Paper Helicopters

(Background info. for this lesson- The shape of the rotor blades makes it spin when dropped fro a height. Gravity pulls the helicopter down. The air resists the movement and pushes up each rotor separately, causing the helicopter to spin.

Focus Question: What causes a helicopter to stay in motion and deflect gravity (spinning)? 

-Has anyone ever flown in a helicopter, what does it feel like? If students have never been in one, read a book or find a short video to show the class.

Prediction/Hypothesis: If  I make the blades thicker, this will cause the helicopter to stay in the air longer and pin more. 

Planning: scissors, paper, pencil, paper clips

Data: Make a model in front of the class before students begin to build on their own.

What worked	What didn't work
The thicker the paper, the more successful. Letting it fall from a higher elevation.	Having thick blades made them floppy
Trimming the blades to make them thinner. Flick my wrist when dropping the helicopter.	Having the paper clips on the bottom.
Putting two paper clips on the side made t work better than two on the bottom.

Claims and Evidence: If we change the size of the blades (variable) the air will circulate better. 

Conclusion: So in this investigation we were able to explore how some things fall and how varying the size of the rotor blades, the shape of the rotor blades and the weight of a paper helicopter affect the way a helicopter spins. 

Questions: What did you notice about the spins for each helicopter? Did they spin clockwise or counterclockwise? Why? How can you change the spin? Does the weight (number of paper clips on the stem) change the spin? Which combination made the best spinning helicopter?