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Balsa Glider Competition
| Content Provider | TeachEngineering: STEM curriculum for K-12 |
|---|---|
| Author | Rutkowski, Tom Conner, Alex Hill, Geoffrey Zarske, Malinda Schaefer Yowell, Janet |
| Copyright Year | 2004 |
| Description | Students act as if they are engineers designing gliders, aiming to improve the flight distance and time in the air. This activity brings together students' knowledge of engineering and airplanes, applying what they have previously learned about lift, weight, thrust and drag to glider models, as well as their understanding of the control surfaces—elevator, rudder and aileron—that control pitch, yaw, and roll, respectively. Students act as if they are engineers designing gliders, aiming to improve the flight distance and time in the air. First, they determine the controls—the average distance traveled and time aloft for their basic model balsa wood gliders. Then they modify the wings, testing and reworking their altered designs to achieve improvements in distance and time. Using a design procedure whereby one variable is changed and all the others are kept constant, they determine how each modification affects the flight. They make measurements and analyze the class data. This activity brings together students' knowledge of engineering and airplanes, applying what they have previously learned about lift, weight, thrust and drag to glider models, as well as their understanding of the control surfaces—elevator, rudder and aileron—that control pitch, yaw, and roll, respectively. |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Rights Holder | Regents of The University of Colorado |
| Subject Keyword | Physical Science Control Plane Wing Shapes Airplanes |
| Content Type | Text |
| Time Required | PT45M |
| Education Level | Class V Class VI Class VII |
| Pedagogy | Experimental Activity |
| Resource Type | Hands-on |
| Subject | Physics |
