Testing and Refining Aircraft Design

Grade Level: 9-12

Objective:

Students will explain the methods used by themselves, the Wright Brothers, or NASA scientists to test and refine aircraft design, and the importance of these methods.

Suggested Schedule

Materials

• Class set of paper for airplane design
• Materials for flying device construction:
  • paper,
  • cardboard,
  • fabric,
  • balsa wood,
  • tissue paper,
  • rubber bands,
  • Popsicle sticks,
  • glue,
  • tape,
  • paper clips
• Stop watch (to time flying devices)
• Fortunately, by Remy Charlip Available through:
  • www.amazon.com
  • www.barnesandnoble.com
  • www.borders.com
  • www.powells.com
  • www.half.com/products/books/index.cfm
• Class set of paper for storybooks
• Class set of Generic Rubric (for storybook activity)
• Class set of Generic Rubric (for airplane design)

Preparation for Webcast/Chat:

• See Chat Lesson for preparation.
• Download the PDF file for information on how to prepare for a webcast/chat. Pay special attention to the Equipment, Facilities, and Preparation information.

Engage

Introduction (approximately 20 minutes)

1. Discuss with students what they think life would be like without airplanes. Have students explain the reasoning behind their answers.

2. Ask the students if they know when the first powered flight occurred. Note to teacher: The first powered flight was on December 17, 1903 by the Wright Brothers.

3. Explain to the students that December 2003 will mark the 100th anniversary or the centennial of powered flight by the Wright Brothers. Explain to the students that the class is going to begin celebrating this by spending time learning about flight and about people who made flying possible.

4. Have the students explain what steps they have gone through or would go through when designing an object.

5. Explain to students that they are going to design and make a flying device. Discuss with students their prior knowledge about flight.

6. Explain to students that before they design their flying device they must be very knowledgeable about why and how things fly.

Research on Flight (approximately 60 minutes)

1. Have the students work individually or in pairs to research the four forces of flight as well as Bernoulli's Principle using books, encyclopedias, and Web sites. *The links below can be used by the students to help in this research.

Note to teacher: Depending on students' prior knowledge, this research may not be necessary. A review discussion on these topics may be all that is needed.

2. Once students are knowledgeable on the four forces of flight and Bernoulli's Principle, discuss with the students the information that they learned during their research.
Note to teacher: At this point, the students should understand why and how airplanes fly. Flight is when lift and thrust exceed weight and drag. Lift is achieved when air moves faster over the aircraft creating higher air pressure.

3. Explain to students that their knowledge of why and how planes fly must be applied during the design of their flying device.

Criteria and Constraints on Design (approximately 25 minutes)

1. Tell the students that there are criteria and constraints for designing any device. Ask them to explain what they think it means to have criteria and constraints.
Note to teacher: The students should understand that criteria are standards or requirements that the device must include. Examples of criteria are that the device must be efficient, must be able to land gently, and must be able to communicate with other planes . Constraints are things that limit the design of the plane. Examples of constraints are money, time, maximum size, available materials, space to build or use, and human capabilities to use it.

2. Write the following list on the board. Explain to students that their flying devices will have to be designed and built according to the following specifications.

Note to teacher: Do not write criteria or constraint next to each characteristic. This information is only for you.

• The following materials may be used when building the device: paper, cardboard, fabric, balsa wood, tissue paper, rubber bands, Popsicle sticks, glue, tape, and paper clips. (constraint)

• The device can not break upon landing. (criteria)

• The device must be designed and constructed in four class periods. (Constraint)

• The device must move forward five meters. (Criteria)

3. Ask the students to read the list of specifications. Decide as a class which specifications are criteria and which are constraints.

4. Once the students have categorized the list, write the word "criteria" or "constraint" next to each one. Leave the criteria and constraints on the board for students to refer to later. Note to teacher: If you have time, rewrite the specifications so there is a list of criteria and a separate list of constraints.

