Analysis Of Activity 1: X-Gliders
Activity 1: X-Gliders
Lesson Objective:
Campers will learn about the forces of flight, weight and balance when they construct a glider. As they improve the design of their glider they will understand that a variable is a single change in the engineering.
Set-Up:
Each student will need two foam trays, a plastic knife and an x-glider template. Materials for weight and balance can be distributed at a communal table.
Demo and discussion:
Start off the lesson by asking your campers, “What are gliders?” After some discussion, explain that gliders are heavier than air aircraft that is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. In flight, a glider has
three forces acting on it as compared to the four forces that act on a powered aircraft. Both types of aircraft are subjected to the forces of lift, drag, and weight. The powered aircraft has an engine that generates thrust, while the glider has no thrust. In order for a glider to fly, it must generate lift to oppose its weight. To generate lift, a glider must move through the air. The motion of a glider through the air also generates drag. In a powered aircraft, the thrust from the engine opposes drag, but a glider has no engine to generate thrust. With the drag unopposed, a glider quickly slows down until it can no longer generate enough lift to oppose the weight, and it then falls to earth.
Student Experience:
Each student will take home a glider. They can work in teams. Once they are done take them outside to test their gliders. They can always come back and change one variable of their glider to help it travel farther.
Reflection:
Make sure the students take time to write in their scientific journals any observations they notice when conducting their experiments. Observations can be drawings, notes, bullet points, diagrams or sentences. You can prompt them by asking them to list and explain the four forces of flight.
Clean Up:
Reset all materials for the next group of students.
Vocabulary:
Lift – Lift is the force that directly opposes the weight of an aircraft and holds the aircraft in the air
Weight – Weight is the force generated by the gravitational attraction of the earth on the aircraft.
Drag – Drag is the aerodynamic force that opposes an aircraft's motion through the air.
Thrust - Thrust is the force which moves an aircraft through the air with the use of a propulsion engine.
Lesson Objective:
Campers will learn about the forces of flight, weight and balance when they construct a glider. As they improve the design of their glider they will understand that a variable is a single change in the engineering.
Set-Up:
Each student will need two foam trays, a plastic knife and an x-glider template. Materials for weight and balance can be distributed at a communal table.
Demo and discussion:
Start off the lesson by asking your campers, “What are gliders?” After some discussion, explain that gliders are heavier than air aircraft that is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. In flight, a glider has
three forces acting on it as compared to the four forces that act on a powered aircraft. Both types of aircraft are subjected to the forces of lift, drag, and weight. The powered aircraft has an engine that generates thrust, while the glider has no thrust. In order for a glider to fly, it must generate lift to oppose its weight. To generate lift, a glider must move through the air. The motion of a glider through the air also generates drag. In a powered aircraft, the thrust from the engine opposes drag, but a glider has no engine to generate thrust. With the drag unopposed, a glider quickly slows down until it can no longer generate enough lift to oppose the weight, and it then falls to earth.
Student Experience:
Each student will take home a glider. They can work in teams. Once they are done take them outside to test their gliders. They can always come back and change one variable of their glider to help it travel farther.
Reflection:
Make sure the students take time to write in their scientific journals any observations they notice when conducting their experiments. Observations can be drawings, notes, bullet points, diagrams or sentences. You can prompt them by asking them to list and explain the four forces of flight.
Clean Up:
Reset all materials for the next group of students.
Vocabulary:
Lift – Lift is the force that directly opposes the weight of an aircraft and holds the aircraft in the air
Weight – Weight is the force generated by the gravitational attraction of the earth on the aircraft.
Drag – Drag is the aerodynamic force that opposes an aircraft's motion through the air.
Thrust - Thrust is the force which moves an aircraft through the air with the use of a propulsion engine.