Name:

________________

Date: _________________
Air, Aerodynamics and Flight Unit
Test
Read all questions carefully and answer questions as completely as
possible. Full sentences for short answer questions. Out of a total of
marks 58 marks

Multiple Choice Each question is worth one mark, Total of 14 marks.

Choose best answer ** Highlight key terms

1. The bus driver points to a parachutist far below the airplane. Which of the
following statements is a correct statement about parachutes?

A. The three forces that act on a parachute are gravity, lift, and drag.
B. Parachutes create air resistance so that they fall slowly to Earth.
C. Round parachutes are easier to control than are rectangular
parachutes.
D. The shorter the suspension lines, the slower the parachute will fall.

2. Doug notices that the parachute was wobbling as it fell. He noted that
this could be fixed by

A. Decreasing the load.

B. Lengthening the canopy lines.
C. Making the canopy from a different material.
D. Putting a small hole in the top of the canopy.

3. The part of the airplane that causes it to descend is labeled

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
4. Ryan pointed out that the pilot of a hot air balloon often controls the balloon's flight by
opening and closing a flap at the top of the balloon. When the flap is opened, the balloon
 A) Stays at the same altitude because the higher pressure air outside the balloon keeps the warm air
from escaping

B) Rises even higher as the air above the balloon that pushes it down can now pass through the flap

C) Descends in altitude because cold air rushes in through the top of the balloon

D) Descends in altitude because hot air is released from the balloon

5. On the trip, the class starts to talk about space shuttles. Maria asks Fred,
Which of the following parts of a spacecraft are least useful when the
spacecraft is in outer space? Fred correctly replies

A. The wings
B. The engines
C. The hatches
D. The controls

6. Hot-air balloons rise because the

A. Air outside the balloon is lighter than the air inside the balloon
B. Air inside the balloon takes up space and can be compressed
C. Lift on the balloon is less than the force of gravity
D. Air inside the balloon is more dense than the air outside the balloon

7. As your airplane speeds down the runway, you recall that lift occurs when
the

A. Force of drag is equal to the force of thrust

 B. Force of gravity is greater than the force of thrust
C. Air above the wings is moving faster than the air below the wings
D. Air above the wings is moving at the same speed as the air below
the wings

8. Ed thinks he can stump you with this question: Which of these is an example of compressing
air?
A. A vacuum
B. Breathing
C. Filling a syringe with air
D. Pumping air into a bicycle tire

9. The pilot shows you a card in the seat pocket in front of you. Among other
things, it has arrows showing the forces that act on an airplane, as shown
below.

In which of the following boxes are the forces acting on the airplane
identified?

10. The pilot explains that the airplane is like a bird in that both are streamlined in order to reduce

A. Lift
B. Weight
C. Drag
 D. Thrust

11. After takeoff, the pilot steadily increases the airplanes speed and altitude. For this increase to
occur,

A. Thrust must equal drag and lift must equal gravity

B. Thrust must be greater than drag and lift must be greater than gravity
C. Thrust must equal drag and lift must be greater than gravity
D. Thrust must be greater than drag and lift must equal gravity

The pilot states that many of the designs used in the construction of
airplanes are similar to features of birds. As you think about what the pilot
told you, you consider some features of birds of flight.

Features of Birds
I Streamlined design
II Tail feathers
III Long claws
IV Legs that fold up

12. The features of birds listed above that are similar to features in airplane
designs are

A. I, II, and III

B. I, II, and IV
C. I, III, and IV
D. II, III, and IV

While at the zoo, Jonathan wondered why the Ostrich did

not fly out of its enclosure.

13. An ostrich cannot fly because

 A) The force of gravity is greater than the force of lift that their wings can generate
B) the force of gravity is less than the force of lift from their wings
C) their is less pressure above their wings then below
D) their necks are too long

Justins experiment involves a jar and a sponge. Justin wedged a sponge into
the bottom of an open jar. Then he turned the jar upside down and held it in a
container of water.

14. Which of the following statements explains why the sponge did not get
wet?

A) Air takes up space

B) air contracts when cooled
C) air expands when heated
D) air contains oxygen

True and False Worth one mark each Total of 7 marks

1. Answer the following questions T for true or F for false.

___ Oxygen is the biggest ingredient in air

___ Balloons are able to descend by opening the top flap and letting warm air out.

___ Space shuttles use parachutes when landing to help slow them down

___ When drag is lower than thrust, a plane slows down

___ Space shuttles use Bernoullis Principle for lift in space.

___ When lift is greater than weight, a plane goes faster

Short Answer - 37 marks

**You can answer in point form, use pictures to help explain you answer and use the back of the
page if you need extra room. If you use the back of a page you must indicate that you did so on
your answer page.

1. Define aerodynamics. (1 mark)

2. What are the 3 basic movements of a plane? Explain what each movement is and indicate
one part of the plane that controls that movement. (9 marks)
3. Use a diagram with labels to illustrate Bernoullis Principle. (3 marks)

4. What are two properties of air? Include an experiment that could be done to test each
property. (4 marks)

Property #1 -

Property #2 -
5. Even though penguins and sparrows are both birds, penguins are unable to fly but sparrows
can. What could be three adaptations that sparrows have that penguins do not that enables
sparrows to fly? (3 marks)

7. Explain, in detail, how a hot-air balloon descends. (2 marks)

8. What are the two forces that act on a parachute? Provide a diagram with labels. (3 marks)
9. Airplanes are able to create lift by using Bernoullis Principle. What are two aircrafts that
are able to create lift without using Bernoullis Principle? Explain how they create lift. (4
marks)

Type of aircraft: _________________________________________________

Explanation:

Type of aircraft: _____________________________________________

Explanation:

10. Look at the table of results from a parachute design experiment and use the information to
answer the following questions:
(3 marks)

Student Name Drop height Canopy size Mass Hole on top

Martha 10 meters 1 m2 1 kg No
 Raymond 10 meters 2 m2 1 kg Yes
Philip 10 meters 4 m2 1 kg No

Whose parachute will likely wobble the least? ____________________

What is one constant variable in the experiment? ______________________

Whose parachute will likely fall the straightest? _____________________

12. Parts of a Plane Diagram Label the vertical stabilizer, the ailerons, the elevators, the
fuselage and the rudder. (5 marks)
** Be specific