In this activity, students can learn one of the principles involved in flight with a strip of paper and their breath.
Bernoulli’s Principle states: as the speed of air increases, the pressure decreases.
This principle is partially responsible for the ability of an airplane to lift off the ground. When an airplane moves through the air, the wings push against the air, so that the airflow is slower under the wing than above it.
As a result, Bernoulli’s principle tells us that there will be more pressure on the bottom of the wing than on the top. The slow, high pressure air underneath the wing creates lift.
When you blow fast air over the top of the strip of paper, the air pressure decreases above the paper. The air pressure below the strip is relatively higher; it pushes the paper upward.
