©ABC 2018

Questions for discussion

US Tariffs

1. Discuss the BTN story as a class. What points were raised in the discussion?

2. Describe Australia’s relationship with the United States.

3. The US President recently announced that a new tariff on steel and aluminium will be

introduced. True or false?

4. What is a tariff?

5. In dollars, how much of America’s steel and aluminium comes from Australia?

6. How would a tariff affect Australia?

7. Why has the US President introduced a tariff on steel and aluminium?

8. What are some of the downsides to having tariffs?

9. Why doesn’t Australia have to pay a tariff on the export of steel and aluminium to the US?

10. What questions do you have after watching the BTN story?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Stephen Hawking

1. What did the BTN story explain?

2. Where did Stephen Hawking study?

3. Fill in the gaps. Stephen Hawking studied physics and ______________ at university.

4. What is the study of physics?

5. At what age was Stephen Hawking diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease?

6. What is Motor Neurone Disease?

7. What was Stephen Hawking’s most famous discovery?

8. What is the name of Stephen Hawking’s book?

9. Stephen Hawking appeared in which TV show?

a. The Simpsons

b. Big Bang Theory

c. Futurama

d. All of the above

10. What did you learn watching the BTN story?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Australia’s Population Future

1. In pairs, discuss the BTN story and record the main points of the discussion.

2. How often is a baby born in Australia?

3. By 2050 what is Melbourne’s population expected to be?

4. What are some of the benefits of population growth?

5. What are some of the challenges of population growth?

6. How will population growth affect education?

7. Population growth will impact capital cities more than rural areas. True or false?

Episode 7

20th March 2018

©ABC 2018

8. What factors affect the number of people living in Australia?

9. Do you think Australia’s population should grow or stay the same size? Explain your

answer.

10. How has your thinking changed since watching the BTN story?

Check out the Australia's Population resource on the Teachers page.

Vote in the BTN poll

Amelia Earhart

1. What was the main point of the BTN story?

2. Where did Amelia Earhart grow up?

3. At what age did Amelia Earhart first ride in a plane?

4. In 1928, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across which ocean?

a. Atlantic

b. Indian

c. Pacific

5. How many hours did the trip take?

6. Describe the weather conditions during her solo trip in 1928.

7. In what year did Amelia Earhart set out on what she hoped would be her first solo flight

around the world?

8. What evidence is an American Professor studying to help investigate the disappearance of

Amelia Earhart?

9. Has the Amelia Earhart mystery been solved? Explain using your own words.

10. What 5 words would you use to describe Amelia Earhart?

Do the quiz on the BTN website.

Check out the Amelia Earhart resource on the Teachers page.

BTN Investigates - How do planes fly?

1. Explain the BTN story to another student.

2. Describe the Mark V, 1943 Spitfire.

3. Fill in the gaps. Wings make lift by changing the direction and pressure of the _____.

4. How do the upper and lower surfaces of the wing of a plane affect air pressure?

5. What is meant by the term ‘drag’?

6. What was the name of the plane used by the Australian Air Force up until 2010?

7. How many minutes does it take to fly from Adelaide to Melbourne in an F11?

8. What did you learn watching the BTN How do planes fly story?

9. What did you find interesting about this story?

10. Illustrate an aspect of this story.

Have you seen or heard something in the news you’d like explained? Send your question into

BTN Investigates.

Get your class involved in BTN’s Ask A Reporter! This week’s topic is

Australia’s Population.

©ABC 2018

Teacher Resource

Population Future

1. Discuss the BTN story as a class. What points were raised in the

discussion?

2. Currently, how old do you have to be to vote?

3. In what year were women given the right to vote?

4. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people weren’t allowed to have

their say until ___________.

5. Why do some people think the voting age should be lowered to 16?

6. What are the arguments against lowering the voting age?

7. Why are they holding a mock election at Scotch College?

8. The votes will be included in the official election result. True or false?

9. Do you think the voting age should be lowered to 16? Explain your

answer.

10. What questions do you have after watching the BTN story?

Positive, negative or interesting?

Students will practise their note-taking

skills while watching the BTN Population

Future story. After watching the story, ask

students to reflect and organise the

information into three categories.

What information in this story was...?

