How Living Things Fly Characteristics of flying birds Wings to produce lift Powerful flight muscles to generate forward motion Aerodynamic body reduces drag Very light bones with air sacs reduces weight Gliding and Parachuting Other flying animals

Characteristics and Adaptations for Living Things to Fly - Birds Birds must deal with the aerodynamic forces which affect planes, helicopters, etc. These are Lift, Weight, Thrust and Drag. They do this by have a specific set of bodily characteristics Wings to produce lift Powerful flight muscles to generate forward motion Aerodynamic body reduces drag Very light bones with air sacs reduces weight

Wings to produce lift Birds and airplanes produce lift the same way The shape of the wing causes air to move faster above it and slower below This creates more pressure under the wing than above creating lift

Powerful flight muscles to generate thrust When a bird flaps its wings, it sends air down and behind to produce thrust To accomplish this, a bird must twist its wings to create the right angle Birds accomplish this with very strong flying muscles

Aerodynamic Body Having an aerodynamic body allows birds to reduce drag Is similar to how an airplane is shaped

Very light bones with air sacs reduces weight For anything to fly, lift must be greater than weight Birds accomplish this in part by having a hollow bones which contain air sacs

How do birds fly?

Gliding and Parachuting There are two ways humans can fall and land safety from heights. They can use a parachute use a wingsuit Both work to slow the persons fall.

Using a Parachute Gravity pulls your down and air resistance (drag/lift in this case) pushes you up Parachutes act to increase the air resistance The greater the air resistance, the slower the person will fall to the ground

Wingsuit Wingsuits act like a skin or membrane between your legs and arms They allow you to glide from one place to another while falling at a reduced speed Most people wearing a wingsuit will also need to use a parachute to land

How do other animals fly? Most other animals take advantage of bodily adaptations to glide from one place to another These adaptations usually involve a membrane or skin attached between points on the animal This skin acts like a parachute or wingsuit These animals often use their tails and arms to stabilize flight and turn Flying Squirrel Flying Fish Flying Lemurs

Other Flying Animals Flying Squirrel Flying Fish

Activity Task: Your task is to create a parachute which will allow your egg to fall safety from an elevated location Rules: You may only use the materials provided Your egg must be fully intact after it lands