Wow Airplanes

Here’s the project: make a set of paper airplanes, but start with different sized sheets of paper, so that the ratio of wingspan to airplane length is different in each case.

Subject: Mathematics; Science
Topics:
- Ratios
- The Nature of Science (Experimental Procedure)
Grades: 5 - 8
Concepts:
- Ratio
- Angle
- Average (mean), range, mode, and median
- Experimental error
Knowledge and Skills:
- Understands and can use three methods of expressing a ratio ("2 to 3", "2:3", "2/3")
- Can describe a real world situation in terms of ratios
- Can perform binary operations with decimal numbers
- Understands the purpose and value of organizing information in charts
- Can find the mean, median, mode and range of a set of numbers
- Can decide which statistical measure is most appropriate in a given situation.
- Can create a chart for the collection of experimental results
- Can present experimental results clearly in written form.
- Can design an experiment which compares behavior or characteristics of classes of objects or subjects

Download Activity: Wow Airplanes (PDF)

Hands-On Math Movie:

Flights of ImaginationFlights of Imagination

With human-powered flight, the fastest solar powered car at the first World Solar Challenge race, the electric car prototype that became GM's EV1, and numerous other feats of engineering and innovation to his credit, visionary Paul MacCready was one of the truly great engineers of the 20th Century.
Running time 3:07 minutes.

Watch the Movie