Learning to Fly: The Wright Brothers Adventure pdf - ER - NASA

Background informationWith each gliding season, the Wrights arrived at Kitty Hawk with a redesigned glider. When the 1900 Glider proved barelyable to lift itself with a pilot, the brothers designed a glider with much greater wing surface in 1901, trying to create morelift. It turned out that this glider, although able to carry a pilot more easily, only produced about one-third of the expectedlift. On the verge of giving up, the Wrights conducted wind tunnel tests during the winter of 1901 and determined that theyhad made the wrong choice with the 1901 Glider. Instead of short, wide wings, they should have made long, thin wings.The 1902 Glider had long, thin wings of nearly the same wing area as the 1901 Glider, but it set world records for gliding.For further information, see http://wright.nasa.gov/airplane/air1902.htmlAssessment activityStudents should be able to point out how the 1902 design differed from the previous gliders.Activity 15: Prices Then and NowObjectiveThe student will1. Gain perspective on the relative costs of goods over a 100-year period2. Be able to calculate percentages based on real dataNational Science StandardsChange, Constancy, and MeasurementUnderstanding About Scientific InquiryNational Math StandardsProblem SolvingMath ConnectionsComputation and EstimationDescriptionSince Orville Wright recorded the brothers’ experiments with a box camera, 1900 prices are given for cameras as well as forseveral common items. The activity has students calculate the percentage of a salary to buy a camera then and now. It alsohas the students compare how the prices on a number of common items have risen since 1900.Time requirements30 minutesMaterialsPencil, paper, and calculatorProceduresThe students collect data on some food costs today, compare them to food costs in 1900, and calculate the percentagechange. They also calculate the percentage of a monthly salary needed to buy a camera in 1900 and today.Background informationOrville took and developed a large number of pictures of the brothers’ experiments to document their results. The glassnegatives were developed back in Dayton, where large numbers of them remain today. All of the Wrights’ experimentsthrough 1903, including travel, cost them about $1,200.Assessment activityStudents should be able to calculate percentage increases. Teachers might want to have students put their problems on thechalkboard.Activity 16: Build a Model of the 1903 FlyerObjectiveThe student will1. Construct a scale model of the 1903 Wright FlyerLearning to Fly: The Wright Brothers’ Adventure96EG–2002–12–007–GRC