Please let me remind all of you--this material is copyrighted. Though partially funded by NASA, it is still a private site. Therefore, before using our materials in any form, electronic or otherwise, you need to ask permission.
There are two ways to browse the site: (1) use the search button above to find specific materials using keywords; or,
(2) go to specific headings like history, principles or careers at specific levels above and click on the button. 
Teachers may go directly to the Teachers' Guide from the For Teachers button above or site browse as in (1) and  (2).

Propeller Experiments - Level 1

Wings give an airplane lift, but they do not drive it forward. In some airplanes, the propeller (turned by an engine) drives the plane forward by pushing the air backward. The air, reacting to the action of the propeller, pushes it forward. (For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction - Newton's Third Law of Motion.) As the propeller is attached to the plane, it pulls the plane through the air.

EXPERIMENT 4

Equipment:

• Wagon or roller skate
• Small electric fan
• Long extension cord

Use a small electric fan with a very long extension cord for a propeller. Put the propeller on anything that can move easily - a wagon or a roller skate. Sit it firmly on the roller skate or wagon. The fan drives the wagon or skate backwards. This is because the blades are set to throw the air in front of the fan.

Send all comments to allstar@fiu.edu
© 1995-2010 ALLSTAR Network. All rights reserved worldwide.

Funded in part by

From Raytheon Aviation Educational Materials

Updated: March 12, 2004