challenge day analysis january 12, 2016 - stao · worksheet a: investigation: factors affecting...

WorksheetA:Investigation:

FactorsAffectingRangeofaProjectile

Hypothesis

Inthissection,Iwillbedoinganinvestigationoffactorsthatwillaffecttherangeofaprojectile.ThisknowledgewillhelpmeunderstandwhatIhavetodoinordertocreateasuccessfulflightwithmygliderinthefinalpresentation.

Hypotheses:IwillbehypothesizingvariablesofprojectilemotionfrompreviousknowledgethatI’vegainedinclass.

WorksheetB:WingShapesandFunctions

Inthissection,Iwillbedoingaresearch-basedinvestigationofwingshapesandhowtheycontributetotheobject’smovementintheair.[WorksheetB]

Sinceitsinvention,thewingsofanairplanehavegonethroughmanydifferentdesignsinordertohaveagreatliftefficiency.Thewingsofanairplanemustbefunctionaltoitsuses,inwhichoneoftheusesistoallowtheaircraftitselftobelifterupwards.Therearemanydifferentaspectstothemodelthatcanbevariedtochangetheefficiencyofitslift.

1. Howangleofattackhaveaneffectontheliftofaplane:

ThefirstvariablethatIwillinvestigate/researchthroughishowangleofattackofthewingswouldaffecttheairplane’slift.Angleofattackreferstohowsteepthewingsareinrelationtothewindgoingtheoppositedirectiontotheplane’smovement.Startingfrom0˚,theairplanecanbeliftedupwardsastheangleofattackisincreased.Thisistrueuntilitreachesitslimit.Ataround10˚andup,theairinfrontofthewingswillcirculateinamotionthatwillnothelptheplanetobeliftedup;thewingsactasbarrierthatwillhindertheplane’smovementasopposedtothehelpfulliftthatcanbeachievediftheangleofthewingsaresetfrom0˚-10˚.

2. Howthicknessofwingshaveaneffectontheliftofaplane:

Oneoftheotherfactorsofthewingsthatwouldaltertheliftofanairplaneisthethicknessofthewingsthemselves.FromtheresearchthatIhaveperformed,Ithenunderstoodthatasthethicknessofthewingsdecrease,itwouldalsocreateadecreasedamountofliftfortheairplane;however,onemustalsoknowthatthefronttipsofthewingswouldalsogiveaneffecttotheairplane’slift.Inordertoincreaselift,itwouldbehelpfultothinoutthetip.Thiswouldworkbestbecausewhenthewingsarethickenedupforagreaterlift,thetipshouldn’tbethicktooorelsetheywouldactasabarrierthatwon’tlettheairthey’rehittingtopasseasily,whichwouldhindertheairplaneback.

3. Howcurvinessofwingshaveaneffectontheliftofaplane:

Anothervariablethatwouldaffectanairplane’sliftisthecurvatureofthewings.Thiscanalsobecalled:alterationofthecamber(measureofhowlongthedistancebetweenminimumpointtomaximumpointofthewings).Researchhasprovedthatanairplaneisabletogainmoreliftasthecamberisincreased,evenwhenothervariablesstayconstantattheirminimum.

4. Howspeedhaveaneffectontheliftofaplane:

Theliftthatanairplanecouldgetduringitsflightdoesn’tcomeonlyfromthedesign/structureofthewings;naturealsoplaysabigpartofthegain/lossoflift.Oneaspectoftheenvironmentthatoneshouldconsideristheairspeed,whichreferstohowfastthewingmovesthroughtheairsurroundingthem.Itisafactthatinthecasewheretheairspeedisincreasedtoahighervalue,itwillresultintheincreaseoftheairplane’slift.

