1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,000 Welcome to the Making Math Count Enrichment Camp at Saunders Middle School in Prince William County, Virginia. 2 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:15,000 NASA Connect asked us to show you how to make and build your own wind tunnel and use it to test certain shapes for drag. 3 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:20,000 Drag is one of the four forces that aeronautic engineers consider when they design airplanes. 4 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:23,000 The other three forces are lift, weight, and thrust. 5 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:28,000 Under the guidance of our teachers, Mr. Bill White, Ms. Melinda Spencer, and Ms. Trendyl Miller, 6 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,000 you'll look through the steps you'll use in constructing your wind tunnel. 7 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,000 Before you begin, go to this website to learn about wind tunnels. 8 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,000 This will give you a good understanding about the measurement tool you're about to build. 9 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,000 After you've gotten your materials together, we begin by measuring the fan. 10 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,000 Next, write the dimensions of the fan on the board. 11 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:50,000 Each student should fill out the data sheet by determining the dimensions for the eight trapezoid-shaped panels 12 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:56,000 of the upper and lower sections of the wind tunnel and the four smaller rectangular panels of the test chamber. 13 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:02,000 If the side of the fan is X, then the height and bottom width of the trapezoid shapes would be the same size 14 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,000 and the top would be one-third of X, or X over 3. 15 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:12,000 The dimensions of the test chamber panels would be X over 2 for the height and X over 3 for the top and bottom. 16 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:17,000 After checking the accuracy of the calculations, the teacher will divide the class into four teams. 17 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,000 Team 1, 2, and 3 will measure and mark their panels. 18 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:24,000 The teacher will then cut the panels. 19 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,000 The test chamber will fit between the upper and lower deflectors, 20 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:33,000 so it is very important that the measuring and cutting is accurate so the parts will fit together and be airtight. 21 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:38,000 Team 1 will cut a window in one of the panels and tape a piece of transparency film over it from inside. 22 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:45,000 Team 2 will cut a window in one of its panels and tape a piece of transparency film over it from the inside also. 23 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:50,000 Now carefully tape the sections together, making sure that the windows are on the same side. 24 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:56,000 When the wind tunnel is assembled, tape it to the box fan so then the air blows out of the bottom. 25 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,000 Place the wind tunnel and fan onto two chairs like this. 26 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,000 Make sure the chairs block as little airflow as possible. 27 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:13,000 To make the drag force test gauge, Team 4 cuts a 10 centimeter by 10 centimeter square card. 28 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:19,000 Next, punch a 1 millimeter hole 3 centimeters from the top center of the card. 29 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:26,000 Remove the elastic from inside the party hat and measure a 15 centimeter long piece. 30 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,000 Do not stretch the elastic when measuring. 31 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,000 Double it over to form a loop. 32 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:38,000 Thread the two loose ends through the hole in the card and tape them in place. 33 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,000 Next, mark the center of the card. 34 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:46,000 Beginning at the center point, draw a solid line to the right edge. 35 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:53,000 Using 2 millimeter interval, draw 5 lines above and below the center line that was just drawn. 36 00:02:53,000 --> 00:03:00,000 Using card stock, cut in an equilateral triangle with each side 2 centimeters in length. 37 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:07,000 Cut two small slits in one side of the triangle and place the elastic through the slit 38 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:13,000 centering the measurement point of the triangle on the center line. 39 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:19,000 While Teams 1 and 4 are completing their assignments, use the templates to build the four polyhedrons, 40 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:23,000 tetrahedron, pyramid, cube, and cone. 41 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,000 Cut the shapes out, then bend along the dotted lines. 42 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,000 Carefully tape the edges together to form the shapes. 43 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,000 Tape string to the designated point on each shape. 44 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:37,000 When the shape is suspended in the wind tunnel, it should be visible in the center of the test chamber. 45 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,000 Now you are ready for testing. 46 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:43,000 Before turning on the fan, note the position of the gauge. 47 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:45,000 Start the fan on low speed. 48 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,000 Count how many lines the gauge moves. 49 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,000 Now increase the fan speed to medium. 50 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,000 Count how many lines the gauge moves from its rest position. 51 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,000 Do the same for high speed. 52 00:03:55,000 --> 00:04:01,000 The number of lines the gauge moves indicates the drag force exerted by the wind on the object. 53 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:04,000 Run tests on the other polyhedrons. 54 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,000 Record your results on the student data sheet. 55 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:12,000 Now calculate the mean, median, and load for each polyhedron at each speed. 56 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,000 Using your results, make a graph. 57 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,000 This will help you compare the drag force of each of the shapes. 58 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:23,000 When all the data is collected and graphed, you are now ready to analyze the results. 59 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:27,000 Data analysis is one of the most important parts of an experiment. 60 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,000 You know, this would be a great time for you to stop the video, 61 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,000 use your thinker, and consider the following. 62 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:40,000 Which factor, shape, mass, wind speed, or drag is considered the constant? 63 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:45,000 That means which of those factors stays the same throughout the entire experiment. 64 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:49,000 And why is it important for this factor to remain constant? 65 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,000 Look at your data. 66 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:57,000 What relationship can you see between the shape of the object and the drag that's created? 67 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:01,000 More questions like these and their answers can be found in the Educator's Guide. 68 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,000 Teachers, you can download this from our NASA Connect website.