Questions &

Curriculum
Connections
Question #1:
Grade 6
Understanding
Structures and
Mechanisms: Flight
Question
Does the addition of
flaps on the plane help
the plane to fly
farther?
Overall Expectation
3: Explain ways in
which properties of air
can be applied to the
principles of flight and
flying devices
Specific Expectation
3.6: Describe the
ways in which the four
forces of flight can be
altered

Experiment

Evidence

Claims

Scientific Explanation

Controlled: The structure of

the plane
Measured: The distance in
metres-centimetres flown.
Changed: The addition of
the flaps.

By looking at the
observation chart where
the students recorded the
planes flying distance (in
metres and centimetres)
and compared these
measured variables
between the two different
planes results it was easy
to see which plane flew
the furthest most
consistently. The results
from the charts were
consistent with the claim
in terms of the flaps
negatively affecting the
total distance flown.

The plane that had

the flaps affected
the distance
negatively and did
not fly as far.
Therefore, the
addition of flaps on
the plane does not
help it to fly further.

The properties of air and how they affect

objects when flying is needed as
background knowledge to fully
understand and make predictions as to
what will happen in the experiment. By
using the flaps on the airplaneswings
changes the amount of drag. Drag is
defined as the force that acts opposite
to the direction of motion. Drag is
caused by friction and differences in air
pressure.

Each group will fly two

planes. The structures of the
planes will be identical
except one plane has no
flaps and the other has the
addition of the flaps on each
wing. The distance in which
each plane flys will be
recorded and compared to
determine if the flaps help
the plane to fly further or
hinder it. Each student can
practice each trial as much
as they want to ensure
consistent results. It is
important to keep a chart
with the two different planes
and trial numbers to record
the distance the plane flew
for each trial. It is also
important to have an
educated prediction or
hypothesis created before
the experimented is tested.
Students will follow the
scientific method.

https://howthingsfly.si.edu/forcesflight/four-forces
Here the students could hopefully
predict that the drag caused by the
addition of the flaps increases the air
resistance, which results in a decrease
of speed.
The flaps on the airplane are beneficial
for a plane when it is landing to increase
the drag (resistance against air) that
results in a decrease in speed of the
plane.

Question #2:
Grade 3
Understanding
Structures and
Mechanisms
Strong and Stable
Structures
Question
Which material
provides the strongest
structure, toothpicks
or spaghetti?
Overall Expectation
3:Demonstrate an
understanding of the
concepts of structure,
strength, and stability,
and the factors that
affect them
Specific Expectation
3.5: Identify properties
of materials that need
to be considered when
building structures.

Controlled: The shape of

the structure
Changed: The materials
being used
Measured: How many books
the structure can hold
The students are given a pile
of toothpicks, spaghetti, and
marshmallows. The students
are asked assemble the
materials to build two
structures. Both structures
must be designed the exact
same way but each made
with different materials. One
of the structures made of
toothpicks and
marshmallows, the other with
spaghetti and marshmallows.
Once the structures are built,
each one will be tested on
how many books can be
placed on top before falling
apart. The students are
asked to record the
properties of the materials
used such as strength,
flexibility and durability. The
design of the structures must
be recorded, along with how
many books each of the
materials were able to hold
without the structure
collapsing. Students will
follow the scientific method
throughout the experiment.

The amount of books

stacked on the structure
was the measured
variable. After 3 of the
books were stacked on
the spaghetti, the pieces
snapped, making the
structure collapse. The
toothpick structure
appeared stronger
holding up 6 books before
falling over. The results
were consistent with the
claim in terms of the
toothpick structure being
stronger than the
spaghetti.

The toothpick
structure was able
to hold 3 more
books than the
spaghetti structure.
Proving that the
toothpicks provided
the strongest
structure.

When looking at the properties of

matter, one must look at the strength,
flexibility and durability.

