Aviation Stations!

In this lab, you will participate in a series of stations to help you learn more about air pressure, gravity, aviation, and flight.  It is important that you work hard at each station and complete quality work!  Many of the stations are fun and hands-on, so appropriate behavior is important, too.  Use the directions and resources for each station that are listed below.  If you have questions, be sure to ask Mrs. Clark.  Have fun and work hard!

Station #1 - Vocabulary

1.  Look up the vocabulary words listed in your lab book in Discovery Education's Interactive Glossary or on the NASA Quest web page.  Read the definitions and use Discovery Education's interactive glossary to view animations, images, or other videos.  It is important that you understand these basic vocabulary words so you'll be able to contribute to our in-class discussions. 

Station #2 - Reading Passages & Flight Books

1.  You will be reading the two articles below.  You may read by yourself, with a partner, or as a group.

2.  Follow the directions and complete the interactive reading sheet as you work.

3.  When you are finished, feel free to browse the various library books related to aviation and flight. 
Picture

Station #3 - Videos

Check your lab sheet which will direct you to watching the videos below.  Notice that you will need to fast forward to start your watching in some of the videos -- you will not necessarily watch the entire video.  Answer any questions listed.  If you have time when you are finished, you may watch the videos from which you viewed only one segment in full. 

Station #4 - Hands-On Air Pressure & Gravity Activities

Complete the following hands-on activities to learn more about air pressure and how it relates to flight!

Air on the Go: Watch it Blow

Materials:

  • 1 clean, clear plastic beverage bottle with cap off
  • One paper "wad" approximately 1 cm in diameter

Directions:

1. Hold the bottle approximately a hand’s distance from your
mouth with the bottle flat on its side and the opening pointing
directly at your mouth.

2. Place the small round paper wad on the edge of the inside lip
of the bottle opening.

3. Stand as still as possible and blow into the bottle. (Do not
move your head or the bottle during this process.)

4. Observe what happens to the paper wad.

Note: Your objective is NOT to get the paper into the bottle, but
to observe what happens naturally in the process of this
investigation to the paper.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Why doesn’t the paper go into the bottle?

• If I blow softly, will the paper go in then, and if not, why not?

• Where is the air pressure highest? Where is it lowest?

• What would happen if there was a hole at the opposite end of the bottle?

Background Information

Although air is invisible, it still takes up space and has weight. Under normal
atmospheric conditions, there is a lot of “empty” space between air molecules.  Under high pressure conditions, the air is more dense, and when low pressure conditions exist, the air is less dense. When air moves at great speeds, this also makes the air less dense and results in lower air pressure. A good analogy are cars on a freeway. The faster the cars go, the more space that exists between them. But when their speeds slow, they crowd together.

When you blow into a bottle, air is compressed into a finite space and the air
pressure in the bottle increases. Think about a balloon. When you blow it up,
you trap air inside of it as well. If you let go of the balloon before tying it, the
air rapidly exists it. This is because air moves from areas of high pressure
toward areas of low pressure. The greater the difference in the pressure, the
faster the air will move. The air blown into a bottle is a lot like air blown into a balloon. If it’s not trapped, it will rush out of the bottle toward lower pressure.

Consequently, the paper is pushed out of the bottle instead of into it.

It's All About Gravity!

Materials:

  • Choose two classroom objects of different sizes and mass (make sure they are not breakable!)

Directions:

1.  Mass both of your objects and record the masses on your lab sheet.

2.  Hold both objects at the same height from the ground. 

3.  Let go of both objects at the same time and watch what happens!

Answer the following questions on your lab sheet:

  • Why do you think both objects fall at the same time?

  • What is gravity?

  • Why is gravity important when thinking about aviation and flight?

A Column of Water!

Materials:

  • One container with holes drilled on the side. 
  • Ruler
  • Tape


Directions:

1.  Place tape over each of the holes on the container.

2.  Fill the container with water covering the holes.

3.  On your lab sheet, draw a picture depicting how you think the streams of water might look when you remove the tape.

4.  Carefully remove the tape covering the top hole.  Measure the distance that the water squirts out of the hole. 

5.  Next, carefully remove the tape covering the middle hole.  If necessary, fill up the container with water again.  Measure the distance that the water squirts out of each hole. 

6.  Finally, remove the tape covering the bottom hole.  Measure each of the distances and draw what you notice on your lab sheet.  

7.  Answer the questions on your lab sheet.  

Station #5 - Demonstrations with Mrs. Clark