The Scientific Method: Paper Plane Experiment
WALT follow scientific method in order to collect, analyze, and interpret data on the most effective paper plane design.
This term you will be pairing up with a classmate to build the ultimate (paper) flying machine!
You will research different designs, think about which design will fly the best, build your own paper planes, test your designs, and analyse the results of your very own
scientific experiment!
Scientific Method
1. Hypothesis | Look carefully at the 4 designs of paper plane with your partner. Think, and discuss - what would make them good flyers? Make a prediction; which plane design do you think is going to fly the furthest? |
2. Build + Create | Time to test! Partner #1 is in charge of the instructions. Read them out carefully and Partner #2 will follow them and build your plane. |
3. Variables | Identify the things that are different between each of the planes; shape, size, wing size etc. Make sure your paper plane is thrown the same way; same starting place, same throwing technique. |
4. Experiment | Partner #1 will throw the planes from a fixed starting spot. Partner #2 will then measure how far the plane flew, and record the distances for each flight. |
5. Results | Look at the data from your experiment and answer the questions on your slide. |
Hypothesis
Plane #1
Plane #2
Plane #3
Plane #4
“Raven”
“Hunter”
“Buzz”
“Dart”
Click on each plane to find out more information
Which plane do you think will fly the furthest distance? | What are your reasons for choosing this plane? |
| |
Time to Build
Click on the image for each plane to get to the instructions. One partner reads the instructions and the other partner builds. Swap for each plane.
Measuring
In this table record the distance
that each plane flew
Dart | ______ metres and _______ centimeters |
Buzz | ______ metres and _______ centimeters |
Hunter | ______ metres and _______ centimeters |
Raven | ______ metres and _______ centimeters |
Results
Which paper plane model flew the furthest distance? (Insert a picture in the yellow circle) | Raven |
Which paper plane model flew the least distance? | Dart |
Was your original hypothesis correct? | No |
What could you do differently to achieve better results from your planes? | We can make the paper plane shaper. We can practice how to throw it |
Compare your results with another pair. Did they get the same result? | No, because their paper plan went further/least. |