SWBAT define the force known as drag.

SWBAT perform their our experiment pertaining to the force known as drag.

 N/A  

A. Warm-up: Excuse Me, What Are You Doing? (5 min) A game where you say one thing but do another. This game is for 4 or more people. To play, you pretend to do an action like washing your hair or drinking tea. The person next to you then asks, "Excuse me, what are you doing?" You have to say something other than what you are really doing.

So if you were pretending to brush your teeth, you could say "I'm eating pizza."

Then that person has to pretend that he's eating pizza and say something different when the next person asks him, "Excuse me, what are you doing?" If a player makes a mistake, he's out. Try to keep it going around the circle and see how fast you can go!

B. Introduction of New Material (10 min) Drag is the force produced by the resistance of the air to the forward motion of an object. Swish hand rapidly side-to-side and you will feel that resistance on your hand.

  C. Practice/Activity (20 min)

1. Cut the index card or stiff paper into 3 separate pieces that measure 1 inch (2.5 cm) by 5 inches (13 cm.)2. Take 2 of the pieces of paper and tape them together into a hoop as shown. Be sure to overlap the pieces about half an inch (1 cm) so that they keep a nice round shape once taped.3. Use the last strip of paper to make a smaller hoop, overlapping the

Lesson Name: The Incredible Hoop Glider!!Program Name: Science Club Date of Lesson: Thursday, November 10Theme or Unit: N/A Corps member name: Cathy, Hannah, Gwen, Noel

Learning Objectives

Learning Standards

Procedure: Overview

edges a bit like before. 4. Tape the paper loops to the ends of the straw as shown below. (notice that the straw is lined up on the inside of the loops)5. That's it! Now hold the straw in the middle with the hoops on top and throw it in the air similar to how you might throw a dart angled slightly up. With some practice you can get it to go farther than many paper airplanes.

This is why it works: Can we really call that a plane? It may look weird, but you will discover it flies surprisingly well. The two sizes of hoops help to keep the straw balanced as it flies. The big hoop creates "drag" (or air resistance) which helps keep the straw level while the smaller hoop in at the front keeps your super hooper from turning off course. Some have asked why the plane does not turn over since the hoops are heavier than the straw. Since objects of different weight generally fall at the same speed, the hoop will keep its "upright" position.

D. Debrief/Reflection (10 min)

- What is the drag? - How did we construct our mini planes/gliders? - Is our experiment similar to how an airplane flies?

 

Grades K-2  

20 Students  

45 min  

Classroom/space where appropriate science experiment can be conducted.  

Regular plastic drinking straws 3” X 5” index card or stiff paper Tape Scissors  

None

Grade/Age Level

Ideal Group Size

Length of Time

Setting + Room Set-Up

Materials

Handouts

None

Facilitate experiments and discussion among students.

None

None

Background/Prerequisites

Role of Team Members/Volunteers

Site Feedback and Comments

Additional