Paper Plane

Abstract

Just one sheet of paper can lead to a whole lot of fun. How? Paper planes! All you have to know is how to fold and you can have a simple plane in a matter of minutes! But what design should you use to build the best plane? In this aerodynamics science project, you will change the basic design of a paper plane and see how this affects its flight. Specifically, you will increase how muchdragthe plane experiences and see if this changes how far the paper plane flies. There is a lot of cool science in this project, such as how the differentforcesallow a plane to fly, so get ready to start folding!Objective

Determine whether the distance a paper plane flies is affected by increasing how muchdragit experiences.

Introduction

Paper airplanes are fun and easy to make. Just fold a piece of paper into a simple plane and send it soaring into the sky with a flick of your wrist. Watching it float and glide in the air gives you a very satisfying and happy feeling.

But what allows the paper plane to glide through the air? And why does a paper plane finally land? To find out, we will talk about the science behind flying a paper plane and the different forces that get a paper plane to fly and land. These same forces apply to real airplanes, too. Aforceis something that pushes or pulls on something else. When you throw a paper plane in the air, you are giving the plane a push to move forward. That push is a type of force calledthrust. While the plane is flying forward, air is moving over and under the wings and is providing a force calledliftto the plane. If the paper plane has enough thrust and the wings are properly designed, the plane will have a nice long flight.

But there is more than lack of thrust and poor wing design that gets a paper plane to come back to Earth. As a paper plane moves through the air, the air pushes against the plane, slowing it down. This force is calleddrag. To think about drag, imagine you are in a moving car and you put your hand outside of the window. The force of the air pushing your hand back as you move forward is drag. Finally, theweightof the paper plane affects its flight and brings it to a landing. Weight is the force of Earth'sgravityacting on the paper plane. Figure 1 below shows how all four of these forces, thrust, lift, drag, and weight, act upon a paper plane.

Figure 1.When a paper plane is flying, the four forces of thrust, lift, drag, and weight are acting upon the plane, affecting how well its journey through the air goes.

Well, what do you think? Would you like to start experimenting with these forces? In this aerodynamics science project, you will make a basic paper plane and then slightly alter its shape to increase how much drag is acting on it. You will investigate how far the basic paper plane flies and compare that to how far it flies when the drag is increased. How will adding drag affect your plane's flight? You can answer this question with just a flick of your wrist.

Terms and Concepts

Force

Thrust

Lift

Drag

Weight

Gravity

Data

Vertical

Accurate

Questions

What is drag and how does it affect airplane flight?

How do you think you could change how much drag a paper plane has?

What provides thrust to a real airplane?

Bibliography

These sites explain how paper planes and airplanes fly.

Shaw, R. (2010, September 10).Dynamics of Flight. Retrieved November 24, 2010, fromhttp://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/UEET/StudentSite/dynamicsofflight.html#forces The Franklin Institute. (n.d.).Forces of Flight Drag. Resources for Science Learning. Your Own Flight. Retrieved February 14, 2013, fromhttp://www.fi.edu/flight/own2/drag.html Doherty, P. (1999).Paper Airplanes. Exploratorium Magazine Online. Vol. 23, Number 2. Retrieved November 24, 2010, fromhttp://www.exploratorium.edu/exploring/paper/airplanes.htmlThe following paper plane pattern is used in this science project.

Lee, K. (2012, July 25).Basic Dart: Folding Instructions.Amazing Paper Airplanes. Retrieved February 13, 2013, fromhttp://www.amazingpaperairplanes.com/Basic_Dart.htmlThe following resource can be used to convert inches and feet to metric units (i.e., centimeters and meters):

Science Made Simple, Inc. (n.d.).Length conversion using online length converted by Science Made Simple.Retrieved February 13, 2013, fromhttp://www.sciencemadesimple.com/length_conversion.phpFor help creating graphs, try this website:

National Center for Education Statistics, (n.d.).Create a Graph. Retrieved June 2, 2009, fromhttp://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/Experimental Procedure

Flying the Planes

1. Go to the Amazing Paper Airplanes webpage with folding instructions for the basic dart design:

a. Lee, K. (2012, July 25).Basic Dart: Folding Instructions.Amazing Paper Airplanes. Retrieved February 13, 2013, fromhttp://www.amazingpaperairplanes.com/Basic_Dart.html2. Fold a piece of paper into the basic dart paper plane following the instructions.

a. Figure 1 in the Background tab shows an example of a paper plane made using the basic dart paper airplane design.

b. Make sure that you fold carefully and that your folds are as sharp as possible.

c. In step 6 of the folding instructions, skip the optional step of bending up the tailing edge of the wings.

