Helicopter Lab

Helicopter Lab (Print and Due Monday)

Problem:

If we change the length of a paper helicopter’s wings, what length of wing will make the helicopter fall slowest?
Hypothesis:

If we increase the length of a helicopter’s wings then it wall fall slower because the wings will spin slower.

Procedure:

Materials: • Scissors • 3 Paperclips • Stop Watch • Ruler (metric) • Helicopter paper template(5cm X18cm)

Step by Step: 1.) Gather Materials 2.) Cut-out your helicopters 3.) Cut the red notches at the right

4.) Fold those back on themselves, along the blue lines 5.) Put a paperclip on the bottom to keep it in place 6.) Measure 8 cm from the top of one helicopter, down the green line and mark it and label it. 7.) Cut down the green line to your measurement mark 8.) Fold the blades the opposite ways, don’t fold them all the way flat, the wings need to be at a 45O angle 9.) Measure 6 cm from the top of another helicopter, repeating directions from steps 6-8 10.) Measure 4 cm from the top of the last helicopter, repeating directions from steps 6-8 11.) Measure from where your dropping it from to the floor it needs to be 2.75m from the ground 12.) Get someone to time your drop 13.) Drop each helicopter 5 times 14.) Time from when you release the helicopter to when it hits the ground 15.) Record data for each helicopter (seconds of how long it falls)

Variables:

Independent: Length of the Helicopter Blades

Dependent: The amount of time it took for the helicopter to reach the floor

Constants: Same height, same paper, same mass of helicopters, same timing partner and device, same angle of blades, same paper clip size, same design of helicopter

Data Collection:

I will drop each helicopter five times