Flight objectives.
The iFLY STEM Program for Middle School aims to instill the following in students:
- List examples of STEM careers and explain how STEM is used in the real world to solve problems.
- Identify the steps of the engineering design process and tell how it applies to the evolution of indoor wind tunnels.
- Name and explain the purpose for each of the major components of a wind tunnel.
- Define speed, velocity and acceleration and explain how each of these terms relates to skydiving.
- Use a free body diagram to analyze the forces acting on a skydiver.
- Identify when the gravitational force or the force of air drag is dominant. Discuss the effect this has on a skydiver’s velocity and acceleration.
- Recognize terminal velocity as the point when forces are balanced (net force = 0) and acceleration is zero.
- Analyze the variables affecting terminal velocity and identify those which remain constant and those that change from person to person.
- Define frontal area and explain its’ relationship to terminal velocity.
- Compare and contrast indoor and outdoor skydiving.
- Predict, observe, and analyze the velocities of different objects in the wind tunnel.
See the power of the wind.
Watch physics in action! Students will witness flight instructors interacting with objects in the wind tunnel and will discuss what forces are at work. Next, students will predict how fast each object will fly in the wind tunnel, test their predictions, and discuss the results.
Resources for Teachers and Educators
- STANDARDS ALIGNMENT / Determine where a field trip to iFLY fits into your curriculum.