Apprenticeship Sector: Engineering

Unit Guide: Alternative Energy Vehicles

Lesson #2: Lets Fly!

Essential Question

Based on what we learn about air friction how do you think different paper airplanes will behave?
How will vehicle design be important for the final WOW! vehicle?

Lesson Overview
Concepts of design from last class will be reflected on, in this case involving the concept of air friction. A brief lesson on air friction will be held,
followed by an experiment where use paper airplanes to experience effects of air friction first hand. The students will discuss how air friction
affects their WOW! vehicle.

Lesson Objectives
Standard #1: Citizen Schools students will generate an
original idea or product that suits a practical or artistic
purpose

Standard #2: Citizen Schools students will use a design

process to create ideas or products

Lesson Objectives:
State the advantages, limitations, and feasibility of
each idea from a practical standpoint (i.e. why it
will work, its challenges, and the ease with which it
can be executed)
Use the advantages, limitations, and feasibility of
the ideas as criteria for selecting the best one

Lesson Agenda
10 Minutes
10 Minutes
35 Minutes
25 Minutes
10 Minutes

Hook: What can Paper Airplanes Do?

Introduction to New Material: Air Friction
Activity 1: Paper Airplane Comparison
Activity 2: Comparison Discussion
Assessment: Exit Ticket

Lesson Preparation

There should be a room or corridor long enough to toss paper airplanes and let them fly uninterrupted.
Enough paper airplane templates should be printed out so each student can make one airplane. There should be
approximately equal numbers of each plane being made.

Materials

Paper Airplane Template Hand Out

Apprenticeship Sector: Engineering

Unit Guide: Alternative Energy Vehicles
Lesson #2: Lets Fly!
Hook
What Can Paper Airplanes Do?

(10 Minutes)

Settle students into seats and open by asking who has used a paper air plane?
Introduce video of world champion paper airplane contest
Red Bull, World Championship Paper Plane Contest - Red Bull Paper Wings 2012. Youtube. Web. 22 Oct
2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeJtOzciNA4>
Observe that there were planes that met different goals, what is the difference in a plane that goes the furthest compared to
the one which stayed in the air the longest?
Do all of the differences relate to the design of the plane?
Relate this back to last weeks design of hot wheels.

Introduction to New Material:

Air Friction
(10 Minutes)

Review briefly the concepts of energy and vehicle design from last week. How did forms of energy as well as vehicle
design affect the air planes shown in the hook video?
Why did some airplanes not stay in the air as long? Why did some go as fast? Gravity pulled them down but what slowed
them from moving forward? This concept is air friction.
Air friction is a force that acts on an object.
Compare a force that they know, usually a push to get something to go, to a push against the object moving to
slow it down
Have students ever felt air friction?
roller coaster
car
The surface area of the object affects the force acting on it
If an object is traveling in one direction, what direction is the friction acting in?
The force goes opposite the direction of motion!

Apprenticeship Sector: Engineering

Unit Guide: Alternative Energy Vehicles
Lesson #2: Lets Fly!
Activity One:
Paper Airplane Comparison
(35 Minutes)

Hand out attached templates to groups of three students as well as blank paper. Students will each make a paper airplane.
Encourage them to assist each other if they have questions, and then ask the instructors.
Both teachers should circulate the room looking for students who need help. If it is anticipated that some students
will have more trouble with this hands on material, give those students handout A, and have them work in a
smaller breakout group with one teacher. This ensures that all students will be able to make their own plane.
Make sure the students mark their name on the plane so they can find it later
Once all students have completed their airplane tell them to scrunch the instructions up into a ball. They will keep this and
throw it as a comparison to the planes
The ball will not go very far, because the air friction stops it! The area facing the direction of motion is very large!
Students will all line up on one end of the room. Have them all throw their balls at once. None of the balls will do much
interesting, and will just fall to the ground.
This should get the giggles out and allow the student to really focus on what the paper airplanes are going to do.
Have the students take turns throwing their planes across the room. Make sure to emphasize that the goal is to get their
airplanes to go as far and fast as possible.
Safety is a priority here! Make sure students are all against one wall before anyone throws a plane. They should
not be thrown at other students.
Encourage students to discuss the behavior of the airplanes as they experiment. Collaboration between peers is an
important part of engineering!

