Paper Airplane Lab Experiment

Dan Motherspaw, adapted from a lab by

Laurie Melanson
 Questions:
 Have you flown a paper airplane before?
(Hopefully not in this class)

 Do you always use the same type of paper?

 Do you always use the same design?

 Do you want it to fly straight or do tricks?

 Introduction:
 We are going to design an experiment to
test paper airplane flight distance.
 We want the planes to fly as far as they
can.
 We need to think about how we are going
to design and perform the experiment.
 What things do we need to think about?
(Think about the steps of the Scientific
Method)
 Problem:
 What question are we trying to answer?

 We want to design an experiment to test

how the addition of paper clips will affect
the flight distance of the paper airplane.

 How does adding paper clips to a paper

airplane affect its flight?
 Hypothesis:
 What do you think is going to happen?

 How do you think the addition of paper

clips to the paper airplane affect its flight
distance?

 Does the placement of the clips matter?

 If paper clips are added to the _(location)_

of the paper airplane, then ___________
_________________________________.
Materials:
 What do we need to perform this
experiment?

 Make a list of materials:

 Everything and anything we need to
carry out the experiment.
Definitions

 Controlled Variable- Factor in

experiment that always stays the
SAME.
 Manipulated Variable- Factor in
experiment that is changed on
purpose.
 Responding Variable- Factor in an
experiment that is observed for
changes.
 Procedure:
 How are we going to perform the
experiment?
 What do we need to do?
 What needs to be kept constant?
 What is our control?
 What is our manipulated variable going to be?
 Where are we going to perform the
experiment?
 What are we going to observe? How?
 This should be written as a list of
numbered steps.
 Data:
# of paper Flight
 Data Table with clips Distance (m)
measurements from 0
the experiment.
1
 Include headings 2
and labels.
3
4
5
6
 Experiment Day
1. Get paper clips, lab notebook and a
meter stick.
2. Make the paper airplane. Make sure you
follow directions.
3. Gather materials and head out to your
assigned runway.
4. Fly your airplane, measure flight
distance, and record your data in your
notebook. Remember to add a paper
clip each time.
 Making a graph
of your data
 Let’s review responding and
manipulated variables.
 The manipulated variable is what the
scientist changes during an experiment.
 The responding variable is what
happens due to what is changed.
 Remember:
The growth of the
flower is
responding to the
amount of water it
receives.
 Making the graph
How adding paper clips affectsa paper
1. Create title. airplane
flight distance.
Flight Distance (meters) 10

3. Determine 6
4. Plot your data.
interval and label
for y-axis.
4
5. Connect the data points.
2

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
2. Determine
Number
interval
of paper
and label
clips for x-axis.
 Conclusion:
 What did you learn during the experiment?
 Does your data make sense?
 Was your hypothesis correct? Explain why or
why not?
 Did you do anything wrong?
 Is there anything that you would have or
should have done differently?
 Your conclusion should be 3 to 4
paragraphs long.
Lab Report Write Up (55)
 Must include:
 Title page: Student's name, lab partner’s name, course
number, due date, and teacher's name (2 Points)
 Introduction: One paragraph about why we did this
experiment (7 Points)
 Problem: What question did we want to answer? (1 Point)
 Hypothesis: What you think will happen and why? (1
Points)
 Materials: A list of materials used (1 Point)
 Procedure: Step by step explanation of what you did to
perform the experiment. (10 Points)
 Data Table and Graph: Include labels (10 Points)
 Conclusion: Explain your results, including any possible
mistakes that could have been made (20 Points)
 Overall Neatness (3 Points)
Use buttons to navigate
Mr. Motherspaw
through the lab report
Period 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5
Return to
write-up page August 20, 2006
Introduction/ Purpose:

The purpose of this lab is to practice using the steps of the

Scientific Method. The scientific method was used to design an
experiment using paper airplanes. Paper clips were added to the
plane to test how the flight changed with extra weight. Several
variables were included to test how far the airplane flew.

Problem:

How does adding paper clips to a paper airplane affect its flight
distance?

Hypothesis:

If paper clips are added to the wings of the airplane, then the
airplane flight distance will decrease.

Return to
write-up page
Materials:

• paper • masking tape

• 6 paper clips • pencil or pen
• meter sticks • marker
• notebook

Procedure:

1. Get paper and paper clips from table.

2. Make paper airplane following teacher’s directions.
3. Write your name on the airplane.
4. Gather paper, writing utensil, meter sticks and airplane
and head out to your assigned runway.
5. Put down everything except your airplane.
6. Stand on the runway start line. Stand in the same place
each time.

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write-up page
Procedure continued:

7. With the airplane in hand, pull your arm back and throw the
airplane down the runway. Make sure you throw it the same way
each time.
8. Measure the distance the airplane flew to the nose of the airplane
using the meter stick.
9. Record your data in your data table and pick up your airplane. Also
record any problem you may have encountered. (Hitting people,
bending the nose)
10. Add a paper clip to the airplane. Make sure to add it to the same
place each time.
11. Repeat steps 6 – 11 for all 6 paper clips.
12. Pick up all of your materials and return to classroom.
13. Draw a picture of your airplane with the clips on it.
14. Return the meter sticks and paper clips and recycle your airplane.

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write-up page
 Observations:

During this experiment, the paper airplane with two paper clips
hit Mr. MacMillan as he was walking by and I bent the nose. After
this occurred, the airplane always drifted to the right. I think that
changed the outcome of the experiment. I put the paper clips in the
same place each time and stood in the same place on the runway. I
believe that I also threw the plane with the same speed each time.

Airplane Flight Distance with Paper Clips # of Flight

paper Distance
Addition
clips (m)
8
0 4.53
Airplane Flight
Distance (m)

6
1 6.23
4
2 7.14
2
3 7.52
0
4 6.59
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
5 5.34
Number of Paper Clips
6 5.67
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write-up page
Conclusion:

My data really does not have a pattern. The distance

increased and then it decreased. I think that the distance
should have kept increasing based on my first two data points,
but because I hit Mr. MacMillan and bent the nose of the plane
I am not sure.
I need to be more careful. If you change the design of the
plane it will affect its flight distance. By hitting Suzie I change
the plane and therefore the experiment.
If I did the experiment again I would make sure no one was
on the runway when I threw the plane. It is also difficult to
measure the distance when other students are trying to fly
their planes.
This lab showed us how the steps of the Scientific Method
are used to solve a problem. I’m not sure I know the answer to
the question based on this experiment. Sometimes many
experiments need to be done to find the answer.

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write-up page