Lift (force)

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/lift-force

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is lift and why does it help airplanes fly?Lift is a force that pushes an object upward, balancing its weight. It comes from air moving faster over the curved top of a wing, creating lower pressure above and higher pressure below.
2. How does the shape of a wing create lift?A wing's curved top makes air travel a longer path, so it moves faster. Faster air means lower pressure above, and the higher pressure below pushes the wing up.

Airfoil: A shape designed to generate a force, typically lift, when moving through a fluid.
Bernoulli's Principle: In a horizontal flow, an increase in the speed of a fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure.
Angle of Attack: The angle between the chord line of an airfoil and the direction of the oncoming fluid flow.