This lesson has students reviewing the force of lift and learning about the Wright Brothers and their testing with kites, and how kites are lifted. Students will experiment with weight and lift causing a homemade box kite to fly.
Science Standards:
4.PS.2: Energy can be transferred from one location to another or can be transformed from one form to another.
5.PS.1: The amount of change in movement of an object is based on the mass of the object and the amount of force exerted.
6.PS.3: There are two categories of energy: kinetic and potential.
6.PS.4: An object's motion can be described by its speed and the direction in which it is moving.
7.PS.3: Energy can be transformed or transferred but is never lost.
7.PS.4: Energy can be transferred through a variety of ways.
8.PS.2: Forces can act to change the motion of objects.
High School Standards:
P.F.1: Newton's laws applied to complex problems.
P.F.5: Air resistance and drag.
PS.FM.2: Forces • Force diagrams • Types of forces (gravity, friction, normal, tension) • Field model for forces at a distance.
PS.FM.3: Dynamics (how forces affect motion) • Objects at rest • Objects moving with constant velocity • Accelerating objects.
STEM Emerging Technology Connections:
Hypersonics: This lesson on kites and lift, offers a valuable introduction to aerodynamic principles relevant to the DoD's "Hypersonics" area. By building and flying kites, students gain a practical understanding of lift, drag, and the factors that influence a kite's stability and flight path—concepts that directly translate to the design of hypersonic vehicles. The activity's emphasis on experimentation, where students can modify their kites and observe the effects, further reinforces the iterative design process used by engineers to optimize the performance of hypersonic systems. Therefore, even though the lesson uses a common object like a kite, it provides a foundation for understanding the complex aerodynamic challenges of achieving controlled flight at hypersonic speeds.