Refer to Figure 1: When a load is

placed on an object (stress), the
material becomes weaker (increase
strain). When the material hits the
failure point, it snaps.
The more stiff the material is, like the
toothpicks, the more stress and strain it

will take to hit the failure point. This can

be seen by using Youngs Modulus
(stiffness) E= stress/strain
Figure1
http://www.pt.ntu.edu.tw/hmchai/Biomec
hanics/BMmeasure/StressMeasure.htm

Question #3:
Grade 2
Understand Matter
and Energy Properties of Liquids
and Solids
Question:
Does the ice cube
keep its state longer
when put in the hot
water?
Overall Expectation:
3: Demonstrate an
understanding of the
properties of liquids
and solids.
Specific
Expectation:
3.3: Describe the
characteristics of
liquid water and solid
water, and identify the
conditions that cause
changes from one to
the other.

Controlled:
The overall temperature of
the two separate cups (one is
cold, and one is hot).
Changed:
The state of the ice cube.
Measured:
The amount of time
(minutes/seconds) it takes for
the ice to melt.
The experiment begins with
two cups of water. One
containing cold water, the
other hot. The next step is to
take two separate ice cubes
and place each one into each
of the two cups. The students
are to record the state of the
ice cubes before and after
the experiment in the
observation chart. Once the
cubes have been placed in
the water, the students will
record how long it will take
for each of the cubes to melt.
They will record this
information in an observation
table provided by the
teacher.
Before starting the
experiment students will
make an educated
guess/prediction as to
whether they think the ice
cube will last longer when put
in the hot water.

The evidence observed

from the experiment will
be recorded in the
students observation
chart. This chart will prove
that the ice cube placed in
the cup of hot water will
melt faster compared to
the ice cube placed in the
cup of cold water. This is
proven from the shorter
amount of time recorded
in the chart with regards
to changing states of
matter. The results were
consistent with the claim
that the ice cube changes
states faster (shorter
period of time) when
placed in the cup of hot
water.

The ice cube

changed states
faster in the cup of
hot water with a
shorter amount of
time being
recorded compared
to the cold water.

The particles found in a solid are much

more dense and compact compared to
the particles in a liquid. Being so
compact, the particles cannot move as
freely.
Water is special because when it is
frozen, there is more space between the
particles due to the difference in
densities.
When a frozen object is presented with
heat, it comes into contact with a source
of energy. When this energy is added to
a frozen object, it transforms into a
liquid. It slowly separates the particles,
bringing on more characteristics of a
liquid.
For a solid to become a liquid, it must
reach the same temperature as the
melting point in order to change states.
The temperature needed for frozen
water to melt is just over zero degrees
Celsius.
This is why the ice cube melts faster in
the cup of hot water due to the
temperature beings a lot greater than
zero degrees Celsius. The ice cube in
the cold water will still melt, as the
temperature is also greater than zero
but will melt at a much slower rate.
http://www.chem4kids.com/files/matter_chan
ges.html

As a group, answer the following questions based on the experiment that you tried:
1. Which experiment did you try?
The experiment we tried was Experiment 1: Does the addition of flaps on the plane help the plane to fly farther? We flew each plane 3 times with a
total of 6 trials to ensure reliability with our results.
2. What worked or did not work when you did this experiment?
The structure of the plane itself was successful, yet with the initial addition of the flaps we concluded that the placement of the flaps was important
when measuring the distances in which it flew. During one of the trials with the plane containing flaps, it hit the floor, which damaged the flaps and
affected the next trial resulting in skewed data. After this accident we disregarded this trial and constructed a new plane with flaps to retry the
experiment trials.
3. Does this experiment lend itself to constructivist learning? If not, how could you change it to make it more constructivist? (Refer to readings
on constructivism posted on D2L).
This experiment allowed active learning in the classroom but there are areas we can change that make it even more directed to constructivist
learning. Instead of telling the students to add the flaps, they can change different features such as adding a weight to the planes, changing the
overall structure and adding an external source of air (ex. a fan). They could even try a combination of all of them and see how they all compare to
one another. This approach puts the learning and researching into the hands of the students giving them choice and freedom in terms of the
experiment they want to conduct.