5. Howaltitudehaveaneffectontheliftofaplane:

Thealtitudeoftheplane’sflightisanothervariablethatoccursnaturallythatwouldalsoaffecttheamountofliftgeneratedbytheplane.Asaplaneincreasesthealtitudeofitsflightfromtheground,theefficiencyofliftwillbedecreased.Thiswouldmeanthattheamountofliftgeneratedbytheplanewouldbelessthanwhenitisinapositionclosertotheground.Ibelievethiswouldhappensincetheamountofpotentialgravitationalenergy(Eg)increasesastheplanereachesagreateraltitude,andwouldrequirealargeramountofenergyoflifttogoagainstEgandbeliftedup.

6. Howmucheffectthicknessofairfoilhasonanairplane’slift:

AsIhavementionedbefore,thicknessisoneofthevariablesthatwouldgiveaneffecttotheamountofliftanairplanewouldgenerate.Whentheairfoilofanaircraftismentioned,theyarereferringtothegeneralshapeofthewings.Whenitisthickened,itisalsoknownasincreasingtheairfoilcamber.Onehastokeepinmindthatthecamberiscalculatedbyreferringthethicknesstothewinginrelationtothelongeststraightlineofthewing.Itistruethatasthewings’thicknessdecreasessowilltheamountofliftgenerated;furthermore,themainfunctionoftheseairfoilcambersistoincreasetheamountofliftgeneratedbytheplane.Thisshowsthatalteringtheairfoilcamberwouldcauseagreatamountofchangetoaplane’slift.

7. Howanegativeairfoilcambervaluehasaneffecttotheliftoftheplane:

Notonlycanitbeincreased,thewings’airfoilcambercanalsobedecreased.Thiswillresultinaconcaveshapeonthewing,creatingafeaturethatiscallednegativeairfoilcamber.Whenthisvariableissettoanegativevalue,itwillstillaffecttheliftofanairplanebycreatinganegativelifttotheplane.Anegativeliftindicatesthatitgoesdownwardsinsteadofupwards(aswewantitforthisparticularproject’spurpose)whichcouldbehelpfulifitwasusedastheplaneislanding.

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WorksheetC:FreeBodyDiagram

Practice

1.Abookisatrestonatabletop.Diagramtheforcesactingonthebook.

2.Agirlissuspendedmotionlessfromtheceilingbytworopes.Diagramtheforcesactingonthecombinationofgirlandbar.

tu

3.Aneggisfree-fallingfromanestinatree.Neglectairresistance.

4.Aflyingsquirrelisgliding(nowingflaps)fromatreetothegroundatconstantvelocity.Considerairresistance.Diagramtheforcesactingonthesquirrel.

5.Arightwardforceisappliedtoabookinordertomoveitacrossadeskwitharightwardacceleration.Considerfrictionalforces.Neglectairresistance.Diagramtheforcesactingonthebook.

6.Arightwardforceisappliedtoabookinordertomoveitacrossadeskatconstantvelocity.Considerfrictionalforces.Neglectairresistance.Diagramtheforcesactingonthebook.

7.Acollegestudentrestsabackpackuponhisshoulder.Thepackissuspendedmotionlessbyonestrapfromoneshoulder.Diagramtheverticalforcesactingonthebackpack.

8.Askydiverisdescendingwithaconstantvelocity.Considerairresistance.Diagramtheforcesactingupontheskydiver.

9.Aforceisappliedtotherighttodragasledacrosslooselypackedsnowwitharightwardacceleration.Diagramtheforcesactinguponthesled.

10.Afootballismovingupwardstowardsitspeakafterhavingbeenbootedbythepunter.Diagramtheforcesactinguponthefootballasitrisesupwardtowardsitspeak.

11.Acariscoastingtotherightandslowingdown.Diagramtheforcesactinguponthecar.

Visuals

FBDoftheglider

Pre-Buildplans

Knowledge/Understanding

Howwillinitialvelocityaffecttherangeofaprojectile?

Therangeofaprojectilewillbevarieddependingonmanydifferentaspectsoftheexperimentaldiversityofeachtrial.Idobelievethatinitialvelocity(Vi)isoneoftheaspectsthatwillaffecttherangeofaprojectile.Frommypriorknowledgeofobjects’motioninair,Ihaveseveralhypothesesofwhyinitialvelocitymaygreatlyaffecttherangeofaparticularobject’smotion.IfΔtiskeptconstant,therangeoftheprojectilemotionwillbelargerifoneincreasesVioftheobject,assumingthattheinitialvelocityaffectsthehorizontalvelocity.

