Grade 6 · Science · Unit 3 of 9
Flight
Lift, weight, thrust and drag
What your child practises
The four forces of flight and how balanced and unbalanced forces change motion, how air makes flight possible, how birds, bats and insects fly, and the impacts of aviation.
New Brunswick Curriculum skill descriptor: Scientific Literacy: Sensemaking · the forces that influence flight
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
A parachute slows a falling person by increasing…
- thrust
- drag
- lift
drag
Hint: A large surface catches more air.
Question 2
Which property of air do wings use to create lift?
- Air has no mass
- Air cannot move
- Faster air above the wing means lower pressure above than below
Faster air above the wing means lower pressure above than below
Hint: Higher pressure below pushes the wing upward.
Question 3
Which are the four forces of flight?
- Lift, mass, speed and wind
- Lift, weight, thrust and drag
- Thrust, gravity, wind and rain
Lift, weight, thrust and drag
Hint: Lift opposes weight and thrust opposes drag.
Question 4
A glider has no engine. Which force is missing?
- Lift
- Weight
- Thrust
Thrust
Hint: It gets forward motion by gliding downward.
Question 5
Which pair are the forces that must be balanced for a plane to stay at a steady height?
- Lift and weight
- Thrust and weight
- Lift and drag
Lift and weight
Hint: Up and down forces must be equal.
Question 6
A bird tilts its tail feathers to turn. This is similar to a plane using…
- its landing gear
- its fuel tank
- its rudder or other control surfaces
its rudder or other control surfaces
Hint: Control surfaces change the forces on the aircraft.