5. Ask the students to brainstorm criteria and constraints that they would like to have on their device and why they would include these criteria and constraints. Explain to the students that the criteria and constraints all must be able to be tested in some way. List the criteria and constraints on the board that the students come up with.

Note to teacher: Make sure that the criteria/constraints the students suggest are all testable.

6. From this list, decide two or three criteria and two or three constraints that all of the students will have to include on their planes. Add these to the list of criteria and constraints that were given by the teacher. Note to teacher: The number of criteria and constraints that the students decide on for the device can be modified.

Explore

Design and Construction (approximately 3 hours)

1. Have the students work in small groups to brainstorm ideas for the design of their device.

2. Once the students have chosen an idea or combination of ideas to use for their design, they should make a sketch of their design. Their design should include labels of the four forces of flight and indicate with the size of arrows, which forces will be greatest. The design should also include labels that show how each criterion and constraint will be met in their flying device. The students should explain the reasoning behind their design how it meets the criteria and constraints. They should also explain how the flying device increases lift over gravity and how thrust will exceed drag. These explanations can be written on their design or done verbally.

3. Once this design is complete, it should be presented to the teacher.

4. The teacher should review the design and suggest any needed changes.

5. Once the design has been approved, the students can begin constructing their flying devices being sure to keep the criteria and constraints in mind.

6. When the students finish constructing their device, have the students name their flying device.

Evaluations and Improvements (approximately 90 minutes)

1. Once the students have completed their flying devices, pair up two groups of students. Have the two groups switch their flying devices and designs and evaluate each other.

2. In this evaluation process, the groups should focus on whether the device is constructed as it was designed since this is what the supervisor approved. They should also check to make sure that each criteria is included, and that the device is being built within the constraints specified. If the criteria are not included or if they have not stayed within the constraints, the supervisor should be notified.

3. Once the groups have had time to evaluate another group's device, have the two groups share their evaluations with each other.

4. Once the groups have shared their evaluations, discuss as a class what the students learned from the evaluation. Lead a discussion using the following questions:

• Did your flying device meet the requirements?
• What changes would you make to your flying device? Why?
• What helpful comments did you get from the other group?

5. Explain to the students that an important part of the design process is that the designs are revised. If the students have changes they would like to make to their designs, instruct them to schedule a meeting with the teacher. During this meeting, the students should explain what they want to change and why. The teacher can then approve or disapprove the request to change.

6. Have the students work in their own groups to make any modifications/improvements needed after the device was evaluated by a group of peers.

Note to teacher: You may want to limit the time which students have to modify/improve their devices.

First Presentation and Test (approximately 60 minutes)

1. After making improvements, the students should be ready to test their flying devices.

Note to teacher: A large space will be needed where the devices can be "tested." Outside or your school's gym might be great places to test them.

2. Have all groups of students explain their flying devices to the class. They should include the name of the flying device, what features they included on their flying device, why they included the features, how the flying device achieves lift and thrust, what problems they had to solve during the design process, and how they solved the problems.

3. Lay down a long piece of masking tape. Then lay down another long piece of masking tape 5 meters from the first.

4. Groups should test their flying devices one at a time. Explain to the students that they must start from the first piece of masking tape and that their device must land on or pass the next piece of masking tape which is 5 meters away.

5. Have students be responsible for gathering and recording data. The devices can be measured for how far they travel as well as the length of time they stay in the air. Be sure to measure the distance the devices fly in meters and centimeters.

6. Have the students run two more test flights. The data from the three test flights can then be averaged or the best of the three can be used.

Discussion After First Test: (approximately 30 minutes)

1. After the students have tested their devices, explain that the students are going to compete against the students in their class for the device that is the most efficient in terms of speed. Discuss with the students that there is not a perfect design, but scientists do look for the design that is the most efficient.

2. Explain to the students that the devices can compete only if they include all of the criteria and follow all of the constraints. The devices will be judged on how fast they travel a distance of 5 meters.

