The Lift Myth: teacher key

Airplanes, grade 7 edition, written for 7th grade. Two famous explanations of lift are both correct, and a popular third one is not. See what NASA says about the myth, how wings, engines and thin air fit in, and how the Wrights prepared.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What do the two famous explanations of lift have in common?
   • They are both correct (answer)
   • They are both incorrect
   • They both say wings make no lift
2. What does NASA Glenn call the equal transit time idea?
   • The newest theory of lift
   • The Wright brothers' theory
   • The most popular incorrect theory of lift (answer)
3. Why does a paper airplane show a problem with the equal transit idea?
   • It cannot fly at all
   • Its flat wing has the same length on top and bottom, and it still flies (answer)
   • Its wing is much longer on top
4. What does a wing's angle of attack describe?
   • The tilt of the wing to the oncoming air (answer)
   • The color of the wing
   • The weight of the fuel
5. What happens to wings in space, where there is almost no air?
   • They make extra lift
   • They make thrust
   • They make no lift (answer)
6. How long did the first flight on December 17, 1903 last?
   • 12 minutes
   • 12 seconds (answer)
   • 59 seconds

Words

• lift: holds planes up
• pressure: air's push
• downwash: air pushed down
• turbine: spinning engine part