The Incredible Hoop Glider Challenge - Following a scientific process
Making and flying the first glider was just the beginning!
Part Two: Working through an experiment.
Making a Hypothesis
Does the placement of the hoops on the straw effect the flight distance?
(Mia) I think it could make a difference but not very big.
(Matthew) It wont fly at all if the straw is not balanced.
(Richard) I think changing the placement of the hoops will affect the flight. It will not make it glide as well as what my first one did.
(Greta) I think the plane will not fly better becuase the wind has less space to travel if it cant go through the hoops.
(Ethan) Yes, in different ways because the wind blows the hoops and if they are in a different spot the wind will blow it in another direction.
(Aaron) Yes, but if it is longer or shorter distance, it will depend on the length in between.
Does the length of the straw affect the flight?
(Abby) I think the plane will not fly better because the wind has less space to travel.
(Robin) I think it will improve the speed but downgrade the balance.
(John) It will weigh it down to make it longer.
(Abigail) I think that if I make the straw longer, it will fall straight away and won't fly. If it is shorter I think it might fly a little bit faster.
(Suhyeok) Maybe it can go far.
(Danny) I think if I make the straw shorter it will go further and if I make the straw longer it will go a shorter distance.
Do more hoops help the hoop glider to fly better?
(Sasha) I think the hoop glider might fly longer than before.
(Emily) I think the glider will fly lower because there is going to be more weight on the glider.
(Seungwoo) I think the plane will go more straighter than before but will be more heavier.
(Cale) I think that it will work better with 3 hoops but it wont work with 4 hoops if I keep the straw the same length. Too many hoops on the straw.
(Cam) 4 hoops will make it fly better.
(Zayliah) I think the hoop glider will go faster and farther.
Do the hoops have to be lined up in order for the plane to fly well?
(Elin) I think the plane will go higher or lower depending on where the front hoop is.
(Jeremy) I think the hoop glider will fall if the hoops are not lined up.
(Jaehee) I think if we line the hoops up in order from smallest to largest it is going to fly well and go further.
(Anthony) Yes because there needs to eb a balance of hoops.
Collecting the data
We drew a table in ouir books to record the distances. We used this data to calculate the range, mean, median and mode.
(Jaehee's table and mean, mode, median and range calculations)
Conclusion
Check out our videos on our blogs to hear the results of this experiment.
