Science Projects With a Rubber-Band Airplane

Airplane science projects inspire great discussions about energy that powers airplanes.

Science projects are a great way to reinforce material taught in class, helping students obtain a greater appreciation for science class and connect science to real life. Science projects using rubber-band airplanes are a particularly ingenious way to get students to think about principles of physics, while playing with a fun toy.

Constructing and Flying a Rubber-Band Airplane

Have students construct simple rubber-band airplanes. They should cut the shape of a plane out of Styrofoam, then use a dull pencil tip to score the top of the plane stabilizers. Students should fold the plane stabilizers so they are at 90 degrees to the rest of the plane body, then glue a bendable straw to the bottom of the airplane so that it extends 3/4 inch past the front of the plane. They can fly their airplanes by hooking a rubber band around the bendable straw, pulling back on the tail, and letting their plane go. Tell students to experiment with flying their rubber-band airplanes using rubber bands of different thicknesses and lengths, but pulling on the tail with the same amount of force and aiming their airplanes in the same direction. Ask them what difference different kinds of rubber bands make, in how far the plane travels.

Weighty Rubber-Band Airplane

Have students add weight to different parts of the rubber-band airplane that they built. For instance, they could tape a nail to the nose of the plane, to either of the wings or to the plane stabilizers. They should fly the plane at each point. They should also experiment with balancing weights on the plane (for instance, attaching a nail to both wings of the plane, or to the nose and the tail). Ask them to take notes on how adding weight to different parts of the plane makes an impact on the flight of the plane.

Optimizing Airplane Properties

Have students experiment with making airplanes similar to the rubber-band version in a quest to find the optimum material from which to comprise their airplanes. They can experiment with paper, newspaper, cardboard and, with parental supervision, other materials, such as wood. They should use the same amount of force, with the same rubber band, to power the movement of their airplane, and determine which airplane is capable of traveling farthest. Ask them to explain their findings to the class in terms of the drag force, the force that opposes an airplane's movement in the air.

Kinetic Energy and Potential Energy

Explain to the students that by stretching the rubber band back before they fly their airplanes, they are creating potential energy. When they let go of the rubber band, the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, or the energy of movement. Therefore, if they stretch the same rubber band to varying degrees, they create different amounts of potential energy. A rubber band that is hardly stretched can create only limited potential energy. One that is stretched to the maximum has maximum potential energy. This gets converted into a relatively large amount of kinetic energy that enables the airplane to travel a relatively long distance. Have students test and quantify this phenomenon by stretching the same rubber band to varying lengths, which they should measure, and by measuring the distance that the airplane subsequently travels. Ask them to explain how kinetic and potential energy work for real airplanes.

References

• Disney: Foam Flyers