Natural Science Lab Task Paper Airplane Experiment PDF

Preview

Summary

Paper airplane flight distance experiment for natural science lab c863...

Description

Section I: Introduction and Literature Review: There are four forces that keep airplanes flying. They are thrust, lift, gravity, and drag. Thrust is what launches the plane onward. Lift is the weight that keeps the plane in the air, which is very important when throwing a paper airplane. Lift and thrust go hand in hand. gravity puts pressure on the plane pushing it downward. Lastly, drag puts resistance on the plane while flying through the air (Scholastic 2014). Aerodynamics affect how planes move through the air (Jaco Aerospace 2021). Design will influence the balance and lift of the planes. Designs with more of the weight at the front will dive down when thrown but those that are balanced will have a more level flight path (Jaco Aerospace 2021). Section II: Hypothesis: B. My hypothesis is that different plane designs will not affect the distance. I think this because I would just be changing the shape of the paper airplane, not how hard I would throw the paper airplane. C. There are four forces that act on a plane when it's flying. Drag, lift, weight and thrust – this need to be in balance for the plane to fly (Scholastic 2014). By using the same kind of paper, I would not be adding weight, throwing it differently, or at a different speed. Section III: Method: D. The independent variable will be the design of that certain plane, so there will be three different designs. Each plane will be the same weight and thrown at the same speed, which is why I predict the distance will be the same. An experimental condition would be the airflow/wind in which I would throw the plane, but I will be throwing the paper plane in my house so no wind would tamper with my results. E. The dependent variable will be the distance all three planes fly, in which they will be measured in cm. There will be three rounds where each plane will be thrown once and the distance measured with a measuring tape for a total of three measurements for each plane. F. A confounding variable in this experiment would be symmetry. Each airplane should be made using a ruler to have symmetry. Symmetry is very important as it could affect the way the airplane flies and ruin my results.

G. The materials l and tools I will be using to conduct this experiment are a writing utensil, ruler, 8 x 11 paper, measuring tape, data chart to record my data, and a marker to mark the places they land. H. Procedure: 1. I will use my ruler and my 8 x 11 paper and make 3 different styles of paper airplanes. My three different styles are basic, dark, and square. 2. Once I have built all three airplanes, I will throw the basic plane first and mark the distance where it landed. I will throw this plane and the other two three different times so I can average the distance of each plane. I will record the distance in cm in my data chart. 3. I will then throw the other two airplanes, which will be dark and square, and record their distance in cm. Section IV: Result: I.

J.

After throwing each paper airplane, I found that their distances were not the same. The basic plane flew much farther than the square plane, as you can see in my chart. Also, the dark plane flew farther than my square plane but not as far as my basic plane. Even though my planes were made with a ruler and were the same weight, I still had different outcomes with each.

Section V: Conclusions: K. My hypothesis was wrong. Each plane did fly at different distances. It is clear, the basic plane flew, on average, a longer distance than the other two planes. The next to fly the farthest was dark and then square. The basic and dark plane were very close, but the square plane dipped down quicker than the rest. It is possible I didn’t use enough symmetry or put too much weight in the nose of the square plane. L. An uncontrolled confounding variable affecting the planes is the balance. The dark and basic paper airplanes had their folds closer to the center of the plane giving them better balance and allowing for a more steady flight path. The square had the folds closer to the front of the plane putting the center of gravity more towards the front. This caused the square plane to dive towards the ground shortly after being thrown. A way the experiment could be improved is to adjust the angle of the plane when thrown to make up for the pull gravity puts on the plane. M. The difference in plane design caused gravity and drag to affect the planes in different ways. The square was wider than the dark and basic which increased drag on the plane. Gravity also had a great effect on the square since its weight was more towards the front causing it to dive down when thrown. The dark and basic planes had similar aerodynamics so when thrust was applied the two planes had similar lift resulting in them flying close to the same distance.

Section VI: Sources: Jaco Aerospace. (2021). The Science Behind Paper Airplanes. https://www.e-aircraftsupply.com/the-science-behind-paper-airplanes/ Scholastic. (2014). What Makes Paper Airplanes Fly?. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/what-makes-paper-airplane s-fly/...