Howwilllaunchangleaffecttherangeofaprojectile? AsIhavepreviouslymentioned,therearemorethan

oneaspecttochangeinordertohavevaryingtherangeofaprojectile.Frommypriorknowledgeofprojectilemotion,itisclearthatchangingthelaunchangleofanobjectabouttogothroughprojectilemotionwillaffectitshorizontalrange.Alteringtheinitialanglewillalsoaltertheinitialvelocitiesforbothvertical(Viy)andhorizontal(Vix)displacement.IfVixiskeptconstant,increasingtheΔtthattheobjectisintheaircanincreasetherangeoftheprojectilemotion.OneofthewaystoincreaseΔtofwhentheobjectinintheairistochangetheViywhichistieduptochangingtheobject’sinitiallaunchangle.TherewouldbealimittohowmuchViyshouldbebeforeitdecreesestheprojectile’srangeinsteadofincreasingit.

Howwillmassaffecttherangeofaprojectile?

Massisalsooneoftheaspectsthatcouldchangetheobject’srangeofaprojectile.Ihaveenoughpriorknowledgetomakethishypothesisabouthowalteringtheobject’smasswillalsoaffectitsprojectilemotionsandexplainhowmypredictionsmakesenseintermsofthelawsofphysics.Sincethetimeduration(Δt)forverticalandhorizontaldisplacementarealwaysthesame,evenifonlyoneisalteredthentheotherwillalsobeaffected.Whenthemassofanobjectisincreased,itwilldirectlyaffecttheobject’sinitialEg,whichinturnwillalsoincreasethepositiveaccelerationtowardstheground.ThiswillcreateshorterΔtfortheverticaldisplacement,andwillalsoshortentheΔtofhorizontaldisplacement.TherangeofthehorizontalmovementwillbereducedwhenthehorizontaldisplacementpossessesalowerΔtandaconstantvelocityasbefore,.

Howwillairresistanceaffecttherangeofaprojectile? Knowingtheeffectsthatairresistancehaveonfree-

fallingobjects,thiswillhelpmeunderstandhowairresistancecouldalsoaffecttherangeofaprojectilemotion.Airresistanceisatypeofforcethatwilloccurnaturallywhenanobjectisunderatypeofmotioninair;onecandescribeitas‘frictioninair’becausethedirectionofairresistanceisoppositetothatofthemovingobject.Whentheforceofairresistancetakesaneffectonanobject,itcancelsoutasmuchFgaspossiblesoΔtoftheobject’sverticaldisplacementwillbelengthened.I’vestatedabovethatΔtoftheverticalandhorizontaldisplacementwillalwaysbethesame,soiftheΔtoftheverticaldisplacementislengthenedandcausetheΔtofhorizontaldisplacementtoalsobeexpanded,itwillgiveachancefortheobjecttocoveradditionalhorizontalΔd.

Measurements:Followingthoroughresearchofhandmadegliderdesigns,Idecidedtoaddsomeelementsofagliderthatcouldhavealargehorizontalrange.Forthis,Idecidedtomakethewingsthelargestcomponentofthe3partsIproposed:Thebody,thewings,andthetailairfoil.Imadesurethesizewasn'ttoosmallthatitwouldn'tbeabletoglide5mortoobigthatthelongerpartswouldbepronetodamage.ItriedtokeepithandheldsoIdecidedthatthebodyshouldbeabitshorterthana30cmrulerandthewingsshouldbelongerthana30cmrulersinceIhavealreadydecidedthatthewingswouldbethelongestcomponent.Asforthetailairfoil,Ididn'twantittobelongerthanhalfofthebodybecauseIdidn'twantittoacttoomuchlikethewing.

