Please Pass the B-52 Lifting an airplane as large as a B-52 seems like a huge industrial strength job.
Students will be surprised that air pressure can accomplish this task.
Emphasizing the concept of area is a key goal of this lesson.
Students will develop the idea that if a small force is applied to enough squares
of surface, then even a very heavy object can be lifted.
Overall the lesson is composed of these steps:
Students will use a NASA simulation to find the lifting force that wings generate.
Students will make a graph of Lift versus wing area for an airplane.
Students will calculate the area of a B-52's wings in square feet.
Students will calculate the lift on a B-52 at takeoff.