Program Information

Series: NASA Connect
Program: Proportionality: Modeling the Future
Segment Number: 1 (Watch entire program)
Duration: 00:03:50
Year Produced: 2000
Description:

NASA Connect segment explaining ratios and proportions. The segment describes how these math concepts helped the Wright Brothers to invent the first flying machine.

NASA CONNECT™ is a series of Emmy®-award-winning, math-focused programs. Each program supports the national math, science, and technology standards and has three components that include (1) a 30-minute television broadcast; (2) a companion educator's guide; and (3) an online activity that further explores topics presented in the broadcast. These programs establish a connection between the math, science, and technology concepts taught in the classroom to those same concepts used everyday by NASA researchers.

For more information visit: http://connect.larc.nasa.gov/

Transcript

Hey, guys.

Welcome to NASA Connect,
the show that connects you
to the world of math, science,
technology, and NASA.

He's Van Hughes.

And she's Jennifer Pulley.

We're your hosts,
along with Norbert.

He's gonna help us
take you through
another awesome episode
of NASA Connect.

Today we're in Kitty Hawk,
North Carolina.

This is where
the Wright brothers
took the very first
controlled powered flight
in 1903.

And guess what.

What?

They used mathematics,
like ratios.

What is a ratio?

Good question.

A ratio is a pair of numbers
that is used
to make comparisons.

And ratios are everywhere.

Get this:

Before the Wright brothers
flew planes,
they were experts
in one of the most revolutionary
means of travel since the wheel,
the bicycle.

So in memory
of the Wright brothers'
preflight days,
let's use this bike
as an example of a ratio.

Good idea, Van.

Let's say we want to compare
the number of revolutions,
or complete circles,
that one tire makes
to the distance
that the bike travels.

Pretend this wheel measures
76 centimeters, or 30 inches.

By measuring the distance
that the wheel rolled
after one revolution,
you can set up a ratio--
1 revolution to 239 centimeters.

Right.

When you find ratios,
you're also using proportions.

A proportion is
a number sentence, or equation,
that states that two ratios
are equal.

So now that you have
a better understanding
of ratios and proportions,
let's get back
to the Wright brothers.

Before Flyer 1,
the Wright brothers
worked on bicycles.

As young men,
Orville and Wilbur
started a bicycle manufacturing
and repair company
in their hometown
of Dayton, Ohio.

The Wright brothers
used the money they made
to finance their interest
in aviation.

In the winter of 1901,
Orville and Wilbur Wright
used their knowledge of math
to build a wind tunnel
in order to study
how to control an aircraft.

It was then that they realized
the importance of ratios.

(Jennifer)
Right.

The Wright brothers
used something
called the aspect ratio.

That is the ratio
of the wing's length
to the wing's width.

By increasing
the length of the wing
and, at the same time,
decreasing
the width of the wing,
the Wright brothers
cut the drag
they experienced
in their wind tunnel by half.

Immediately they began designing
a better working glider.

(Van)
In 1903,
after adding a rudder,
an engine, and a propeller
to their aircraft,
the Wright brothers achieved
the first self-propelled flight
of an airplane
and began the era
of powered flight.

Virginia Standards

6th Grade SOLs » Mathematics » 6.2
6th Grade SOLs » Mathematics » 6.20
7th Grade SOLs » Mathematics » 7.6
7th Grade SOLs » Mathematics » 7.11
8th Grade SOLs » Mathematics » 8.3
8th Grade SOLs » Mathematics » 8.17