• Positive

• Negative or

• Interesting

Students may want to watch the story again or download a copy of the

Population Future transcript to assist them with this activity.

Class Discussion

Discuss the BTN Population Future story as a class using the following

questions to help guide discussion:

• What is population?

• What are the positives of an increasing population?

• What are the challenges of a growing population?

Episode 7

20th March 2018

November 2016

Students will develop a deeper

understanding of the impact a

growing population will have on

Australia.

Geography – Year 6

Differences in the economic,

demographic and social

characteristics of countries across

the world.

Geography – Year 7

Factors that influence the decisions

people make about where to live

and their perceptions of the

liveability of places.

The influence of accessibility to

services and facilities on the

liveability of places.

©ABC 2018

Population Research

Define: What do I want to know?

Key questions to research

Students can choose one or more of the following questions or come up with their own:

• What factors affect a growing population?

• What impact will a growing population have on Australia?

• What are some solutions to a growing population in Australia?

• What is population control and what are some examples?

Locate: Where do I find the information?

What resources will help answer my questions? (Internet, people, resource centre, organisations,

print). Discuss with students what a reliable source is.

Select: What information is important for the investigation?

Students may need support to sort through and select relevant information.

Organise: How do I make sense of the information?

Students can organise their research by creating main headings from their questions. Write each

heading on a separate piece of paper. Record the information found for each question.

Present: How do we let others know about this information?

Each group needs to discuss then decide on the best way to present the information. Possibilities

could include:

• A `Did You Know’ Facts sheet

• Infographic

• Oral presentation

• Prezi presentation

• Create an infographic using Canva

Evaluate: What have we learnt?

Each group reflects on what they have learnt about population during their investigation. Students will

reflect on their learning and respond to the following.

• What I learned...

• What I found surprising...

©ABC 2018

BTN Population stories Students watch the following BTN population stories and answer the questions. BTN Population debate story

1. How much has Australia’s population grown in the

last 50 years?

2. If the population keeps growing at its current rate, it

will be______ by 2050.

3. What factors affect a growing population?

4. Why were people encouraged to move to Australia?

5. What sort of incentives were offered?

6. Describe the different groups wanting to migrate to

Australia now?

7. What are the benefits of a growing population?

8. What are some disadvantages?

BTN World Population story

1. How much does the population grow each day?

2. Why has there been a huge growth in population

in a short space of time?

3. What has happened to Australia’s population in

the last 50 years?

4. What is Australia’s population expected to be by

2050?

5. What challenges does Australia face with a

growing population?

6. Which countries are likely to be most affected by

increased population?

7. What do scientists say we need to do to cope with

more people in the world?

8. Do you think the population of the world should be controlled? Explain your answer.

BTN 24 Million Australians story

1. Why is Australia’s population growing?

2. Why were people encouraged to move to

Australia in the past?

3. People are living longer than they did in the past.

True or false?

4. What are the benefits of a growing population?

5. Why do some people worry about our population

getting bigger?

6. By 2043 our Australia’s population is expected to

reach….

7. What do you think about Australia’s population

growing? Explain your answer.

©ABC 2018

How to deal with an increasing population

Students watch the ABC Catalyst video How to deal with increasing population then answer the following

questions:

• What do you think is meant by the term `liveability’?

• Rob Adams says the secret to managing

Melbourne’s increasing population without losing

liveability is building on the existing

____________________

• Give an example of building on existing

infrastructure.

• What is medium density housing?

• Where does Rob Adams suggest that medium

density housing should be built?

• What did you learn watching the video?

Population of your class

As a class discuss what you want to learn about the population of your class. Develop questions to

investigate student’s experiences, opinions and interests. When designing your classroom census, keep in

mind that you will need to respect privacy and protect confidentiality. For example, do not include your

names on the census.

Here are some questions students could include in their questionnaire:

• Which state/territory and country were you born?

• How many languages can you speak?

• What is your favourite food?

• How many hours of sleep do you normally get on a school night?

• What actions do you take in your home to conserve the environment?

Reflection

• What interesting things did the data tell you about your class?

• How could the results collected from this data help your school make better informed decisions?

Make a time capsule which includes the data gathered from your classroom census. Future generations at

your school will be able to learn about the population of your class and then compare to their own.

