Watch as I drop this paper spinner, then a crumpled ball of the same paper. Notice how slowly the spinner falls compared with the ball.
Hands up: do you think bigger wings would make a spinner fall slower, faster, or the same?
Today's words: air resistance (air pushing against a moving object and slowing it), gravity (the pull that brings things down), fair test (change one thing, measure one thing, keep the rest the same).
Our question: Does wing length change how long a paper spinner takes to fall?
Five cards appear on the board: wing length, fall time, drop height, the paper, the paperclip. Call out which bin each belongs in: Change, Measure, or Keep the same. We agree the bins together before anyone writes.
Next you get your Investigation Journal page. The default comparison is short vs long wings. On the page write:
- The question, and a prediction with a reason.
- What you change, what you measure, what you keep the same.
- Your two wing sizes.
- One trust check your group chooses — how you will double-check the drop height, say, or when you will discard a messy trial.
Does wing length change fall time?
First, make two paper spinners that match your plan. Default pair: short vs long wings. Change only the wing length. Keep the paper, the paperclip and the fold the same. Use the fold steps on the board.
Agree four roles in your group:
- Dropper — releases the spinner cleanly from the height mark.
- Floor-spotter — watches the floor and calls "stop" on first touch.
- Timer — starts on release, stops on the spotter’s call.
- Recorder — writes each called-out time straight onto the journal trials grid.
In a group of three, the timer also records. Anyone beyond four watches this trial and takes a role on the next pair of drops.
Drop each spinner from your station's height mark. Do each wing size at least twice. Write every raw time on the journal trials grid as it is called — do not wait until later. Groups work at the same time at the drop stations. Watch other groups when a station is busy, and be ready to say what you notice.
Check your group's trial times are already on the Investigation Journal page. Do not drop again unless a time is missing and a station is free.
Work out a simple average for each wing size: add trial 1 and trial 2, then halve. Example on the board: 2.2 s + 2.6 s = 4.8 s; half of 4.8 is 2.4 s. If you only have one clean time for a wing size, write that time and note "one trial".
Share your averages with the class. Which wing size took longer to fall? Did that match your prediction?
Think of a sycamore key or a parachute — same idea as our wings. What does our evidence say the air is doing?
Discuss: what force pulled the spinner down? What force slowed it? What would have made the test unfair?
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