Materials:GivenwhatIknowaboutprojectilemotionfromclassandpersonalresearch,Itriedtousematerialsthatwouldhelpincreaseitslift.Sincemasshasagreateffectonlift,IdecidedthatIshouldusealightmaterialthatIwouldbeabletocutintoshapeandisreadilyavailablesuchasfoamcore.Ifeltlikefoam-corewasagreatoptionsinceit'sabletobecutandholditsshapewhilebeinglight-weightenoughtonotcreatealargeamountofFg.Iwillalsotrytouseleftoverclumpsofthefoamcoretouseasweightonthefrontsothegliderwouldstillbelightenoughtonotcausetoomuchairresistance.

Construction:Astepthatshouldbedoneprecedenttotheactualbuildingisaninvestigationofhowonemustgoaroundtobuildingit;therefore,Ivisualizedmethodsforbuildingthefinalglider.ImadesurethatIwasabletosmoothlycutfoamcoreandflattenthetipsoftheairfoilsthatwouldbeattackingtheairdirectlyinfrontofthem.OnceImadesurethesewerepossibletobedone,IthoughtthatIwassuretocontinueontothenextstep.

Pre-buildPlanning:BeforeevenstartingtophysicallybuildthegliderthatIwassupposedtopresenttotheclasswithaBANG!,Imadesuretohavethebasicsplannedoutintheformofadrawingalongwiththesize,materials,andconsiderthestepsuponconstructingtheglider.Ihavetomakesuretoincludemyknowledgeofphysicslawsandhowaerodynamicsapplytogliders(WorksheetB)tomakeagliderthat'ssupposedlyglidewellasthenameimplies.

Reflection:Afterinvestingusingtheonlineappletandseehowprojectilemotionworksincalculationmethod(asopposedtoexperimental),Ireflectedonthefactsandseehowthatmayhelpmebuildagliderthatworkswell.

Followingathoroughinvestigationusingtheonlineappletgiven,Iwasthenabletoconfirmwhethermyhypothesesregardingthecausesofaprojectilemotion’srangewerecorrectornot.Icheckedusingthesamesettingswithonlyonedifferentvariableeachtest.

Istartedoutbytestingwiththeappletusinginitialvelocityasthevariableandkeptthevalueofotheraspectsconstantforeverytest.Itappearedthatasyoualtertheinitialvelocity,therangeoftheprojectilemotionwouldalsoincrease.Thefactthattherangemayincreaseasyoualterthevelocitytohaveahighervalueprovesthatmyhypotheseswascorrect.ThisalsotellsmethatVicangiveaneffecttoaprojectilemotionbyincreasingtherangeasitsownvalueincreased.ThisissobecausealargervalueofViallowsanobjecttogothroughlargerdistanceinthesameamountoftimewithanobjectwiththesamemassandΔtbutalowerVi.

Followingupthisstep,Ireturnedtheinitialvelocitytotheoriginalvalueandmakeitbecomeaconstantvalueliketheothers.Thiswillallowmetomakeanothervaluebethevariable,IchoselaunchangleandcompareandcontrastittothehypothesisImadebeforehand.AsIfinishedtestingitout,IrememberedthatI’veobservedmotionsthatweresimilartowhatIpredicted.Thechangeoflaunchangledoesdeterminetherangeofaprojectilemotion,butithasboundaries.Asthelaunchangleisincreasedfrom0˚,theobjectisabletobeinairforalongerperiodoftimeandcausesalargerhorizontaldisplacementtobemade.Inmytestsusingtheonlineapplet,thiswasthecaseuntiltheanglehits43º.Following43˚+until90˚,therangedecreasesuntilitreaches0magainlikewhat0˚did.Thisiscausebecauseifthevelocityisconstantbuttheangleisincreased,astheViyincreasestheVixwillbedecreasedinstead,makingtheobjecthavelesspossiblehorizontaldisplacementinagiventimeperiod.Thefactthataprojectilemotion’srangecanbeincreasedbyincreasingthelaunchangleandhasalimitprovesthatthehypothesisImadebeforehandwascorrect.