Run that Town

Run that Town! Use real Census data to discover who’s who in your area,

and make decisions that will sway popular opinion in your favour. Choose

from hundreds of projects for your town - from the practical to the

preposterous. What kind of leader will you be? Will you be treated to a

ticker tape parade, or chased out of town by an angry mob?

©ABC 2018

ABC News – You decide Australia’s population, we’ll show you how it looks

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-13/big-australia-or-small-australia-you-decide-our-population/9470156

BTN – Australia’s Population History

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4813194.htm

ABS – Population Clock

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/1647509ef7e25faaca2568a900154b63

BTN – 24 Million Australians

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4404497.htm

BTN – World Population

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3354554.htm

©ABC 2018

Teacher Resource

Amelia Earhart

1. Briefly summarise the Kids Contribute story.

2. Describe the volunteer work Kexin does.

3. Who does she volunteer with?

4. She works alongside Peter who is a ____________________.

5. Why are they trying to restore the parklands?

6. Why did Kexin want to start volunteering?

7. What is the BTN Kids Contribute survey hoping to find out?

8. Give some examples of how kids can contribute at home, school or

in their community.

9. What are the benefits of contributing?

10. How do you contribute? Give an example of what you do and how it

makes you feel.

After watching the BTN story, students will respond to the following

questions:

Personal response

Write a personal response to the Amelia Earhart story. Leave a comment on

the BTN Amelia Earhart story page. Ask students to finish one or more of the

following incomplete sentences:

• Amelia Earhart is famous because…

• It was interesting to learn…

• It was surprising to learn that...

• These are five words that I would use to describe Amelia

Earhart…

• What did you SEE in this video?

• What do you THINK about what you saw in this video?

• What does this video make your WONDER?

• What did you LEARN from this story?

• How did this story make you FEEL?

• What was SURPRISING about this story?

Episode 7

20th March 2018

November 2016

Students will develop a deeper

understanding of the life and

achievements of Amelia Earhart.

HASS / Inquiry and skills – year 4

Pose questions to investigate

people, events, places and issues

HASS / Inquiry and skills – year 5

& 6

Develop appropriate questions to

guide an inquiry about people,

events, developments, places,

systems and challenges

Present ideas, findings, viewpoints

and conclusions in a range of texts

and modes that incorporate source

materials, digital and non-digital

representations and discipline-

specific terms and conventions

HASS / Inquiry and skills – year 7

Construct significant questions and

propositions to guide investigations

about people, events,

developments, places, systems and

challenges

Present ideas, findings, viewpoints,

explanations and conclusions in a

range of texts and modes that

incorporate source materials,

citations, graphic representations

and discipline-specific terms,

conventions and concepts

©ABC 2018

Amelia Earhart – Create a biography

Before students begin to construct their biographies, hold a class discussion to find out what they already

know about biographical writing. Discuss what type of information is included in a biography and what they

tell us about a person. The Civics and Citizenship website has some examples of biographies for students to

look at.

Using the Biography Organiser template students will find and record information about Amelia Earhart.

Alternatively, students may want to choose a person in Australian history to focus their biographical writing.

Some possible areas of research include:

• Where was Amelia Earhart from? Locate using Google

Maps.

• When was she born? Describe her family life growing up.

• What are some of Amelia Earhart’s achievements?

Choose one to explore in more detail.

• What were some of the challenges she faced?

• How has Amelia Earhart made an impact on people’s

lives?

• What do you admire about Amelia Earhart?

• Sketch a portrait of Amelia Earhart. Explore and

experiment with different techniques and media to

produce a portrait.

Further investigation

• Imagine you could sit down and talk to Amelia Earhart.

What questions would you ask about her life and

achievements?

Journal writing

Students will imagine they are Amelia Earhart before she is about

to set off on her solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Students will

write a journal describing their feelings before the expedition.

Students will need to think about language and the era in which

they are writing.

• Explain why you chose to fly solo across the Atlantic

Ocean.

• How do feel?

• What are some of the challenges or dangers?

• What do you hope the expedition will achieve?

Students will reflect on their learning during this activity and respond to the following questions.

• How did you feel about this activity?

• How do primary sources (for example photos, letters, diaries and official documents) help you

understand what might have happened at a place in time?

