Flying Hovercraft

Flying Hovercraft

★Friction is the force that stops/prevents an object from moving on forever. In this experiment, we will find out how the hovercraft works with and without friction.

★Time: 15 minutes (including setup and clean up)

★Cost: $2

★Area of Science and Topic:Physics

★Learning Objectives: Students will be able to learn how objects move differently when either there is friction or no friction. They would also get to know more about friction.

★Materials:

1. CD

2. bottle

3. balloon

4. scissors or cutter knife

5. glue gun

★Procedure:

1. First, get all materials needed.

2. With the scissors, cut the top part of the bottle.

3. Glue the part of the bottle to the center of the CD with a glue gun like this:

4. When the glue is dry, pull the balloon over the bottle top like this:

5. Through the hole at the bottom of the CD, blow the balloon.

6. Try sliding the hovercraft on a smooth surface. Observe what happens.

★How does this experiment work?

When the balloon is blown, the air comes out through the hole at the bottom of the CD. The air pushes the ground, which makes the hovercraft float. When it floats, there is no contact between the ground and the CD, thus there is no friction. When friction is not present, an object moves faster and smoother. As the air from the balloon is slowly used up the CD would also slowly land on the ground, making friction present. Eventually, the hovercraft would stop at rest.
Watch this video below and compare the movement of the CD with the balloon and the CD without the balloon. How is the presence of air(balloon) related to the presence of friction in this experiment?

★Tips for making the experiment work best with kids: 

Ask an adult for help when using the glue gun.

So that the kids could have some fun, let them blow the balloon.