Do bigger hoops make a straw glider fly farther?
- 🙅 Never at faces
My hypothesis
If I change how big the glider's hoops are, then how far the glider flies will ______, because ______.
You fill in the blanks. Think about what a bigger hoop adds besides more air to push on. A guess is a good because: the test finds out.
Change, measure, keep the same
CHANGE
how big the glider's hoops are: Small hoops, Medium hoops, Big hoops
MEASURE
how far the glider flies, in cm
KEEP THE SAME
- the same kind of straw
- paper strips of the same width for every hoop
- the back hoop twice as long a strip as the front
- the same gentle, level throw from the same line
Scientists call the thing you change the independent variable and the thing you measure the dependent variable. The things you keep the same are the controls: if one of them changed too, you wouldn't know which change made the difference. Try each of the 3 levels 3 times.
What you need
- Paper: 2 sheets
- Straws: 3, all the same
- Masking tape, to mark lines
- A tape measure, or a long ruler
- ✂️ Kid scissors
- 🩹 Tape
- 📏 A ruler
Steps
- Cut six strips 3 cm wide: three short ones 6, 9 and 12 cm long, and three long ones 12, 18 and 24 cm.
- Tape the two ends of each strip together to make a hoop.
- Tape the 6 cm hoop to one end of a straw and the 12 cm hoop to the other end: the small glider.
- Make the medium glider from the 9 and 18 cm hoops, and the big glider from the 12 and 24 cm hoops.
- Put a strip of masking tape on the floor as your throwing line.
- Hold the small glider by its straw, small hoop in front, and throw it gently across the room.
- Measure from the line to where it first touched the floor, and write it down.
- Throw it two more times, always from behind the line.
- Throw the medium glider three times and the big glider three times.
- Find the mean for each size and draw a line graph.
Every step is one you can do yourself, with a grown-up nearby. Write each number down straight away, in the table below, so nothing is lost.
Your results table
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Do bigger hoops make a straw glider fly farther?
I changed: Hoop size I measured: how far the glider flies (cm)
| Hoop size | Try 1 (cm) | Try 2 (cm) | Try 3 (cm) | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small hoops | ||||
| Medium hoops | ||||
| Big hoops |
MY GRAPH (a line graph: hoop size along the bottom, cm up the side)
What I noticed: ______________________________________________
From 4th grade, add the tries for each level and divide by how many there were: that's the mean, and it goes in the last column. Then draw a line graph, because the thing you change is a number that goes up.
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Do bigger hoops make a straw glider fly farther?
If I change how big the glider's hoops are, then how far the glider flies will ________________, because _____________________________________________
| I CHANGE | I MEASURE | I KEEP THE SAME |
|---|---|---|
| Hoop size: Small hoops, Medium hoops, Big hoops | how far the glider flies (cm) |
|
What I think will happen, in my own words:
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Do bigger hoops make a straw glider fly farther?
| Date | What I did | What I saw | What I think |
|---|---|---|---|
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Do bigger hoops make a straw glider fly farther?
| Date | What I did | What I saw | What I think |
|---|---|---|---|
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Do bigger hoops make a straw glider fly farther?
| Date | What I did | What I saw | What I think |
|---|---|---|---|
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Do bigger hoops make a straw glider fly farther?
My hypothesis was ☐ right ☐ partly right ☐ not right.
I know because my numbers show:
What surprised me, or what might have gone wrong (7th and up):
Next time I would test:
Idea: Change a second thing: keep the back hoop the same and change only the front hoop, then graph the distance for each front hoop.
Why it works
The hoops work like short wings: air flows through and around them, and they push it down so that the air pushes the glider up. Bigger hoops catch more air, but they are also heavier and drag more. So the farthest glider is often not the biggest, though your throw matters too.
Going further (7th and up): Change a second thing: keep the back hoop the same and change only the front hoop, then graph the distance for each front hoop.
Board layout
- ❓ Question (10 × 8 in): Do bigger hoops make a straw glider fly farther?
- 💭 Hypothesis (10 × 9 in): If I change how big the glider's hoops are, then how far the glider flies will ______, because ______.
- 🧺 Materials (10 × 12 in): 4 things: see your list.
- 🪜 Steps (22 × 9 in): 10 steps, three tries at each level.
- 📊 Results (22 × 16 in): Your table (Hoop size down the side, tries across) and your line graph.
- ✅ Conclusion (10 × 14 in): My hypothesis was right / partly right / not right. I know because…
Materials to list: Paper; Straws; Masking tape, to mark lines; A tape measure, or a long ruler.
Bring photos or drawings of your test. Nothing wet, hot, powered or alive on the table.
This project at your grade
| 1st–3rd grade | Tries: three at each level (one is fine at a first fair). The table: levels and tries, numbers or pictures. The graph: a picture, or a simple bar graph. The conclusion: what happened, in their words. |
|---|---|
| 4th–6th grade | Tries: three at each level. The table: units in the header and a mean column. The graph: a bar graph, or a line for a number that grows. The conclusion: right, partly or not, and the numbers that show it. |
| 7th grade and up | Tries: three or more at each level. The table: a mean for every level of both tests. The graph: a graph with two lines or two sets of bars. The conclusion: the numbers, what might have gone wrong, and a next question. Second variable: keep the back hoop the same and change only the front hoop, then graph the distance for each front hoop. |
From 4th grade up, the table gets a mean column. See every project for 3rd grade, or print a blank results table.
What a judge will ask
- What did you change, and what did you measure? I changed how big the glider's hoops are and measured how far the glider flies, in cm.
- What did you keep the same, and why does that matter? I kept the same kind of straw and paper strips of the same width for every hoop the same, so the only difference was how big the glider's hoops are.
- How many times did you test it? 3 times at each of my 3 levels.
- If you did it again, what would you change or test next? I'd keep the back hoop the same and change only the front hoop, then graph the distance for each front hoop.
Make it yours
Keep this project on this device and Peabody counts down to your fair day, with a plan for each day. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Try next
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