Home | Slope | Grading Rubric | Flying Tips | Links

Paper Airplane Project Mr. Cantlin's Algebra 1A and 1B Classes 2007-2008

What is Slope? Slope Slope is a number used to measure how "steep" a line is. For this project, the slope will measure how steep your paper airplane's flight is. If your flight is too steep there is a special name for it that is used in aviation -- it is called a crash!

For your project, you will set the height of release of the airplane to 4 feet and measure its flight distance along the ground (also in feet). This will give you a fraction that is the slope, for example 4 feet over 16 feet. Next, "moon the fraction" and convert it to a decimal, in this example 4 divided by 16 is 0.25. The slope for this example is 0.25. The smaller the fraction the better your airplane glides. Note: since you divide feet by feet the units cancel and slope is just a number - it has no units so do not put feet next to the 0.25. Repeat the preceding for a release height of 6 feet and 8 feet. If your plane is well constructed and you have adjusted it nicely, these new heights should result in a similar number for slope. Why? Think about it. Make a table of your results, clearly labeled. Include, for each height, the height (rise) in feet, the length (run) in feet, and your calculated slope as a decimal to the nearest hundredth. During the classroom demonstration a flight test will be conducted to see how close to your tested slope the airplane will fly. Bonus: Normally, when talking about an airplane's flight path slope is not used, instead you will hear the term "glide ratio." Ratio is another name for a fraction. Research this and explain how slope and glide ratio are related in your report for a bonus. Hint: We studied the property that describes this relationship earlier this year.