3. Repeat step 2 two more times so that you have a total of three paper planes. They should all look identical.

4. Make a data table in your lab notebook, like Table 1 below, where you can record the data you get from your experiment.

Paper PlaneFlight 1Flight 2Flight 3Flight 4Flight 5Average

Plane 1

Plane 1 with Added Drag

Plane 2


Plane 3


Table 1.In your lab notebook, create a data table like this one. For each flight, write down how far the paper plane travels (in centimeters [cm] or meters [m]).

5. Go to a large area to fly your paper plane. Make sure that there is no foot or car traffic at the area. A long hallway or your school gym is a good location. If you are flying your plane outside, like in a baseball field or on a basketball court, do your experiment on a day when there is no wind.

6. Tear off a 5-foot-long piece of masking tape and tape it to the ground in front of you, going from left to right. This will be the starting line from which you will fly the paper planes. If you are doing this science project outside, you could use a line of sticks or rocks to mark the starting point.

7. Practice throwing or launching the paper planes. You will want to launch the planes in exactly the same way every time. Hold the planes at exactly the same spot on the plane every time you launch a plane.

8. Once you have finished practicing, it is time to start the experiment. Place your toe on the starting line you prepared earlier and then throw one of your planes.

9. Use the tape measure to measure how far (in centimeters or meters) the paper plane flew from the starting line. Record this distance in the data table in your lab notebook.

a. This will be "Flight 1" for "Plane 1."

b. Science is done in metric units (e.g., centimeters and meters) so your data should be written as such. If your tape measure does not have metric units, you can convert inches or feet to centimeters or meters using this website:

i. Science Made Simple, Inc. (n.d.).Length conversion using online length converter by Science Made Simple.Retrieved February 13, 2013, fromhttp://www.sciencemadesimple.com/length_conversion.php10. Repeat steps 8-9 four more times using the same plane, trying to throw the plane as similarly as possible. Doing these repeats will help ensure that your data is accurate and reproducible.

a. Before you fly the plane, make sure that it is in good condition and that the folds and points are still sharp.

b. Record the distances in the data table in your lab notebook all in the same row as "Plane 1," as "Flight 2," Flight 3," "Flight 4," or "Flight 5."

11. Once you have flown plane 1 five times, change the plane to increase its drag.

a. Look at the back of the plane, where the wings meet the ridge in the middle.

b. Using scissors, cut slits that are 2.5 cm long right where either wing meets the middle ridge.

c. Fold up the 2.5 cm cut section on both wings so that these sections are at about a 90 degree angle from the rest of the wing, as shown in Figure 2 below.

d. How do you think this increases the plane's drag?

Figure 2.To increase the paper plane's drag, first cut slits 2.5 cm long where the wing meets the ridge at the back of the plane, and then fold these cut sections up. Each wing should now have a 2.5 cm long section at the end of the wing that is folded up, at about a 90 degree angle from the rest of the wing, as shown in these pictures taken from different angles.

12. Using plane 1 with added drag, repeat steps 8-10.

a. Record the distances the plane flies in your data table in the row titled "Plane 1 with Added Drag."

b. In your lab notebook, record any observations about how this plane appears to fly compared to how plane 1 flew before you added drag.

13. Repeat steps 8-12 using one of the other two planes you made (in step 2).

a. Record the distances the plane flies in the row titled "Plane 2" and then "Plane 2 with Added Drag" once you repeat step 14.

b. In your lab notebook, record any observations you make.

14. Repeat steps 8-12 using the last of the three planes you made (in step 2). (This plane should not have been flown previously.)

a. Record the distances the plane flies in the row titled "Plane 3" and then "Plane 3 with Added Drag" once you repeat step 14.

b. In your lab notebook, record any observations you make.

Analyzing Your Data

1. Using the data you collected in the data table in your lab notebook, calculate the average distance that each plane traveled, with and without added drag. Record your results in the column labeled "Average" in the data table.

a. For example, if plane 1 traveled 4.60, 4.14, 5.00, 5.33, and 3.86 meters on flight 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively, to figure out its average distance you would first add these five distances together (which gives you 22.93 m) and then divide this number by five, which gives you an average distance of 4.59 meters.

2. Use the data from your data table to create a bar graph.

a. You can plot your data by hand or you can plot your data online atCreate A Graph.

b. Label the x-axis (the horizontal axis) "Paper Plane" and label the y-axis (the vertical axis) "Average Flight Distance." You will have six bars, one for each of the planes without added drag, and one for each of the planes with added drag. Make each bar go up to the average distance that plane traveled.