Anothervalueofvariablewastobechosenforthenextstep.ThistimeIkepteverythingconstantexceptforthemassoftheobjectthat’sundergoingtheprojectilemotion.Ialsomadesurethtairresistanceisataconstantvalueofzero,meaningthatitisabsentfortheseparticularexperiments.Irealizedthatnomatterwhatthemassis,therangeoftheprojectilewouldbeconstantaslongastheotheraspectsofvariablesarekeptthesame.Thiscontradictsmyhypothesis,sonowIknowthatmassitself(notcountingairresistance)wouldnotaffecttherangeoftheprojectilesincetheforceofgravityiskeptataconstantof~9.8m/sbynature.

Iconcludedthetestingperiodbyusingairresistanceasthevariableforthissetoftests.LikethetestsI’vementionedabove,Ikepttherestoftheaspectsoftheprojectilemotionconstant.Airresistanceisconnectedtomass,soIhadtokeepthatinmindtounderstandmoreaboutprojectilemotion.FirstIcomparedtheprojectilemotionwiththeabsenceofairresistancetoonethatincludedairresistanceinit.Iknowthatairresistancewillnaturallyoccurinreallife,soIkeptaneyefortheonethatincludedtheairresistancefactor.AsIhavehypothesizedinthefirstsectionofthisworksheet,thepresenceofairresistancereducedtherangeoftheprojectilemotion.Airresistanceisatypeofforceandsinceitactsinanoppositedirectionoftheobjectundergoingprojectilemotion,theobjectwillhaveashorterrangeastheforceofairresistancegetsstronger.ThisalltiesbacktomassduetothefactthatFairresistancegetsstrongerastheobjectpossessmoremassasIhavetestedinthesimulator.Masswillonlyaffectthelengthofaprojectilemotion’srangeifairresistanceispresent,tdoesnotaffectitdirectlybyitself.

Describehowyouwillusetheresultsofthisinvestigationtohelpdesignyourglider.

Theresultsfromthisinvestigationfromtheprevioussectionhaveaidedmetogivemeaclearerunderstandingtowardsprojectilemotion,whichwillthenhelpmedesignthegliderIwasrequiredtobuildforthefinaltestattheendofthesemester.NowthatIknowwhatfactorsaffectaprojectilemotion’srangeandhowitworks,Iwillknowhowtomakemydesignwithfactorsthatmakeitsprojectilemotionhaveagreatvalueofrange.FromwhatI’vewrittenonthetestswiththesimulator,thevariablesthatcouldbechangedinordertohavethelargestvalueofhorizontaldisplacementincludealargeenoughinitialvelocity,amediumlaunchangleofaround43˚,andaminimumamountofairresistancewhichcanbereceivedbydecreasingthemass.

ThefirsttwothingsthatI’vementionedwere:alargeenoughinitialvelocityandamoderate(~43˚)launchangle.Thesecan’tbedecipheredintoadesignoftheglider,soIwillhavetomakesureIdothiswhilepracticingfortheglider’sflights.

Thelasttwothingsonthelistwerethemassandamountofairresistancepresent.FromwhatI’vejustlearnedpreviously,Iknowthatthesetwoareinterlinkedtoeachotherandcannotbecalculatedseparatelysincetheamountofairresistancepresentisdependentonthemassoftheobject(inthiscasemyglider).Tomakesuremyglidercangothroughalargerange,Ishoulddesignitsothatthegliderisn’ttooheavyandcausealargeamountofairresistancetoactuponthegliderwhileitisintheair.Iwillbedesigningusingfoamcoreasthemainmaterialandhaveeachoftheglider’spartonlyhaveonelayerofthematerialinordertohavealightgliderthatcangothroughalargerange.

Post-buildReflection

Thesizesarequitedifferentfromthepreliminarydesignduetomateriallimitationsandhumanerror.

