Flying paper planes is the hottest activity going in many schools. And I don’t mean just when the teacher’s back is turned! Teachers are actually encouraging this behavior. It can be a great problem solving activity and everyone can participate.
The activity is very simple. Each student is given an 8 1/2” X 11” piece of paper. That’s it as far as materials go. The students cannot add anything to the paper - no staples, no paper clips, no writing. They simply design a paper airplane that has two objectives: to fly the furthest from the starting point and to stay in the air the longest. If a student's plane meets these objectives, the student wins the contest.
One class period is used to design and assemble a plane, and one period is used for the contest. During the contest, the class moves to a large area with little or no wind and a high ceiling. A circle is drawn in the middle of the area and students enter the circle one at a time. Each student has three chances to fly their plane. The distance the plane flies from the circle is measured with a tape measure and the time in the air from launch to landing is measured with a stopwatch. The student keeps the best score of their three flights. The score is calculated by multiplying the distance flown (in inches) by the time in the air (in seconds).
The students with the top three scores are invited to the medal round. The previous scores are thrown out and each student is given one final throw. Medals are awarded based on the final medal round scores.
Mr. Steven’s class has just finished the medal round. The finalists' last flight measurements are:
Robbie: 42 feet 2 inches and 4.2 seconds
Sarah: 35 feet 7 inches and 5.1 seconds
Judy: 38 feet 3 inches and 4.7 seconds
Who won the gold, silver, and bronze medals?
