Helicopter Lab 1 735b45

Helicopter Lab #1

Name __________________________ Science - ____ Date _____________

In this lab you will use scientific methods to become familiar with paper helicopters, and will investigate one of the variables that affect their flight time. You will also be using the lab write-up form for the first time. Be sure to follow all of the directions below, and check off each of the steps as you complete it. ___ 1. On the lab form, fill in the title which is listed at the top of this paper. ___ 2. In this experiment, you will be adding weight to the helicopter (using paperclips) and measuring the flight time. This will allow you to investigate whether adding weight changes flight time. Write this question on your lab form: Does adding weight affect flight time? ___ 3. Write a proper hypothesis for the question. ___ 4. A properly written hypothesis contains a cause and effect. The cause is the independent variable (IV) and the effect is the dependent variable (DV). Locate the IV and DV in your hypothesis and fill them in on the lab form. In order for this to be a fair test, you need to keep from changing any other factors that could affect the flight time. This way you’ll know that any changes you see result from changing weight and nothing else. These factors are called controlled variables (or constants) because these things could change but you will not allow them to change so they cannot unfairly affect flight time during your experiment. ___ 5. For this lab, these will be the Controlled Variables (CV): a) helicopter made of paper; b) blade length = ____ mm; c) drop height = 200 cm. Write these CV’s in the correct place on your lab form, filling in the blade length in mm. You now need to create a paper helicopter using the template provided by your teacher. Use scissors to cut on the solid lines, and then fold on the dotted lines. Here’s how to do it:

___ 6. This helicopter, without any added weight, will be the Control Group (CG) helicopter. The control group is the natural state of the helicopter. On the form, write “no added weight” in the space for Control Group. Write your names on the helicopter and set it aside for now. ___ 7. You will also test the helicopter with added paper clips. These tests will be called the Experimental Group (EG). On the form, write “1-5 paperclips added” in the space for Experimental Group. ___ 8. You will need some materials to complete this lab. List all of the materials located at your lab station on the lab form. Materials do not need to be written as complete sentences. ___ 9. Skip the Procedure section for now. You will come back to it later. E. Gratkins, Smith JH Page 1 of 2, Rev. 11/10/2010

___ 10.Turn the lab form over. You will notice a large space at the top. In this space you will draw a data table. Use a ruler to draw the table and label it like this: Helicopter Weight (pc) 0 1 2 3 4 5

Weight Testing Flight Time Flight Time Trial 1 (sec) Trial 2 (sec)

Mean Flight Time (sec)

The heading for the first column is the IV and the unit of measure is “pc” which stands for paperclip. The numbers in the first column come from the control and experimental group. The 2nd and 3rd columns are the DV and unit of measure. These numbers will be filled in when your collect your data. The last column will be the mean of the two flight times. Keep two decimal places for all numbers. ___ 11.Get a T.S. on your lab form NOW! ___ 12.It’s almost time to fly. you want to have a fair test so make sure to keep ALL of the CV’s constant. Go back and look at them now. Complete two trials for each of the weights listed. Once you’ve completed your flights, calculate the means. Now… FLY!!!! ___ 13.Your data table should now be completely finished. Next, construct a line graph using the weights (IV) and mean flight time (DV) numbers from your data table. Use the foldable to make sure you put the variables in the correct places and have all needed labels. ___ 14.You’re almost done now. For the Analysis, copy these sentences, filling in the blanks with information from your data table and graph. With 0 pc’s, the mean flight time was ____ sec. After adding 1 pc, the flight time decreased to ____ sec. With 2 pc’s the flight time continued to decrease to ____ sec., and the time with 3 pc’s was _____ sec. After 4 pc’s the time continued to decrease to ____ sec. and the final flight with 5 pc’s had a mean flight time of _____ sec. As weight increased, the mean flight time ____________ (increased, decreased, stayed the same). ___ 15.You wrap up an experiment by writing a conclusion, where you take a look back at your original hypothesis and compare it to the data that was collected. If the hypothesis and the data agree with each other, we accept the hypothesis as being valid (correct). If the data disagrees with the hypothesis, then we reject the hypothesis. Conclusions also contain a correct answer (hypothesis) to the original question. For your conclusion, copy these sentences, filling in the blanks with the correct word from the choices given. The hypothesis is ______ (accepted, rejected). Adding weight ______ (increases, decreases) flight time. ___ 16.One more piece to do. You need to go back and write a procedure. A procedure allows someone to repeat your experiment exactly. Read the section on procedures in your foldable and then write a procedure for this experiment being sure to follow the rules. Your procedure only needs to include the steps necessary to collect your data. ___ 17.Get a final stamp on your lab form. Congratulations—you’ve completed your first full lab report. In future labs, you’ll get less and less help as you learn to do more on your own. E. Gratkins, Smith JH Page 2 of 2, Rev. 11/10/2010