What Toys Reveal about Air Travel

Toys provide excellent models for learning about air travel. The following graphs, excerpted from the series The Science of Flight from Schottenbauer Publishing, provide data on two types of flight.

Discussion Questions

1. What is the maximum height of the air rocket?
2. What is the total time of flight?
3. What is the angle of the rocket before launch?
4. What occurs at the end of the trajectory?
5. Estimate the speed immediately after launch.

Discussion Questions

1. What is the maximum height of the plastic bag? The minimum height?
2. What is the average speed of descent?
3. On the same graph, sketch the trajectory of a ball falling from the same height.
4. Estimate the force of air resistance per unit surface area.

The following books from Schottenbauer Publishing contain similar types of graphs and data pertaining to the science of air travel:

Graphs & Data for Science Lab: Multi-Volume Series

• The Science of Flight
• The Science of Archery & Shooting Sports
• The Science of Balls
• Sampler Edition: 24 Sports Balls Bouncing, Rolling, & Flying
• Volumes 3, 6, & 7
• Volume 8: Assorted Balls
• The Science of Baseball
• Gravity, Springs, & Collisions: Graphs of Classical Physics Experiments

Anthologies of 28 Graphs

• The Science of Transportation
• The Science of Ball Sports

Additional Information

Schottenbauer Publishing

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