Assessment 2-5
Assessment 2-5
Glider Design, Test, and Explanation
You are in the beginning stages of designing an aircraft. You have spent a long time studying the properties of air and how it affects flying. You spent countless hours watching the birds and testing out how the various forces of flight can be affected. Using everything that you have learned, you are now ready to design, test, and explain your first prototype glider.
1. Your task in this assignment is to design and build a glider.
Construct the entries for your lab notebook below explaining the designing and building process for your glider.
- Include between 5-8 entries. Record any changes you make to your design while building or any problems you may have encountered.
- Include images or sketches that show my design and how the model was built.
Glider Design Guide
Consider the following questions when designing your glider.
- What kind of material will you use? (balsa wood, paper, Styrofoam, etc)
- How big will your glider be?
- What shape will the wings be?
- Will you be adding other control surfaces? (tail, rudder, ailerons, flaps, etc.)
- Will your glider be too heavy to fly?
- Will it be sturdy enough to fly?
- Are the wings shaped and positioned well to produce lift?
2. You will conduct a variety of tests to modify the design to make the glider
- go further
- stay up longer
- fly in a loop
- turn in a left or right direction
- Include between 5-8 written entries describing your tests and the results. As part of your entries, mark a starting point for your glider on the ground with a piece of tape. From that starting point, throw your glider. Use a measuring tape to measure how far your glider went, and record it. Use a clock to time how long your glider was in the air. Make adjustments to increase both the distance and the flight time. Record what adjustments you made.
- Include images or videos. Keep a record of improvements to your glider design and record your tests.
Make sure your teacher can open the video file you send. You may, for example, use Animoto to make a video demonstrating your glider design.
Building a glider is not enough; you must demonstrate your knowledge of how your glider is able actually to fly!
In Part C include explanations of
- how air helps your glider to fly (Bernoulli's Principle)
- the forces of flight acting on your glider
- the various parts of your glider and what they do
Be sure to read carefully the criteria and Glider Design Rubric first because they will help you know what is expected of you.
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Be sure to read carefully the criteria on Assessment 2-5 first because it will help you know what is expected of you.
Assessment 2-5
Click here to download Assessment 2-5-Glider Design. Read this carefully so that you understand the expectations for this assessment. Click here for a printer-friendly version of the file.