Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You: Weight

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published by the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program: Teach Engineering
supported by the National Science Foundation

This lesson is the second of a four-part unit for Grades 5-8 on the key forces in flight: lift, weight, thrust, and drag. Weight is the measure of the gravitational force that pulls the airplane back to earth. The force of lift must be greater than the weight of the aircraft to enable it to climb. The lesson helps students understand the difference between mass and weight as they investigate wing design and factors that produce lift. The lesson includes objectives, warm-up questions, background information for teachers, assessment questions, classroom activity, and web-based reference material.

TeachEngineering is a Pathway project of the National Science Digital Library. It provides a large collection of teacher-tested, research-based content for K-12 teachers to connect real-world experiences with curricular content.

https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_airplanes_lesson...

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Classical Mechanics - Gravity - Motion in Two Dimensions - Newton's Second Law = Force, Acceleration - Newton's Third Law = Action/Reaction Education Practices - Active Learning = Inquiry Learning Fluid Mechanics - Dynamics of Fluids = Bernoulli's Principle Other Sciences - Engineering	- Middle School	- Instructional Material = Activity = Instructor Guide/Manual = Lesson/Lesson Plan = Problem/Problem Set

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Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: © 2004 Regents of the University of Colorado
Keywords:: Bernoulli, airfoil, airplane wing, engineering, flight, force interaction, force pairs, gravitational force, lift force, weight
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created October 9, 2011 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: August 4, 2016 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: August 23, 2010
Other Collections:: The Physics Front

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AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

4. The Physical Setting

4F. Motion

3-5: 4F/E1a. Changes in speed or direction of motion are caused by forces.
6-8: 4F/M3a. An unbalanced force acting on an object changes its speed or direction of motion, or both.

4G. Forces of Nature

3-5: 4G/E1. The earth's gravity pulls any object on or near the earth toward it without touching it.

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=11504">National Science Foundation. Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You: Weight. Boulder: Integrated Teaching and Learning Program: Teach Engineering, August 23, 2010.</a>

AIP Format

(Integrated Teaching and Learning Program: Teach Engineering, Boulder, 2004), WWW Document, (https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_airplanes_lesson03).

AJP/PRST-PER

Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You: Weight (Integrated Teaching and Learning Program: Teach Engineering, Boulder, 2004), <https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_airplanes_lesson03>.

APA Format

Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You: Weight. (2010, August 23). Retrieved May 1, 2025, from Integrated Teaching and Learning Program: Teach Engineering: https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_airplanes_lesson03

Chicago Format

National Science Foundation. Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You: Weight. Boulder: Integrated Teaching and Learning Program: Teach Engineering, August 23, 2010. https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_airplanes_lesson03 (accessed 1 May 2025).

MLA Format

Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You: Weight. Boulder: Integrated Teaching and Learning Program: Teach Engineering, 2004. 23 Aug. 2010. National Science Foundation. 1 May 2025 <https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_airplanes_lesson03>.

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@misc{ Title = {Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You: Weight}, Publisher = {Integrated Teaching and Learning Program: Teach Engineering}, Volume = {2025}, Number = {1 May 2025}, Month = {August 23, 2010}, Year = {2004} }

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%T Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You: Weight %D August 23, 2010 %I Integrated Teaching and Learning Program: Teach Engineering %C Boulder %U https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_airplanes_lesson03 %O text/html

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %D August 23, 2010 %T Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You: Weight %I Integrated Teaching and Learning Program: Teach Engineering %V 2025 %N 1 May 2025 %8 August 23, 2010 %9 text/html %U https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_airplanes_lesson03

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Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You: Weight:

Accompanies Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You - Lift

A link to Part 1 of the TeachEngineering unit on forces of flight.

relation by Caroline Hall

Accompanies Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You: Thrust

This is Part 3 of Teach Engineering's 4-part unit on the forces of flight, developed for Grades 5-8.

relation by Caroline Hall

Accompanies Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You: Drag

This is Part 4 of Teach Engineering's 4-part unit for Grades 5-8 on the forces of flight. It explores drag and how engineers work to reduce the drag force in designing an aircraft.

relation by Caroline Hall

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