Hovercraft Experiment

To learn about the underlying principles of a hovercraft in a useful way to understand Newton's laws and the

conservation of momentum, by using physical sciences and experimenting with the factors that determine the

speed and velocity of a hovercraft.

You will need: Pop-top lid of recyclable bottle. An Old CD Hot glue gun Balloons of different sizes (capacity –

small, medium, large) Stopwatch Large flat surface

Step One:Construct base of hovercraft by gluing the

base of the pop-top lid over the middle of the CD. Be careful, to ensure that no air is able to escape from between the bottom

of the lid and the CD.

Step Two: Blow up a balloon and pinch the neck

so that no air can escape.

Step Three:Stretch the neck

of the balloon over the

pop-top.

Step Four: Place the CD hovercraft onto the large flat

surface (still pinching the balloon neck)

When you are ready – lift the pop-top open, and let go off pinched neck.

YOUR HOVERCRAFT

WORKS!

Did you achieve this?

Analyse Your Data: Make your balloons different sizes.

SMALL

MEDIUM

LARGE

RECORD WHAT YOU SEE.

1

2

3

4

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

RESULTS OF HOVERCRAFT BALLOON TIME TRAIL

LARGE BALLOONMEDIUM BALLOONSMALL BALLOON

TIME IN SECONDS THAT HOVERCRAFT SHOWED MOMENTUM

PER

TRIA

L

EXPLAIN:The speed and velocity of a hovercraft are

dependent on the air pressure you can generate under the craft. Hovercrafts create an air-cushion under the body of the craft so it hovers or floats above the surface of the ground or water you are traveling over. This was evident as the larger volume of air in the larger balloon, allowed for the balloon to travel over the ground by generating enough air under the craft for momentum to be obvious.

The hovercraft increased speed and velocity, with the addition of the larger balloon air volume, cause air resistance between the CD and the smooth surface. Hovercrafts are by necessity light vehicles and are therefore affected by even modest breezes.

WHY? First Law: Every object in a state of uniform

motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.

Second Law: The relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are vectors; in this law the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector.

Third Law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

YOUR TURN!!!

WHAT DID YOU FIND?It has been discovered during this experiment that Newton’s Law of Motion can be applied throughout

this experiment?

In each example of motion – find what law applies:

THE ________________________ is applied to this experiment and can be observed when the hovercraft is at a stand still its motion (momentum) remains in that state of motion until the external force of the balloon’s air it applied to it.

The _________________________states that an isolated object has no acceleration – meaning that without air in the balloon, the CD will not experience momentum. His second law of motion gives the relationship between the acceleration of an object and the forces acting on it – thus when the balloons are added with air inside, the balloon forces the air down the pop-top lid and between the surface area of the CD and the flat surface, causing the CD to gain momentum – the larger the volume of air, the stronger the force is between the two surfaces – thus the faster the CD hovercraft moves.

The ________________________ is that when two objects interact, so when the CD hovercraft and the flat surface, have the air pressure interact with them, the force of the air exerts onto the flat surface, causing the CD hovercraft to lift up. This is Newton’s statement for this occurrence – “to every action there is always opposed an equal reaction”.

First Law: Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.

Second Law: The relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are vectors; in this law the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector.

Third Law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.