Materials:Untiltheend,Istuckwithmyoriginalplanofusingfoamcore,itwasdurableenoughtoholditsshapedespitebeingalightenoughmaterial.Fortheweightthatwasaddedtothefrontoftheglider,Idecidedtousetwowatchbatteriesforthefinalcopyaftertestingthegliderwithmultipledifferentweights.SinceIhadtwoofthemIwasabletostickthemusingcellotape,oneoneithersideoftheglidertokeepitsbalance.Ichangeditfrommyoriginalplanofusingclumpsoffoamcorebecausethebatterieswereworkingbetterasweight,thefoamcoreclumpsweretoolight.WhenIusedthefoamcoreclumpsthegliderflippedandthenosewasupintheairbecauseitwasthelightestpartoftheglider,indicatingtheneedofmaterialchangefortheweight.

Procedure:SinceIknewtheshape,parts,andsizeofthegliderIwasmakingIwentonanddrewthetemplateonthefoamcoredirectlyandcutouttheshapesandholesusingaprecisioncuttingtool.OnceIhadallthreepartscuteoutIflattenthefrontpartsofeachairfoiltoincreaseliftliketheinformationIwasabletogetonairfoils.BeforeputtingallthepartstogetherItapedonewatchbatteryoneithersideofthegliderbody'snoseastheweight.Oncethatwasdone,allIhadtodowastomarkthemid-waypointofeachairfoilandstickthewings/tailairfoilintotheholesIhadcutoutonthebody.Onceit'sallset,IfoldedthewingsupwardsfromthebodybecauseIrealizedthiswasabletogivetheglidermorerangeasitglides.

ChallengeDayAnalysisJanuary12,2016

Asaclass,wehaveagreedtoamass-testingonTuesday,January12th2016.Therewereatotal

of

12groups.

Observations/ResultsIherebyapologizeforanymistakes ofthegroupmembers' namesandclassification.

Emily,Shirley,Jun

Yara

Jiaxin,Fanny,Rui,Guanyi

Mashaal

Samira

Anson,Tahmina

Saadia

Natasya(Self-Evaluation)

Arbab,Sharukh

Khalid,Rafay

Khusanbek,Tasin,Kevin

Tim,Krishna,Fatari,Omid

Thefirsttwoflightswereabletoshowhowthegliderwasabletoglidesmoothlythroughtheairfor>7mwithoutslantingtothesides.Thethirdflightwereoffby>30cmtotheside,showingthatthelaunchofthegliderisaveryimportantaspectofitsrange.Thefirsttwoflightswerealreadyenoughtoshowhowwell-constructedandthoughtupitwas.

Atfirstsight,thegliderseemedverysmall,light,anddelicatebutitwasabletoglidepastthe5mmarksandmakeitswaytogointothe6mrange.Iwaslatertoldbythecreatorherselfthatitwasmadeoutofstyrofoamandastraw.Masswouldincreaseairresistancewhichinturnwillcreatedragandshortentherange,soitwaswellthought-outthattheglider'sfinaldesignwaslightenough.

Thegliderthatthisgroupmanagedtomakewasclearlylargerthanmost,italsolookedprettythick.Wingthicknesscouldbeagoodthingsinceitcanincreaselift.Thegliderwasabletosucceeditstwotestsandfor-funflightcompetitionattheend.Itwasasuccessfulglider,IwastoldbyoneofthemembersthatitwasmadebyfoamcoresoIknowitwasstilllighteventhoughitwashuge.Thiswasabletoletthemmakeagliderthatcouldglideover10m.

Iwasabletotalktothecreatorofthisglider,shewasabletousebalsawoodandsupergluetoconstructherglider.Itwasverylightandfeltdelicate,butitwasabletogoasfaras~8m.Itslightnesswasabletoglidesmoothlywithoutalotofairresistance.

Thisgroup'sgliderlookedbulkyandheavy,butitwasabletoglide5m.Ithinkthatinsideallthatvoluminousbodyitwasactuallyair,soitwasn'tthatheavy.Thenoseofitkepthittingthegroundfirst,soitmightbethatthefrontweightisabittoomuchandcouldbetakenabit.Ithadaninterestingdesignforaglider,thewingswereapparentlybigenoughtosupportitsalreadylargebody.