3. What does your graph tell you? How did adding drag to your paper planes affect how far they flew?

a. Can you explain your results in terms of how forces allow a plane to fly?Hint:Re-read the Introduction in the Background tab.

Variations

Does size matter? Make planes of different sizes but keep the design and the type of paper you use the same. Do bigger planes fly further?

Do more complicated planes fly further? In order words, does the number of folds that you use to make a paper plane affect the distance that it flies? Try this out using the same size and type of paper.

Does the type of paper you use affect how far the paper plane flies? Try making paper planes out of different types of paper, such as printer paper, construction paper, and newspaper. Make all of the planes using the same design and fly them as similarly as you can. Does one type of paper seem to work best for making paper planes? Does one type work the worst? You may need to do several trials to see a trend.

Some people like to add paperclips to their paper planes to make them fly better. But where should the paper clips be placed for the best flight? Try adding paperclips to the back, the front, the middle, or the wings. You can add one paper clip or several, but try to be consistent with how many you use. Take notes in your lab notebook so you know what you tested. Does adding paperclips somewhere make the paper plane's flight better, worse, or have no effect at all?

What Makes Paper Airplanes Fly?

Aerodynamics

What makes a paper airplane fly? Air the stuff that's all around you. Hold your hand in front of your body with your palm facing sideways so that your thumb is on top and your pinkie is facing the floor. Swing your hand back and forth. Do you feel the air? Now turn your palm so it is parallel to the ground and swing it back and forth again, like you're slicing it through the air. You can still feel the air, but your hand is able to move through it more smoothly than when your hand was turned up at a right angle. How easily an airplane moves through the air, or its aerodynamics, is the first consideration in making an airplane fly for a long distance.

Drag and Gravity

Planes that push a lot of air, like your hand did when it was facing the side, are said to have a lot of "drag," or resistance, to moving through the air. If you want your plane to fly as far as possible, you want a plane with as little drag as possible. A second force that planes need to overcome is "gravity." You need to keep your plane's weight to a minimum to help fight against gravity's pull to the ground.

Thrust and Lift

"Thrust" and "lift" are two other forces that help your plane make a long flight. Thrust is the forward movement of the plane. The initial thrust comes from the muscles of the "pilot" as the paper airplane is launched. After this, paper airplanes are really gliders, converting altitude to forward motion. Lift comes when the air below the airplane wing is pushing up harder than the air above it is pushing down. It is this difference in pressure that enables the plane to fly. Pressure can be reduced on a wing's surface by making the air move over it more quickly. The wings of a plane are curved so that the air moves more quickly over the top of the wing, resulting in an upward push, or lift, on the wing.

The Four Forces in Balance

A long flight occurs when these four forces drag, gravity, thrust, and lift are balanced. Some planes (like darts) are meant to be thrown with a lot of force. Because darts don't have a lot of drag and lift, they depend on extra thrust to overcome gravity. Long distance fliers are often built with this same design. Planes that are built to spend a long time in the air usually have a lot of lift but little thrust. These planes fly a slow and gentle flight.

Forces of Flight - DragThe drag of the air makes it hard for the plane to move quickly. Another name for drag is air resistance.

What's a good shape for getting through the air?

A streamlined shape slips smoothly through the air. A wind tunnel can be used to show how the air moves.

Who needs a lot of drag?

Drag can be a useful force for slowing things down. A big area gives more drag.

Have you ever felt the force of drag?

You don't notice the air's drag when you walk or run. But you feel the force of drag when you try to move through water. Fish and dolphins must have a streamlined shape to reduce their drag.

(There's more drag in water than in air, because it is denser).

Why is the force of drag important to insects?

A large insect, like a dragonfly, moves easily through the air.

Life is much harder for small insects. Drag has a much bigger effect if you are small. For a gnat, flying might feel a bit like swimming.

Drag is more of a problem if you are small, and if you want to move fast.

Try a related activity...

Fast Fall, Slow Fall Ideas in the Bath Falling through Water

Paper Airplane Science Fair Project

We've all played with paper airplanes. But a paper airplane science fair project? Come on. Get serious.

Yep! We're serious. And you'll find this is one of our better projects too. Just follow the instructions below, and you'll have yourself a great project and a good time to boot! So...

Let's get started...

Time- Give yourself about one week to do this one.

Stuff ListYou'll need...

1.Tough lightweight paper for making airplanes (copy paper works wonderfully)2.Paper airplane instruction book (recommended but not required.)[We recommendChampion Paper Airplanesby Paul Jackson, Reisterstown, MD Flying Frog 1999]3.Conversion table and calculator4.Tape measure5.Pencil or pen6.Paper7.Graph paper8.Camera9.Cardboard for display (three sided)10.Glue11.Paper12.Computer (optional)

Preparation

Even with a paper airplane science fair project (which sounds quite simple) we need to become scientists. And a good scientist always asks questions. So...