3. Discuss with the students what they might change about their devices in order to make them faster.

4. Discuss with the students that sometimes tradeoffs have to be made among features in order to make the plane the most efficient.

5. Ask students to identify tradeoffs that they could make to their devices.

Note to teacher: An example is something that makes the device fly further or faster which may not allow the device to stay in the air as long.

Variation: Discuss with the students the following questions:

• What design modifications would need to happen to allow the device to stay in the air longer?

• What tradeoffs would need to be made? After this discussion, the students could modify their flying devices to make them stay in the air longer.
  Note to teacher: The students should understand that a likely tradeoff would be that the device would not be able to travel as far.

Refining: (approximately 45 minutes)

1. Have students work with their groups to refine their designs in order to make it more efficient in terms of speed.

Second Presentations and Tests: (approximately 90 minutes)

1. Once the students have had time to refine their designs, have groups explain how they refined their designs in order to make them more efficient.

2. The students are now ready for their second test. Lay down a long piece of masking tape. Then lay down another long piece of masking tape 5 meters from the first.

3. Have each group begin at the first piece of masking tape.

4. Have groups test their devices one at a time. Explain that the students may not touch their device once it has taken off (once they have "thrown" it).

5. Have students be responsible for gathering and recording data. The time for each device needs to be measured in seconds from the point that the device is launched to the point it crosses the finish line five meters away. The students can then use the formula speed = distance/time. The distance will be 5 meters for all tests.

6. Have the students run two more test flights. The data from the three test flights can then be averaged or the best of the three can be used.

7. Have the students compare the data of their original test flights to their second test flights.

8. Discuss with the students what changes they saw between the two sets of test flights.

9. As a class, decide which device is the most efficient in terms of speed based on the data obtained from the second test. Discuss with the students that this does not mean this is the perfect design.

Explain (approximately 45 minutes)

1. Have the students explain the steps they went through to design their flying devices. Ask the students if they think scientists follow similar steps.

2. After the students have shared their ideas, explain that the students followed a very similar process to that of scientists. Explain that the basic design process includes: defining a problem, brainstorming, researching and generating ideas, identifying criteria and specifying constraints, exploring possibilities, selecting an approach, developing a design proposal, making a model or prototype, testing and evaluating the design using specifications, refining the design, creating or making it, and communicating the processes and results.

3. Discuss the questions listed below. Be sure to have the students explain the reasoning behind their answers. The students should use the four forces of flight and Bernoulli's Principle in their explanations when appropriate.

• What went well during the design of your device?

• What obstacles did you have to deal with during the design process?

• How well did your device meet the criteria?

• How did you deal with the constraints given?

• How did your device change during the design process?

• Did you make major or minor changes to your device in order to make it more efficient?

• What changes did you make and why?

• How did the testing help you?

• What did you learn from the tests?

• Was there more than one solution to the proposed problem?

(Misconception) Students often do not understand that all designs can be improved and that there are multiple solutions to a problem. The questions listed above should facilitate a discussion helping students deal with this misconception.

Prior to the Webcast/Chat: (approximately 45 minutes)

Students will become knowledgeable about the scientists they will be talking to by reading their bios. Then discuss with the students the main focus for the webcast/chat. This can be found on the Event Page. The webcasts/chats will focus on NASA's role in the history of flight, aircraft design methods, and processes used by the Wright Brothers and by NASA personnel. Students should prepare questions on these topics as well as questions about how aircraft are tested and refined by NASA personnel and who they are as people.

See NASA Occupations Chat Lesson Explore Section for specific information on how to prepare students for the webcast/chat.
Note to teacher: The first bullet of the Explore Section is not pertinent can be skipped.

During the Webcast/Chat: (60 minutes)

Have students take notes on how aircraft are tested and refined during the webcast/chat. These notes will be helpful for completing the Extend activity.

