Flight

If an airplane engine cut out in midair, which force would decrease almost immediately?

• Gravity

• Thrust

• Weight

• Drag

What word describes this shape?

• Airway

• Airfoil

• Aeron

• Airflow

What can you infer from the fact that airplane wings and birds' wings have similar shapes?

• That birds fly better than airplanes since they existed first

• That birds and airplanes take off in the exact same way

• That airplane wings were originallycovered in feathers

• That aircraft engineers studied birds' wings when they designed plane wings

When a plane is in flight, what's the main difference between the air below and above its wings?

• The air above the wings has lower pressure

• The air above the wings has a higher temperature

• The air below the wings has a higher temperature

• The air below the wings has lower pressure

When might you feel the force of drag in everyday life?

• When you take an elevator upward

• When you stick your hand out the window of a moving car

• When you sit under a ceiling fan

• When you take an escalator downward

The forces of lift and weight act in ____ directions.

• Opposite

• Parallel

• Random

• Unknown

Streamlined objects experience less drag. Which of the following vehicles best fits the description "streamlined?"

• 
• 
• 
• 

Why don't jumbo jets have propellers?

• Because their wings are aerodynamically shaped

• Because only helicopters have propellers

• Because jet engines provide more thrust

• Because they are powered by jet fuel, not friction

What can you infer about the airplane parts called "elevators?"

• Manipulating them allows the plane to move up or down

• Manipulating them allows the plane to turn left or right

• Manipulating them allows the plane to go forward or backward

• Manipulating them changes the forces of weight and drag

To which feature of a car is the control column of an airplane most similar?

• The steering wheel

• The gas pedal

• The brake pedal

• The gearshift