What happens when air is heated?

An Experiment

(A Shared Writing Activity)

Ms. Ezzell got a small tub of hot water. Courtland put a balloon over the top of a drink bottle. When Ms. Ezzell put the drink bottle in the hot water, the balloon got bigger. This is because the air inside the balloon expanded when it got warmer. That means it spread out. When it was warmed, the air rose. It became lighter than the cold air around it. This is how a hot air balloon flies.

Experiment is from: How Things Work, Planes, Gliders, Helicopters, and other Flying Machines, Kingfisher Books

Soaring Cylinders

By Brittany, Zakki, Lan, Keneisha, and Julian

We made soaring cylinders. We got a piece of paper and we colored it. We measured two inches down from the top. We folded the paper four times. After that, we rolled in on the table to make it curved. Next, we rolled them into soaring cylinders. We taped them together. We had to be scientists to see what made them go up and come down.

We went outside to fly the soaring cylinders. We threw them up and lift lifted them up and made them go high in the air. Gravity made them come back down. When the wind was facing towards our back, they flew higher.

Reading/Research: LA 2.1.b Composition: LA 1.1.a Forces: SC 2.2.c

*This activity is from the AIMS (Activities Integrating Math and Science) Newsletter, Volume VII, No. 1, July/August, 1992. For more information about the AIMS Education Foundation, click here.

We made parachutes...

We brought plastic grocery bags and pieces of fabric from home. We recycled these items into parachutes. Here's how:

We cut an eight inch square.

We cut four lengths of 12-inch string.

We weighted the parachutes with small objects

How do airplanes fly?
Thrust	Lift
Thrust pushes the plane forward. A plane's thrust is provided by its engines. It is a pushing force that drives something forward or upward.	Lift is how flight is born. When there is enough lift, flight is created. Air must move over the airfoil. Curved wings create smoother flying. Airfoil is the shape of the wing. The air moving over the wing moves fast. The air under goes slower and air pressure pushes the plane up.

Drag	Gravity
Drag is the force of air pulling against the plane is it moves forward through the sky. Drag is the force that slows things down.	Gravity pulls things down. It pulls the plane down to the ground. The plane's thrust must be stronger than gravity to create lift.

SC 2.2.c

What happens when air is heated?

An Experiment

(A Shared Writing Activity)

Soaring Cylinders

By Brittany, Zakki, Lan, Keneisha, and Julian

We went outside to fly the soaring cylinders. We threw them up and lift lifted them up and made them go high in the air. Gravity made them come back down. When the wind was facing towards our back, they flew higher.

We made parachutes...

We cut an eight inch square.

We cut four lengths of 12-inch string.

We weighted the parachutes with small objects

How do airplanes fly?

Thrust

Lift

Thrust pushes the plane forward. A plane's thrust is provided by its engines. It is a pushing force that drives something forward or upward.

Lift is how flight is born. When there is enough lift, flight is created. Air must move over the airfoil. Curved wings create smoother flying. Airfoil is the shape of the wing. The air moving over the wing moves fast. The air under goes slower and air pressure pushes the plane up.

Drag

Gravity

Drag is the force of air pulling against the plane is it moves forward through the sky. Drag is the force that slows things down.

Gravity pulls things down. It pulls the plane down to the ground. The plane's thrust must be stronger than gravity to create lift.