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Investigate Lift, Drag, and Thrust Science Projects (25 results)

Aerodynamics of Air Hockey
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
If you have an air hockey table, you know that the puck floats on a thin cushion of air when the table is turned on. With little friction, the puck can travel very fast. How much lift force is created by the air? Add small amounts of weight to the puck and see when it no longer floats to measure the lift force. How many air holes (on average) support the puck? How much force is generated by each air hole? Will a puck with a larger surface area, supported by more air holes (on average),… Read more
What A Drag!
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
What makes some objects more streamlined than others? Find out which ordinary objects around your house are made to move smoothly through the water in this easy science fair project. Which objects will produce the most drag when pulled through the water? Read more
Why Do Birds Fly in a V-formation?
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Have you ever wondered why geese fly in a V-formation? In this science fair project, you will build a wind tunnel to test how the formation of birds in flight actually affects their flight efficiency. Read more
Wind Turbine Efficiency
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Try different wind turbine/propeller (chord length, pitch) designs by making models from balsa wood. Connect the spinning axle to a DC motor and measure the voltage produced across a resistor to measure power output. Use fan as wind source. (Judge, 2004) Read more
Winglets in Wind Tunnels
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Winglets are the short vertical "fins" at the wingtips of some airplanes. Have you ever wondered why they are there? If you have access to a wind tunnel, you can build model airfoils with and without winglets and see for yourself. If you're really ambitious, you can also build your own wind tunnel. Read more
Why Do Flying Rings Go So Much Further Than Frisbees?
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
If you've played catch with both Aerobie flying rings and Frisbees, you know that the rings fly much further than the Frisbees with the same throwing effort. Why is that? Investigate the aerodynamics of flying rings and flying disks and find out! Read more
Which Wing Design Creates the Greatest Lift?
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Have you ever flown in an airplane, or looked up at one flying in the sky, and wondered how such a massive machine can stay in the air? Airplanes can stay in the air because their wings, also referred to as airfoils, generate lift. Engineers use devices called wind tunnels to experiment and test different wing shapes when they design new airplanes. Wind tunnels let engineers make careful measurements of the air flow around the wing, and measure the amount of lift it generates. If you can get… Read more
Why Winglets?
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Have you ever noticed how some jet planes have small, vertical projections as the tips of the wings? They're called winglets. What are they there for? Read more
Does Weight Affect a Drone's Battery Life?
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Drones—also called quadcopters or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)—are an increasingly popular toy for hobbyists. Some companies even want to use them for business purposes, like delivering packages right to your doorstep! However, drones typically have a rather short battery life. Does the added weight of a package affect a drone's battery life? Try this project to find out! Read more
The Wright Stuff: Using Kites to Study Aerodynamics
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
The Wright brothers used kites extensively to test their design ideas in the years leading up to their first successful airplane flight. With this science project, you'll learn about kite aerodynamics, and then come up with your own hypothesis about building or flying a kite. You can test your hypothesis two ways: with an online kite simulation program from NASA, and outdoors with the real thing! A great feature of this science project is that it has many possible variations, so you can decide… Read more
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