LESSON 3: Air Resistance as a Frictional ForceTime: 45-90 minutes
Lesson Overview
In this lesson, students will be introduced to the concept of drag that acts on a moving vehicle due to air resistance. They begin by visualizing and exploring the forces acting on a skydiver. Students will then simulate the force of air pushing against a car by blowing a hair dryer against different styles of toy cars. Finally, they make simple modifications to a toy car's design and test the effects. In this way, students will extend their thinking about such factors they will need to consider later when designing efficient vehicles for the end-of-module project.
Lesson Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students should be able to:- Describe the forces acting on a skydiver.
- Use data to describe the slowing effect air has on a moving vehicle.
- Hypothesize some changes that can make a difference in how a vehicle moves through air.
Lesson Essential Questions
1. Why does a parachute slow the fall of a skydiver?
2. What effect does air have on the movement of a vehicle?
3. What factors cause moving air to have an effect on vehicles?
