Supersonic

High school (ages 12+)
Transportation

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/supersonic

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 the first supersonic aircraft?Bell X-1, a rocket-powered research aircraft
2. What does "supersonic" mean?Supersonic means moving faster than the speed of sound, about 767 mph at sea level. When an airplane goes supersonic, it creates a shock wave and a sonic boom.
3. Why do supersonic planes make a sonic boom?When the plane goes faster than sound, it compresses the air in front of it, forming a shock wave. The shock wave moves through the air and makes the double boom that people hear.

Mach Number: A dimensionless quantity representing the ratio of the speed of an object to the speed of sound in the surrounding medium.
Shock Wave: A discontinuity in pressure, temperature, and density that propagates through a medium at supersonic speeds.
Aerodynamic Drag: The force that opposes the motion of an object through the air, which increases significantly at supersonic speeds.
Hypersonic: Speeds greater than Mach 5, characterized by extreme heating and complex aerodynamic phenomena.