Observe: Bernoulli Basics

Bernoulli's Principle explains why a bird or airplane wing works to produce lift.  The curved edge of the wing allows air to move, producing lift is all about air movement and air pressure.

Remember from the first section of this unit that air is made of tiny gas particles that can move and flow like a fluid.  These gas particles are pushing constantly on anything they come in contact with producing air pressure.

Daniel Bernoulli was a Swiss mathematician who noticed that air pressure could be changed, by changing the speed of the air movement.  This basic idea – called Bernoulli’s Principle – explains how the shape of a bird’s wings produces lift.

  Video

Watch this video for a short introduction to Bernoulli's Principle before starting the activity.

Bernoulli's Principle

  Notebook: What is Bernoulli's Principle?

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Activity Links:


  Check Your Answers

Topic: Bernoulli’s Principle and Lift
(What is the website about?)
Main Ideas: Complete the blanks with the missing words
  1. What is Bernoulli’s Principle?
  • High Air Speed = Low Air pressure
  • Low Air speed = High Air pressure
  1. Why is the wing of an airplane curved?
  • This allows air to travel faster on top of the wing and slower underneath the wing.
  • This produces an area of high pressure under the wing and low pressure on top of the wing.
  • The higher pressure underneath the wing produces lift.
  1. Explain briefly another factor that affects lift.
  • Angle of Attack – adjusting the tilt of a flat surface produces more or less lift (See Boeing's diagram)
  1. What is the scientific law that explains why a flat surface pushing air downwards can cause the surface to lift upwards?
  • For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.