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 youll 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 CVs 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. Heres 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.Its almost time to fly. Remember you want to have a fair test so make sure to keep ALL of
the CVs constant. Go back and look at them now. Complete two trials for each of the
weights listed. Once youve 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.Youre almost done now. For the Analysis, copy these sentences, filling in the blanks with
information from your data table and graph.
With 0 pcs, the mean flight time was ____ sec. After adding 1 pc, the flight time
decreased to ____ sec. With 2 pcs the flight time continued to decrease to ____ sec.,
and the time with 3 pcs was _____ sec. After 4 pcs the time continued to decrease to
____ sec. and the final flight with 5 pcs 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. Congratulationsyouve completed your first full lab
report. In future labs, youll 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