Objective
To test and conclude the best designs for paper airplanes with respect to flight time, distance, and accuracy.
There are numerous designs of paper airplanes. Each design is unique and alters the plane's flight. Some are made for distance, others for flight time, and some for accuracy. We will test these different models to see what planes are really the best.
- Several pieces of 8 1/2" x 11" paper
- Scissors
- Hula hoop
- String
- Stopwatch
- Measuring tape
Safety Note:
Be aware of others around you when you are throwing these airplanes. Some designs have a sharp nose and can fly very fast.
Hypothesis
When you have all of your plane choices, guess which design will fly the farthest, for the longest time, and with the most accuracy.
Method
- Make all of the paper airplanes that you plan on using
- In an open area with plenty of room to fly, throw all of the planes and record the distance that they flew. Repeat this until you have 10 trials for each plane.
- After you have finished with the distance, get your stopwatch for timed flight.
- Hold the stopwatch in one hand and the paper airplane in the other hand. Start the timer as you release the airplane from your other hand. Stop the timer as the plane hits the ground. Record the times and repeat until you have 10 trials for each plane.
- For the accuracy portion of the experiment, tie one end of the string to the hula hoop and the other end to something to hang from (basketball hoop, tree branch, etc.)
- Stand about 15-20 feet away from the hanging hula hoop.
- For each plane, throw it 50 times to try to get it to fly through the hula hoop. Record the number of tims that each plane successfully makes it through the hula hoop.
- Try different throwing techniques during each procedure to find the best way to throw each plane for each aspect you are going for (ex: try throwing fast, slow, throw with some angle, etc.).
Results
For the first and second parts of the procedure, average out the distances and times for each plane. Make three graphs: one with the distances for each plane, one for the times of each plane, and one for the number of times that each plane made it through the hula hoop. How do the results for each plane compare? Any exceptionally good or bad planes? Was your hypothesis correct? Why do you think the best planes performed as well as they did?