Activity Two:
Comparison Discussions
(25 Minutes)

Some planes will simply not go as far. If students are disappointed or upset ask them why they think that it performed
poorly. If they had an opportunity to improve it what would they do? Plane C should travel much slower, but stay in the air
for a longer time.
This plane performs well, but not for the goal they were trying to accomplish! Make sure to emphasize that
success in engineering depends on what the goal was set to be. Connect the discussion back to last weeks lesson.
The design of the planes changes to meet a goal.
Group back into the usual arrangement. Discuss which they think went the furthest. Which went the fastest? Why do they
think each of those did why they did? What would make an improvement?
Make sure to focus this discussion around the 21st century skill for this lesson, Use the advantages, limitations,
and feasibility of the ideas as criteria for selecting the best one
Discuss some of planes that performed more poorly. Would the planes that failed this goal perform better with a different
objective?
Remember back to the video. Which plane would do better for longer air time?
Does air friction affect this? Remember, air friction acts opposite the direction of motion, so if a plane is falling,
and the objective is to stay in the air, air friction may actually be helpful!
Airplanes actually stay in the air for a long time because of a lift force, which is based on a difference in pressure
around the wings, and goes beyond the scope of this class, but air friction would slow a plane that is falling!
If time allows, have students go back and look over the templates and edit where they would change the folds to make it go
further or faster. Why are they making the changes they are? Extra copies of templates may be useful here so students
could start over from the beginning.

Apprenticeship Sector: Engineering

Unit Guide: Alternative Energy Vehicles
Lesson #2: Lets Fly!
Assessment
Exit Ticket
(10 Minutes)

Students will complete the attached worksheet. The work sheet includes:
Showing on the paper airplane where friction acts on it.
Friction will act opposite the direction of motion, so any answer where they have a vertical surface
shaded would be correct. Any surface on the bottom could be correct as well if the student assumes the
plane is falling.
Does air friction affect their WOW! project?
It will, air friction effects any object that moves in air! It will be less important than air friction acting on
an airplane because the WOW! vehicle will be heavier, and also have other frictional forces acting on it.
Based on the fact that the objective of the WOW! is for the vehicle to travel as far as possible, how does their
design of the vehicle take into account air friction to effect that?
Smaller vehicles are better because they are more aerodynamic. Students may be able to relate this
concept to something like a racecar, which is small and flat compared to a truck or bus.

Lets Fly!
Exit Ticket
Name: _________________________

Date:___________________

1. This is a diagram of a paper airplane we did not try today in class. Where do you think air friction has the most
effect on this airplane? Shade the areas of the plane where you think the greatest force due to air friction would
be.

2. Based on what this plane looks like and how other planes behaved today, do you think this plane would travel fast
or slow. Why?

3. Will air friction be something to think about for your WOW! design? The goal of your WOW! is to have your
vehicle go as far and fast as possible, so is air friction good or bad? What can you make your vehicle look like to
improve how far and fast it goes?

Lets Fly!
Week 2 Hand Out
Paper Air Plane A Assembly Directions

2.

1.

Lay airplane template face down,

with the point of the lines pointed
away from you. Fold along lines 1,
bringing the top two corners so they
meet in the center at point A.

Fold lines 2 similarly, leading them

to meet at point B.

4.

3.

Fold the plane along the line 4. The

previous folds should now be on the
outside of the plane.

Fold the point of the airplane along

line 3 towards you so it also meets at
point B.

6.

5.

Fold each side of the plane outward

along line 5. These will form the
wings of the plane.

Your airplane is now complete! Feel

free to adjust the creases so the plane
looks and feels the way you want!

Lets Fly!
Week 2 Hand Out
Paper Air Plane B Assembly Directions

2.

1.

Fold lines 2 similarly, leading them

to meet at point B.

Lay airplane template face down,

with the point of the lines pointed
away from you. Fold along lines 1,
bringing the top two corners so they
meet in the center at point A.

4.

3.

Fold the plane along the line 4

towards you. The previous folds
should now be on the inside of the
plane.

Fold the tip of the airplane along line

3 towards you.

5.

6.

Fold each side of the plane outward

along line 5. These will form the
wings of the plane. Then fold
upwards along lines 6.

Your airplane is now complete! Feel

free to adjust the creases so the plane
looks and feels the way you want!

Lets Fly!

Lets Fly!
Week 2 Hand Out
Paper Air Plane C Assembly Directions

2.

1.

Lay airplane template face down,

with the point of the lines pointed
away from you. Fold along lines 1,
bringing the top two corners so they
meet in the center at point A.

Fold the tip of the plane down

towards you along line 2, so it meets
at point A as well.

4.

3.

Fold the plane along the line 4

towards you. The previous folds
should now be on the inside of the
plane.

Fold diagonal edges towards you

along lines 3.

5.

6.

Fold each side of the plane outward

along line 5. These will form the
wings of the plane. Then fold
upwards along lines 6.

Your airplane is now complete! Feel

free to adjust the creases so the plane
looks and feels the way you want!

10

Lets Fly!

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