Flyer Lab
LEDBETTER
Name:______________________________________
Pre-Lab Questions
1. Define Variation__________________________________________________________________________________
2. Define Natural Selection ___________________________________________________________________________
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In this activity you will construct a paper airplane of your own design to represent a variation of a species known as
“Flyer.” After constructing your Flyer, you will fly it down the middle of the classroom. Those Flyers who make it to
Resource Island, 8 feet away, without crossing the out of bounds lines, will survive and reproduce. Those flyers that do
not make it will perish.
Parents of Flyers who perish will choose a surviving Flyer design and will try to recreate it using the same classifications.
You may not touch the Flyer when you are looking at it. You will only have 3-4 minutes to create new Flyers.
After reproduction, the Flyers and their offspring will again attempt to fly to Resource Island. Unfortunately, due to
changes in the environment, the distance the Flyers must travel to reach Resource Island has increased! To survive,
Flyers must travel 12 feet. The process will be repeated for a third generation which will need to travel 16 feet.
After three generations, data will be collected and analyzed to see the changes that have a occurred in the Flyer
population over time.
Lab Analysis
1. How much variation existed in the initial Flyer population? How much variation existed after three generations?
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2. What role did chance play in the survival of the airplanes? Explain.
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3. Which traits provided the greatest adaptation to flying long distances in a straight line?
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4. Over time, what happens to traits that are not well suited for a particular environment?
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5. Over time, what happens to traits that are well suited for a particular environment?
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6. How do you explain the presence of final survivors with classifications that are different than any seen in the original
population? (Explain how you think this variation happened)
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7. In the real world, how could you explain organisms with classifications that are not previously seen?
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8. Did the environment (that these planes lived in) change? Explain.
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9. If the environment changed so that Resource Island was only accessible to Flyers that travel 4-8 feet, how would the
population of Flyers change?
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10. How does the Flyer lab demonstrate natural selection? (Use specifics from the lab, include vocabulary words such as
variation and adaptations, etc.)
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Classification & Verification Sheet
Use the following chart to determine the classification of your species.
TYPE OF PAPER
PRINTER
Standard blank
8.5 x 11 printer
paper
WING LENGTH
WING SHAPE
WING WIDTH
WING BEND
Normal
18 cm or less:
wing start to
wing tip
ANGLED
Top View
More like:
THIN
Side View
Wing folded
down against
body does not
reach the
bottom.
NO BEND
There is no bend
or tear in the
wing
LONG
18 cm + wing:
start to wing tip
SQUARED
Top View
More like:
NORMAL
Side view
Wing folded
down against
body reaches
bottom, but
does not extend
past it.
BENT
There is a tear or
bend in the wing
WIDE
Side view
Wing folded
down against
body extends
past the bottom.
1st Classification:
PERSON
TYPE OF
PAPER
WING LENGTH
WING SHAPE
WING WIDTH
WING BEND
WING WIDTH
WING BEND
1 ______________
2 ______________
Verification: Bring your airplane and your form to Ms. Ledbetter to be verified.
Final Classification:
PERSON
TYPE OF
PAPER
WING LENGTH
WING SHAPE
1 ______________
2 ______________
Verification: Bring your airplane and your form to Ms. Ledbetter to be verified.