Better By Design
Students construct paper airplanesCopyright Kathy Donovan
Students use the scientific method to determine the effect of control surfaces on a paper glider. They construct paper airplanes (model gliders) and test their performance to determine the base characteristics of the planes. Then they change one of the control surfaces and compare the results to their base glider in order to determine the cause and effect relationship of the control surfaces.
Engineers use the scientific method when testing their design models, changing one variable at a time and comparing it to the original configuration. When testing an aircraft model, engineers move one of the control surfaces during each test and leave the other control surfaces in its standard configuration. In this way, engineers learn exactly how the craft reacts to the altered the control surfaces. Once engineers are satisfied with the designs of their small-size models they create full-size aircraft.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Create a paper model of a glider to use in experiments.
- Predict what changes to the control surfaces of a paper airplane/glider affect its flight.
- Use appropriate tools to measure the distance of model airplane/glider flight.
- Calculate the percent change of model design changes in order to evaluate and improve a paper glider.