Design Lab
Problem
What direction would a pilot take when traveling from Seattle to San Francisco?
Procedure
Materials: Water, pie pan, cinnamon, straw
- Fill a pie pan with water
- Dump half a cup of cinnamon into the water
- get ready to blow on the water at an angle with a straw
- Start spinning the pie pan at a slow and consistent speed while blowing a reasonable amount of air from the straw holding it at the side of the pan where it just overlooks the water.
Results
When we blew into the water, the cinnamon traveled to the right, instead of in the direction the cinnamon was going when we turned the pie pan counter-clockwise
Data Analysis
The pilot flying from Seattle to San Francisco would have to travel west and go against the wind. The wind would be traveling to the east.