Here is a hands-on, project-based lesson idea: The Wing Design Challenge. While this lesson could be done from home with parental guidance, we present it here for the classroom as well. Have Fun!
🛠️ Lesson 1 – The Wing Design Challenge: Lift and Drag
This activity focuses on the aerodynamic principles that make flight possible, specifically lift (the upward force) and drag (the resistance force).
1. Introduce the Principles 🌬️
Start with a brief lesson on the four forces of flight: Lift, Drag, Thrust, and Weight.
- Key Concept: Lift is primarily created by the shape of the wing, or airfoil. Air moving faster over the curved top surface and slower underneath creates a difference in pressure (Bernoulli’s Principle), which pushes the wing upward.
- Demonstration: Hold a strip of paper under your bottom lip and blow gently over the top. The paper will rise due to the lower pressure above it.
2. The Challenge Parameters 📏
Divide the class into small engineering teams and present the challenge:
Goal: Design and build a simple wing structure that maximizes lift while minimizing drag using only the provided materials.
Hypothesis: Teams must write down a hypothesis stating which wing design feature (e.g., more curve, less curve, thicker material) they believe will perform the best and why.
3. Materials (Per Team) 📦
These materials are inexpensive and easy to source:
- Wing Skin: Cardstock or thick construction paper (the size of an index card works well).
- Wing Spar/Structure: Popsicle sticks, plastic straws, or thin wooden skewers.
- Adhesive: Masking tape or a hot glue gun (with teacher supervision).
- Cutting/Measuring: Rulers and scissors.
4. Testing Apparatus (The Wind Tunnel) 💨
You don’t need a professional wind tunnel! You can create an effective testing rig:
- Option A: The Box Fan: Set a large box fan on a stable surface. Use two stacks of books to create a channel directly in front of the fan where the “wind” is consistent.
- Option B: The Hair Dryer (or Leaf Blower): A simple hand-held hair dryer on a cool/low setting works well for smaller, lighter wing designs.
- The Scale: Attach the wing structure to a simple kitchen scale or a spring scale (often used in science classes) positioned above the airflow.
5. Design, Build, and Test ⚙️
- Design Phase (15-20 minutes): Teams sketch their airfoil shape and decide on the angle of attack (how steep the wing is angled into the wind).
- Build Phase (20-30 minutes): Teams construct their wing structure, ensuring it is rigid enough to attach to the scale.
- Testing and Data Collection:
- One at a time, teams place their wing in the direct airflow, attached to the scale.
- Record the maximum upward force registered by the scale—this represents the Lift.
- Observe which designs create more turbulence or resistance—this qualitatively demonstrates Drag.
- Have students repeat the test with different angles of attack (the angle at which the wing meets the airflow) and record how lift changes.
6. Analysis and Conclusion 📝
- Data Review: Teams graph the recorded lift forces for all the designs.
- Conclusion: Teams must analyze their data, determine which design generated the most lift, and explain why. Did their initial hypothesis prove correct? What did they learn about the importance of the camber (curve) and thickness of the wing?
This challenge is a fantastic way to apply physics concepts to real-world aviation engineering.
Download this Lesson PDF Here.
🎈 Lesson 2 – The Propulsion System Challenge: Thrust
This activity explores Newton’s Third Law of Motion—for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction—which is the fundamental principle of jet and rocket propulsion.
1. Introduce the Concept: Thrust
Start with a simple explanation of Thrust, the force that moves an aircraft forward.
- Key Concept: In a jet engine or rocket, fuel is burned to create hot gas that is forced out of a nozzle (action). This action pushes the engine and the craft forward (reaction).
- Newton’s Third Law: Use this activity to demonstrate the law. The air being pushed out of the balloon is the action; the balloon moving in the opposite direction is the reaction or Thrust.
2. Materials (Per Team) 📦
This is a classic and highly effective demonstration:
- Propulsion: Long, slender balloons (two per team).
- Vehicle Body: A lightweight straw (plastic or paper).
- Track: A long length of string, fishing line, or twine (at least 15 feet long).
- Attachment: Masking tape or duct tape.
- Tools: Scissors.
3. Setup the Track (The Airway) 🪢
- Thread the String: Run the string through the straw. This straw will act as the guide for the balloon “rocket.”
- Anchor the Track: Securely tape one end of the string to a wall, doorway, or chair back.
- Create Tension: Pull the string taut and secure the other end at the same height across the room. The straighter and tighter the track, the better the results.
4. The Challenge Parameters ⚙️
Goal: Design a propulsion setup that allows the balloon rocket to travel the full distance of the track as quickly as possible (maximizing speed/thrust) or as slowly as possible (minimizing speed/thrust).
Design Variable: Teams will experiment with the amount of air in the balloon and the size of the nozzle (where the air escapes).
5. Experimentation and Data Collection
- Trial 1: Max Speed (Control Run):
- Inflate the balloon fully and twist the opening closed (but don’t tie it).
- Tape the balloon securely to the straw under the string.
- Place the rocket at the start of the track.
- Release the opening and use a stopwatch to record the time it takes to travel the length of the string.
- Trial 2: Nozzle Size:
- Repeat the process, but this time, lightly tape a penny over the balloon opening, leaving only a tiny gap for the air to escape (creating a smaller nozzle).
- Hypothesize: Will a smaller nozzle increase or decrease speed? Test and record the time.
- Trial 3: Air Volume:
- Inflate a new balloon only halfway.
- Keep the original nozzle size and repeat the test.
- Hypothesize: How does less total air (less mass expelled) affect the resulting thrust and speed? Test and record the time.
6. Analysis and Conclusion 📝
- Discussion: Ask students:
- What relationship did you observe between the amount of air (mass) and the speed of the rocket?
- What relationship did you observe between the nozzle size (rate of expulsion) and the speed of the rocket?
- Real-World Connection: Discuss how engineers adjust the thrust of real aircraft and rockets by changing the amount of fuel burned and by using specialized nozzles and thrust vectoring to control the power and direction of the escaping exhaust.
Download Lesson 2 Propulsion PDF Here.