Beginner's Guide
to Propulsion & RangeGames
Thrust to Weight Ratio
Activiy
If so instructed by your teacher, print out a worksheet page for
these problems.
After reading the
Web page Thrust to Weight Ratio,
complete the activity to answer the following questions.
1. What determines the
weight of an airplane?
2. What determines
the thrust of an airplane?
3. The thrust to weight
ratio indicates how efficient ______________________ is.
4. According to Newton's
Second Law of Motion, the higher an airplane's thrust to weight ratio
is, the higher its ___________________, its __________________, and its_________________________.
5. Which plane would
you expect to be able to climb faster, a fighter plane or an airliner?
6. Based on the previous
question, which plane must have the higher thrust to weight ratio, the
fighter plane or the airliner?
Open
RangeGames
and use it to answer the following questions.
Set the "Mode" to Play, "Units" to Metric and
"Aircraft" to Exec Jet. Below the "Aircraft" menu, locate the
aircraft Weight and on the dials to the right, locate the Thrust.
7. In the data table
on the worksheet, record the weight in Newtons and the thrust in Newtons
for Exec(utive) Jet 1.
8. Change the aircraft
type to Fighter and record weight and thrust in the data table for Fighter
1.
9. Change the aircraft
type to Airliner and record weight and thrust in the data table for Airliner
1.
10. Change the aircraft
type to Exec(utive) Jet and record weight and thrust in the data table for
Executive Jet 2.
11. Change the aircraft
type to Airliner and record weight and thrust in the data table for Airliner
2.
12. Change the aircraft
type to Fighter and record weight and thrust in the data table for Fighter
2.
Use a search engine
and find the data to answer the following questions. Record your answers
in the data table on the worksheet.
13. Search for
Gates Learjet,
and find data for the Learjet/C-21.
Record the weight in pounds on the data table and convert to
Newtons. Record the thrust.
14. Search for
Boeing Fighter Aircraft,
and find data for the Boeing F/A-18 "Hornet."
Record the weight in pounds on the
data table and convert to Newtons. Record the thrust.
15. Search for
data for the Boeing F-15 "Eagle,".
Record the weight in pounds on the data
table and convert to Newtons. Record the thrust.
16. Search for
Boeing Airliners and
find data for the Boeing 747.
Record the weight in pounds on the data table and convert to Newtons.
Record the thrust.
17. Pick your favorite airplane.
Record the weight in pounds on the
data table and convert to Newtons. Record the thrust.
18. Calculate the
thrust to weight ratios in the data table.
19. Compare the thrust
to weight ratios in airliners, fighter jets, and executive jets.
20. Conclude by explaining
why certain types of planes require a higher thrust to weight ratio.
21. List any plane
from the data table that can accelerate vertically.
Data Table
Airplane
|
Weight
in lbs.
|
Divide
by 2.2 to convert to kg
|
Multiply
by gravity = 9.80 to convert to Newtons
|
Weight
in Newtons
|
Thrust
in Newtons
|
Thrust
to weight ratio
|
Executive
Jet 1
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
|
|
|
Executive
Jet 2
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
|
|
|
Learjet
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fighter
1
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
|
|
|
Fighter
2
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
|
|
|
F/A-18
"Hornet"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
F-15 "Eagle"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Airliner
1
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
|
|
|
Airliner
2
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
|
|
|
Boeing
747
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|