Thisgroup'sgliderhadaverydistinctwingformfromtherestofourclass,sinceitwastheonlyonewhohaddeltawings.Itlookedlightatfirstsight,sincethewingsweremadeoftissuepaper.Ireallylikedtheirideaofusingplaydohasweightbecausetheycaneasilyadjustthem.Itlookedlightandquitedifferentfromtherestoftheclass,butitwasabletoglide~7mduringtestandover10mintheirprevioustests(Iwastoldbythemembers)andinthelittleclasscontestthatmanypeopleparticipatedinforfun.Itseemedthatsomegroupsmentionedhowtheywereabletogetbetterresultsinthecompetitionduetothelackofpressure,itwasfuntowatchandseeothers'reactions.

Thiswasanothergroupthathadaprettylarge-in-volumeglider.Theywereabletousebalsawoodastheirmainmaterialandstillkeepthemintactforalargeglider.Theywereabletogopast5mbutabitoffinaccuracy,whichIthinkwasthecauseofconstruction.Itwaslargeenoughbutitwaswell-thoughtthattheystillmanagedtomakeitlightenoughfortheglidertobeabletoglide.Itmightbeabittoolightasitkeptliftinguptotheceiling.

Thisgliderwasmadeoutofallcardboard,whichIfindinterestingbecausetheyusedextracardbordbitsasweight.SinceItrieddoingthesamewithfoamcore,Iwasinterestedhowitwouldworkinthisglider.Thegliderwasabletoglidefartherthan5m,sotheweightworkedwellandwasn'ttoolightthatwouldflipthegliderupside-down.TherewerealsotwostringsattachedtothewingsthatIthinkaresupposedtorepresenttheoutlineofadeltawingsuchasAnson&Tahmina'sglider.

Self-Reflection:Lookingbackatmyglider'sdesignandperformance,IwasabletoreflectitssuccessesandfailuresIshouldconsiderinordertounderstandmoreaboutaerodynamicsandhowIcould'vemadeitbetter.Mygliderwasn'tabletogopast5minthefinaltestingforbothtries,soIknowtherewereflawsthatshould'vebeenfixed.Thebalanceofthegliderwasoffbecauseitwasn'tabletogoinastraightline,soIshould'vekeptitinplaceinsteadofmakingdetachablepartsthatIquicklyputtogetherrightbeforethetesting.Ialsohaveafeelingthatthewatchbatteriesweretoolight,theorientationofthegliderwhileitwasglidingwasnotstable.AnothersourceoferrorIthinkIdidhorriblywasmyshakylaunching.IwasawareofhowinconsistentmylaunchescanbeasexplainedinmyFlightTestLogfollow-up.Despiteallthesefailures,IdothinkthatitwasactuallyquitesuccessfulbecauseIactuallybuiltsomethingthatcouldglideinaway.

Iwasimpressedbythisteam'ssuccessfulglider,thevisualswerealsogreatbutthereweresomeunbalancesthatmadetheflightpathnotsostraight,Ithinkthatitwasthecauseofhumanerrorinbuilding.Ifeellikechangesshouldbemadeaftereachtestuntilflightsareconsistent.

Thisgroup'swasalsooneofthelargerglidersinmyopinion.Theirflightswerestraightatsometimes,soweknowthattheglider'sdesignitselfisabletomaintainastraightpath-itmightbethelaunchingthatmadeitslanttotheside.Itwasabletogostraightbutnottoofarawayfromthe5mline,itmightbetooheavybutitwaswell-constructedoverall.

FlightTestLog

Thisgroupwassuccessfullyabletomakeagliderthatglides>5mwithoutitslantingtoomuch,thoughIfIrecallcorrectly,thereweresomeimbalancesthatmight'vebeentohumanerrorwhilephysicallybuildingit.Theglideritselflookedprettysturdyinmyownopinion.

