Science Project on “Lifting Power”, Project Experiment Topics on Flight, Motion & Friction for Class 8, 9, 10 and 12 Students.

Lifting Power

Materials Required:

1. Paper towel tubes
2. Pencils with flat sides
3. Rulers
4. A hair dryer
5. A table
6. Scissors
7. Two books of equal thickness

The design of an airplane wing has a particular reason. The curve of the wing at the top causes the air travelling over it to travel a farther distance than the air that moves from below the wing.

This mechanism makes the air move faster, causing a drop in the air pressure above the wings, thereby, allowing the plane a “lift”.

With the help of an adult, make two halves of a paper towel tube, cut it once again lengthwise and produce two short curved pieces.

Push the round edges a little bit, so that they become a little flat. This will provide it with an airplane wing shape, for experiment purpose. The front will have to have more curve and the flatter side with more curve will be placed towards the back.

Now at the edge of the table, lie two books of equal thickness. Have them at a distance of about 3 inches, lay a pencil across them, from one to the other.

Remember to use a pencil with flat sides, so that it doesn’t roll off. Place your ruler lining it up at the end of the table. Now put the towel roll on the ruler, at the end. Remember to balance the ruler and pencil, so that it appears to be balanced, like a see saw. The end of the ruler with the wing on it should hang out of the table.

Turn your hair dryer to cool mode and aim it at the curved front end of the wing. The air pressure   above the wing will be   lower and the air would be travelling up and around it. Due to the see saw position of your wing, the entire structure will start to tip. Analyze which way it starts tipping.

Gravity and Flying

Gravitational force has been felt by everyone. It is the force which acts between any object and the Earth and is the force which pulls things down or makes them fall. This is the same force that holds things to the ground or the floor once they have fallen there or are kept there.

The gravitational pull acts on everything except on astronauts in outer space. The force of gravity can be overcome by birds, balloons and aircraft. All these float or fly when they like.

They are able to do this because they all produce a lift or a force that which pushes them up. Since the lift is greater in strength than the gravitational force which pulls them down, they rise or move up. Birds and aircraft possess wings which create the lift as they move through the air. To produce the lift, aircraft build up speed by rushing down a runway before they take off. Birds have muscles in their wings which they use, to flap their wings thus getting sufficient lift to fly. There is gas or hot air in balloons which gives them the lift to rise up. The lift may decrease when the object stays in flight. When the amount of lift and gravity are equal then the object stays in flight but if the lift decreases and gravity is greater, the object will come down.