learned a better method to measure large distances. I also learned about flight and the types of wings on planes and how they are used to make planes fly better.

Questions: What is distance? _______________ How was distance involved in this experiment? ______________________________ What is displacement? _______________ Which is more important in this experiment, distance or displacement? _____________ Return to write-up page

Questions: What are you manipulating in this experiment? What is your independent variable? ______________________________ What are you measuring? What was the dependent variable in this experiment? ______________________________ Return to write-up page

Questions: Should your results be the same as others? Why or why not? ____________________________________________________________ Return to write-up page