Observations/ResultsPriortothefinaltesting,IhadtomakesurethatthegliderthatIhavedesignedandconstructedwas

functional.

Duringmypersonalglidetests,Iknewthatmygliderwasquiteinconsistentinaway,withthefactthatmyflightskeptturningtotheleftsidewhilemysisterkeptmakingthegliderflytotherightside.Ikeptadjustingthewingsandtriedtokeepitconsistent,butIwasabletogetfrom4m-6mrange.Itneverwentpastthe6mmarkbutIwasabletogopastthegoal,5m,andsincethatgoalwasachievedItriedtomakemyglider'sflightsgostraight.Ihavetried3differentwingsofsimilarshapebutmyflightskeptgoingtotheleft.Itriedtobalanceitsincethewingsandtailairfoilwereadjustable,butIdidn'tknowexactlywhatwasmakingittotheleft.Whenmysistertried,shekeptmakingthegliderglidetothelefteventhoughshedidn'tadjustthewingsandkeptitthesameasmine.ThistoldmethattherewassomethingwrongwiththewayIthrewit,andIknewmygliderwasfarfromperfect.Beforethiserrortest,Itriedtomakeitgopastthe5mrangeandwasabletowhenIbentthewingssothatitgoesupwardfromthewingmidpoint.

Thefinalflighttests(2tries)atschoolwasquitedifferentfromathome,butitwasjustasinconsistent.Mythrowmadeitgoslantedandlessthan5m.Itwasabout3.2mandthesecondonewasabout3.1m,withitbeingslantedover6cmfromthemiddleflightline.

Asafollow-upofourunderstandingofgrade11Physicsfromtheknowledgewe’veacquiredfromtherestofthesemester,weweretoconcludeitwithagliderresearch/buildingprojectbeforewrappingitallupwithourfinalexam.Itwasaspot-onchoiceofaculminatingprojectduetothefactthatithadtomakeusthinkinawiderrangefrommanydifferentlessonsthatwe’vehadthroughoutthesemester.Wewerethentoapplyallthatintoaprojecttoshowhowwewould’vethink,inquire,andapplyourknowledgeandunderstandingofPhysicsinourlevel.

Asanintroductiontograde11UPhysicscourse,wewerefirstfacedwiththeconceptofscalarandvectormeasurements.Ourstudiesrepeatedandstressedononeparticularvectormeasurement,whichhappenedtobevelocity.Velocityisavectormeasurementthatisusedtodeterminethemagnitudeanddirectionoftherateinwhichanobjectcouldtravelacertaindistancetoaspecificdirection.Weappliedthisknowledgeintoourgliderssincewenowknowhowvelocityplaysabigroleinanymovingobjects.ConsideringthefactthatI’vementionedvelocitywould’veaffectedaprojectilemotioninWorksheetA,weshouldconsiderandthinkthroughthatajust-rightlaunchingvelocitywasimportanttoourprojectsinceitwouldaffectthefinalresults.

Expandingourknowledgeofvelocity,wewerethenintroducedtothemoredetailedconceptofanothervectormeasure,acceleration.Withitbeingavectormeasurementoftherateofchangeofspeedinacertaindirection,itisconsideredrelatedtovelocity.Aswewentontolearnmoreaboutthisconceptmoreintheclass,weunderstoodmoresuchasgravitationalacceleration.Gravityisaone-wayforcefulpulltowardstheearth’scentreandcannotbeavoidedaslongasyou’reinitsfield,soweunderstoodthefactthatitwouldaffectourgliders.Usingourknowledgeofaccelerationwasconsideredquiteimportantinorculminatingactivity.

Wewereabletoextendourunderstandingbyapplyingourknowledgeindifferentproblem-solvingexercisesstartingwithlinearmotionsituationsandmovedonto2Dpathsandexpandedintoprojectilemotionsituations.Beingabletosolvetheseproblemswouldhelpusunderstandhowthegliderwouldbeabletoglide.

Understandingtheconceptsofphysicswouldhelpusnotonlybuild,butthepurposeandhowagliderwouldwork.