Group 3: Airplane

1
Group 3 Airplane!

• GOALS
• Students will investigate the role of variability
  in data collection.
• Students will engage in the hands-on process of
  data collection.
• Students will identify sources of error in data
  collection and offer methods of controlling these
  sources.

2
Activity Set-Up

• Student materials needed calculators, paper
• Teacher materials needed
• Models for folding paper airplanes (as requested)
• Instruction and data collection sheet
• Measuring tape
• Masking tape
• Prior skills required
• Calculate measures of center
• Make graphs of data

3
Directions of Activity

• Each group (about 3 students) must make a
  prediction about the distance that a paper
  airplane can fly, either radially or as measured
  perpendicular to the direction of release.
• Each group must construct their paper airplane
  from their own paper. If no one in the group can
  make a successful paper airplane, models of
  folding will be provided.
• (See www.bestpaperairplanes.com )

4
The Zump Model
5
Directions of Activity (continued)

• Each group will launch their airplanes in
  repeated trials (as many as possible in a fixed
  amount of time or a fixed number of trials set by
  instructor). Data will be recorded in a table.
• Each group will calculate a measure of center
  (mean, also perhaps median) for their distances,
  and then make a graph on the board, floor, or
  computer to represent their data. The type of
  graph may be at the discretion of the teacher
  and/or students.

6
Classroom Analysis

• Compare means and graphs of data from different
  groups. Key questions
• How can variability in the measurement of a
  single variable be observed in the graphs?
• Why might different groups end up with clearly
  different mean flight distances?
• Can the entire class compile its data to find a
  single estimate for the mean flight distance of a
  paper airplane? Why or why not?

7
Discussion

• Students should realize that because each group
  had different models and launching techniques, it
  is NOT valid to simply gather data from all
  groups to get a class distance estimate.
• The key principle is to identify sources of
  variability that could have been controlled
  before beginning the activity.

8
Unintended Variability

• Students should generate a list of sources of
  variation between groups, such as
• Design of airplane
• Angle of launch (may not have even been the same
  within a group throughout)
• Distance measured from tip or tail
• Wind
• Experience of group members with airplanes
• Type and size of paper used in construction
• Level of damage to airplanes after repeated
  trials

9
Concluding Ideas

• Students should agree that a standardized launch
  process would help to minimize variability and
  find a more accurate estimate of the mean flight
  distance.
• Students should also recognize that variability
  still cannot be eliminated, either due to
  variables out of mans control (wind) or to the
  inherent fact that planes wont always fly the
  same distance every time.

10
Next Steps

• In future projects, students can be assessed on
  their ability to prepare a procedure that will
  enable all data-gatherers to follow an identical
  process for experimentation or surveying.
• Issues of sample size and standard deviation can
  be discussed later.
• Subsequent experiments (like predicting whether
  coins can be rolled down the hall farther than
  airplanes can fly) can lead to hypothesis tests
  for comparison of two means, and as an
  opportunity to demonstrate systematic procedures
  to avoid confounding variables.