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Frisbee challenge

It flies, but it isn’t a bird or a plane … it’s a Frisbee! Can you make a frisbee out of K’NEX? How far do you think you will be able to throw it?

Levels of difficulty:
Level 1 - Make a shape out of K’NEX, that will fly through the air when it spins
Level 2 - As level 1, and it will fly at least 5m
Level 3 - As level 2, and you can land it in a box 5m away

Equipment: K'NEX set.

Safety: Make sure you supervise the throwing of the frisbees so as to avoid personal injury or damage, and in particular ensure that no one is located where they can be hit by a frisbee when it is thrown.

Approach: What shape will fly best when you spin it? A ring? A star? A flying saucer? Try making different shapes out of K’NEX, and testing which flies best.

For level 2, think how can you increase the distance that your frisbee flies. Is it better if it is light or heavy? How should you throw it? If there is a wind, does it fly better into the wind or down wind?

For level 3, think how you can make it fly into a cardboard box 5m away. Should it land flat in the box, or sideways? Is there a shape that flies best for this task?

Handy Hints (Please click to view):
L1 - 3 ways to connect rods and connectors		Frisbee challenge
Teachers' Notes

Teachers' Notes

A practical experiment into flight. Starting with predictions, through testing, leading to conclusions.

Possible solution: See photo.

Before starting: Ask each child to predict the factors that will affect the flight of a frisbee, and write down their ideas.

Conclusion: Firstly, ask if the predictions made were borne out in practice, and whether any additional factors have been found which affect the flight of a frisbee. Then hold a competition to see which frisbee flies the furthest, and who can get theirs in the box most times out of five throws, Finally, draw a table and graph of the competition results.

Copyright © Andy Shercliff 1996 and K'NEX User Group 2004

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