See NASA Occupations Chat Lesson Explain Section for specific information on participating in the webcast or chat and how to keep your students engaged during the webcast/chat.

After the Webcast/Chat: (approximately 30 minutes)

Discuss with students the information included in the webcast/chat. Have the students share the features and limits discussed during the webcast/chat. Make a list on the board of these features and limits. Lead a discussion using the following questions:

• What new information did you learn about flight?

• What methods do scientists use to deal with the constraints?

• When working with the paper airplanes, did you have any of the same problems that the scientists do?

• What do scientists do when they have a problem?

• Do the scientists work in groups or by themselves to solve a problem?

• What do scientists do to make their planes efficient?

What techniques do scientists use to refine or improve their aircraft?
Note to teacher: Modify discussion questions based upon information discussed during webcast/chat.

See NASA Occupations Chat Lesson Extend/Apply Section for specific information on how to facilitate a follow-up discussion after a webcast/chat.

Extend (approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes)

Unfortunately/Fortunately Storybook:

1. Read the book, Fortunately, by Remy Charlip to the students.

2. Ask the students to summarize the main point of the story.

3. Ask the students what they would have done if they were Ned. Would they have kept trying like Ned did? Would they have gotten frustrated and given up? Discuss with the students the qualities that Ned had that allowed him to successfully get to the surprise party.

4. Once the students have a good understanding of the story, ask them to think about the connections between this story and the information they learned about the Wright Brothers, NASA scientists, and/or designing a flying device. Note to the teacher: It is important to help the students realize that the people they learned about like the Wright Brothers did not give up. Their road to making the first power-driven flyer was not easy, but they kept at it until they accomplished their goal.

5. Discuss these connections between the story and the information they have learned about the Wright Brothers, NASA scientists, and/or designing a flying device. Discuss not only the qualities these people had such as determination, but also the tools and methods they had to use to accomplish their goal. This discussion can take place with the entire class, or the students can be broken up into small groups and then share their ideas later with the class.

6. Individually or in partners, have the students brainstorm and make a list of good or fortunate things that happened to the Wright Brothers, NASA scientists, or themselves. Then have them develop a list of obstacles, especially limits or special features they had to account for or unfortunate things that they had to overcome and solutions or methods use to improve or meet these.

7. Using the ideas the students listed, they should make a storybook in the same format as the book, Fortunately, in which a problem or obstacle is presented with a statement that begins with "Unfortunately", and is solved with a statement beginning with "Fortunately". Depending upon the material covered in class as well as the webcasts in which the students participated, the storybook can focus on the criteria and constraints and refinement of the design encountered by the Wright Brothers, by NASA scientists, or by the students when designing their flying devices.

8. Explain to the students that the books should include neatly colored pictures, should end with a fortunate thing that happened, and should include a moral focusing on the importance of refining designs.
Note to the teacher: Depending on time and grade level, you may want to give a minimum and maximum number of pages which the storybook can include.

Variations: Alternate Extend activities are that the students could make a comic strip with the same format as described above or write from the perspective of the Wright Brothers about techniques used to refine their design.

Evaluate (approximately 60 minutes)

1. Evaluate the flying devices that the students designed and constructed. Use the generic rubric (make a link) provided to evaluate them.

2. Once the students have completed their storybooks, have them read their books aloud to the class. If time does not allow for this, the students could be broken up into small groups and to share the books within their groups.

3. After the students share their books with the class, discuss with the students the new information they learned about flying and about people who made flying possible. Ask the students to think about the design process and the steps that must be followed to construct an airplane the next time they see an airplane or ride in one. Ask the students to think about the design process and the steps that must be followed to construct an airplane. Ask the students if they are more appreciative for airplanes now than they were before completing this lesson. Have them explain their answers.

4. Evaluate the students story books. Use the generic rubric (make a link) provided to evaluate them.

5. Display the students' completed storybooks.