Related subject area: science, geography, math

Overall problem: Which activities (if any) should be restricted around the coral reefs of Kailua Bay to insure their lasting protection?

Relationship of problem in this lesson to overall problem: In the previous lesson students developed and categorized a list of questions that need to be answered to select the best aircraft for their mission. Students will now find the answers to their questions and use the answers to 1) select the best aircraft for the mission and 2) create a flight plan given the mission parameters. Students begin by identifying the characteristics of the available NASA research aircraft. Then, they participate in a series of activities to gather information that will help them select the optimal NASA aircraft and prepare to create a flight plan. Students are split into three groups and assigned to investigate one of three mission planning parameters: 1) selecting aircraft based on remote sensing instrument parameters, 2) selecting aircraft based on mission planning factors, and 3) selecting aircraft based on flight planning parameters. Each group will decide which aircraft are best based on what they have learned, share their findings, and together as a class identify the optimal aircraft for the mission given all of the identified information. Students then use their new knowledge of mission planning parameters to create a flight plan. Finally, the students will compare their flight plan to the actual NASA mission.

Estimated time required:  8 to 9 class periods

Student outcomes/objectives:

• The students will choose the best aircraft for the remote sensing mission by analyzing aircraft characteristics, remote sensing instrument characteristics, mission planning factors, and flight planning.
  • The students will identify the characteristics of available NASA research aircraft.  
  • The students will identify the characteristics of the remote sensing instrument.
  • The students will describe factors to be considered when planning an airborne remote sensing mission.
  • The students will describe factors to be considered when developing a flight plan.
• The students will create a flight plan for their mission. 
• The students will compare their flight plan to the actual NASA mission flight plan.

Prerequisite skills or knowledge:

• Ability to work in teams.
• Basic internet skills.
• Basic reading and writing skills.
• Basic understanding of problem solving.
• Basic presentation preparation skills.

Teacher preparation: 

• Print Student Journal / Activity sheets for these activities.
• Print Actual flight path (1)
• Print Actual Flight path (2)
• Bookmark appropriate websites for students.

Student reflection and assessment: Student reflection activities | Assessment

Education standards supported by this lesson:

National Science Education Standards | Project 2061 Benchmarks

National Standards for School Mathematics | National Technology Standards | National Geography Standards

Cross-curricular connections to support National Education Standards for this lesson:

math | technology | geography

FRAME the lesson.

Ask what is the overall problem that we have been investigating? 

Ask what types of questions do we need to answer to identify which aircraft is best for this mission? 

State NASA has five research aircraft that we can choose from to conduct this mission. But before we choose the best one for our mission you need to find information about the characteristics of each aircraft. 

Prompt students to identify the characteristics of the available NASA research aircraft. Students should create or complete a table that shows important characteristics of each aircraft. See
Activity sheet: Aircraft characteristics (DMFP-1) 

Teacher note: There is no one correct table format for gathering data for this activity.  The table should be developed based on the questions that students think are most important about the aircraft. If they are unable to narrow their choices with the information they gather, then they may need to go back and add additional information to their table.  This exploration and decision making process is important in developing understanding of scientific process. The Activity sheet: Aircraft characteristics (DMFP-1) we provide for the teacher, and in the student journal, contains the minimum amount of information categories required to select the appropriate aircraft for a mission. Based on your students needs for support in this type of activity, you may choose to use the given table or not to give the table to the students, rather have them create their own.

• SR-71 | facts |
• ER-2   | facts |  mission information  
• DC-8  | facts |  mission information
• King-Air | facts |
• Pathfinder |  facts   | mission information

Ask students to select the best aircraft for this mission based on what they now know.

• If they think they can, record their choice and ask for rationale. Note: At this point they have not answered all of their questions and not have a complete rationale for their choice. They may know enough from the lessons to date, so inform them that we need to continue to answer their questions to see if their choice and rational hold up to the remaining mission parameters. 

Ask what else do we need to consider about the mission to select the best aircraft?

Discuss the next steps. Students will be investigating important content for selecting suitable aircraft for their mission. 

Sample student responses:

• Which activities (if any) should be restricted around coral reefs?

Student activity:

• Students refer to the list of questions they created in the previous lesson (if that lesson was not conducted, use this time to have students brainstorm a list of questions and rationalize why they are important to the selecting aircraft for a mission - See "Airborne remote sensing mission: What do we need to know?" lesson plan.

Student activity:

• Students work in groups to search given aircraft websites and record information in answer to their questions. They will use the data they collect in their table for comparison and decision making throughout the remainder of the unit.

• Students build a table using Activity sheet: Aircraft characteristics (DMFP-1) and begin to enter data based on their review of the different aircraft websites. 

Note: You may want to assign groups of students to investigate one of the aircraft and enter the information for their assigned aircraft on their table. Then, bring the class together to share each groups'  findings on their specific aircraft and have the class generate a table with all of the data for each aircraft.

Sample student responses:

• All of the aircraft are possible at this point, unless the students understand that the SR-71 is not used for these types of missions, rather is primarily used on aerodynamics research. 

• Characteristics of the remote sensing instrument (AVIRIS)
• Outside factors such as weather
• Factors that affect flight planning