...let's ask some questions about paper airplanes. These questions are only for reference so we can get our feel for the project. We'll ask ourreally important questiona little bit later. Let's think about our paper airplane science fair project for a little bit and ask ourselves...

What is a paper airplane?What makes it fly?Are there different kinds of airplanes?

Thoroughly research these and any other questions you can think. Find all you can about different kinds airplanes. Ask an adult about it, or get on the internet. You might even find some good books on paper airplanes at the library. If you really wanted to get serious, you could plan a "field trip" to the airport to find out how real airplanes work.

Put a lot of effort into this part. It'll make your life simpler later. After you've done your research, ask theimportant question. This is also called yourhypothesis...

Does the number of folds affect the distance a paper airplane will fly?This is a good question because we can try it out in a large, empty room in our house or outside. But don't try it yet. We need to answer our important question first!

Let's do that now.

What do you think will happen?

Does the number of folds affect the distance a paper airplane will fly?

Write down your guess on a piece of paper. Don't change it until you see what your paper airplane science fair project does first. Remember...

...we call this guess ourhypothesis. It's the most important part of our paper airplane science fair project!

Now it's time to get your stuff from the list above. Let's move to the next step.

Project

Now comes the fun part...

...let's experiment!

First, we'll need to make five different patterns of planes for this paper airplane science fair project. You'll probably want to make three airplanes from each pattern. Butdon't cheat!You're not allowed to add weight or anything else to it to make it fly better. That will ruin the experiment!

What we're trying to discover is how thefoldsaffect the way the plane flies. So don't try any other modifications other than folding it a different number of times and in different ways. Trust us...

You won't need extra weight for these planes to fly. (Don't worry. We've already tried it!!! :) )

Here are some great examples of airplanes...

Now comes the best part of all...

It's time to fly them!

The best place to do this is in an empty room, long, wide hallway or (even better) the gym at your school. The bigger, the better. The fewer obstacles that get in your way, the less likely something will end the loooonnnnnggggg flight of your best plane...

Record the distance each one goes. If you live in a place that uses standard English measures (inches, feet, yards, etc.) you may want to convert your distances to metric measures (centimeters, meters, etc.) It makes it look more "scientific."

Be careful to write all your information down neatly so that you can read it. You'll use this information later. But it won't do you any good if you don't know which plane did what or can't read your own handwriting.

Paper

Alright...

...let's make the chart!

Label the first column "Number of Folds." Next, label the second column "Throw One," the second "Throw Two" and so on. Once again, make sure it's all neat. The judges will look for that.

In this case, you may want to make a bar graph. It looks more "professional." And graphs are normally easier to read.

Label across the bottom the number of folds of each plane. Along the side, write "1", "2", "3" and so on all the way up to twenty (20) or twenty-five (25.) Add color to distinguish between each type of paper airplane. Here are some examples...

For more info about making charts and graphsclick here.

It's time to tell what you've noticed. Write a report about what you saw.

You should include...

1.What you guessed about the paper airplanes.2.What you did in your paper airplane science fair project.3.Which number of folds did the best.4.If your guess was correct about the number of folds.

Be careful to obey all the school rules for your science fair report. One or two paragraphs for each grade level will do if you weren't given how long it should be. Be detailed as well. But make it neat.

Presentation

Now you get to make the display!

Carefully put three pieces of cardboard together so it looks like this...

If you want more information about how to put together and arrange displays for your paper airplane science fair projectclick here.

You can buy displays at many retail stores as well. However you do it, make sure you follow science fair rules!

Now, on a piece of paperneatlywrite your important question and your guess. If you would like, type it. You might get style points!

Now, just like you did your important question, write (or type) your supply list on a separate piece of paper.

Paste your guess, supply list and report onto your display board along with any pictures you might have taken. Make sure you label each so the judges know what is what. Making sure everything looks good is important!

If you want to get some ideas for your display we have some examples for you. Justclick here for examples of displays and other helpful hints to make your project shine!

Try playing with some of the display ideas you see. You don't have to use the exact ones we use. Make them fun! Be creative!

And don't forget to name your project at the top of the display board. It's best to use your important question as the title. You may want to purchase stencils to make cutouts of letters. Or you may purchase already made letters at many retail stores.

We came up with this paper airplane science fair project so you could have fun and learn at the same time. So...

Whatever you do, have fun!

Documents

Paper Plane