4th, 5th and 6th class investigated how helicopters work as part of an "Energy and Forces" science lesson. In this activity, the children explored how some things fall and how varying the size of the rotor blades, the shape of the rotor blades and the weight of a paper helicopter affect the way a helicopter spins.
The shape of the helicopter rotor blades make it spin when dropped from a height. Gravity pulls the helicopter down. The air resists the movement and pushes up each rotor separately, causing the helicopter to spin. The pupils changed the length of their rotor 'blades' and they had to predict how this would affect their helicopters.
Look at the video below to see the pupils testing out their helicopters.