©ABC 2018

Inquiry

Discuss the story as a class and ask students to pose questions about Amelia Earhart, her achievements

and the mystery of her disappearance. Students will develop an appropriate question to guide an inquiry

about Amelia Earhart (below are some example key questions). Alternatively, students may want to choose

an event or person in Australian history to investigate and focus their inquiry.

• What inspired Amelia Earhart to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean?

• Why are scientists investigating Amelia’s Earhart’s disappearance?

• Why is it important to investigate the disappearance of Amelia Earhart?

• How has Amelia Earhart’s achievements inspired others?

• How did Amelia Earhart improve women’s rights?

Students will collect and record information from a wide variety of primary and secondary sources and

present the information they find in an interesting way.

• Primary sources – Through using primary sources, that is a document like a diary, paintings or a

physical object such as stone tools, that was written or created at a particular time, we can gain

an understanding of what might have happened at a place in time.

• Secondary sources – Secondary sources are documents written after an event has occurred,

providing “second-hand” accounts of that event, person, or topic. Unlike primary sources, which

provide first-hand accounts, secondary sources offer different perspectives, analysis, and

conclusions of those accounts.

As part of their research, students will need to:

• Use appropriate terms and concepts in their presentation and refer to evidence and

sources.

• Write down the name of the source of the information.

• Look for facts and opinions that answer their inquiry question/s.

• Write down using their own words facts and opinions from the source.

BTN Investigates

This week BTN investigates how planes work. Students will watch

the BTN video and respond to the following discussion questions.

ABC News – Amelia Earhart’s remains found on Pacific Island in 1940, study suggests

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-09/amelia-earharts-bones-likely-found-on-pacific-ocean-island-

study/9531038

Amelia Earhart – Official Website

https://www.ameliaearhart.com/

HISTORY – Amelia Earhart

https://www.history.com/topics/amelia-earhart

©ABC 2018

BTN: Episode 7 Transcript 20/3/18

Hey, Amelia here. Thanks for joining me for another ep of BTN.

Coming up today.

• We look back at the life of a famous scientist who showed us the universe.

• In part 2 of our population series, we travel into the future to find out if big is actually good.

• And how do planes work? We sent Matt out to pretend to fly one to find out.

US Tariffs

Reporter: Matt Holbrook

INTRO: You can see Matt not fly a plane later. But first. We're heading to the US where President

Donald Trump got the whole world talking about tariffs recently. He announced a new one on steel

and aluminium imports. But it got a lot of people worried. Here's the story.

These guys are best friends.

FRIENDS: Best friends.

Well, kind of. They do everything together.

FRIENDS: Some things.

Share stuff, play battleship, and pose for the camera. You know, the usual. They're just like these

famous best friends, really. Although their relationship is less about sharing food, and more about

sharing exports. Less playing battleship and more actual battleships. And, well the photos thing is

fairly spot on. The point is, they're close. But recently, US President, Donald Trump, announced

he's introducing a new tariff on steel and aluminium.

DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT: We're going to be instituting tariffs.

And that made some people in Australia question how close these friends really are. Let me

explain. A tariff is an additional cost charged on certain goods that come in from another country.

And it got many Aussies really worried about how it would affect them. 500 million dollars’ worth of

America's steel and aluminium comes from Australia. While that's a pretty small fraction of its 60

billion-dollar annual imports, it's a big deal for the Australian companies that make it.

STEVEN CIOBO, MINISTER FOR TRADE: The imposition of a tariff like this will do nothing other

than distort trade, and ultimately, we believe will lead to a loss of jobs.

Donald Trump says he's doing it to support American industries. See, America's steel and

aluminium industries are struggling right now, because both things can be made cheaper

overseas. So, by forcing countries to pay more to send their goods there, American steel and

©ABC 2018

aluminium seems cheaper by comparison. That keeps more money in the country, and supports

local businesses.

There can be downsides, though. Tariffs can mean higher prices for customers, and if you start

imposing tariffs on other countries, those countries might hit back and apply tariffs of their own. So,

trade can quickly get a lot messier, and more expensive, for everyone. That's why many countries

have trade agreements, allowing trade with each other without being slugged with extra costs.

Luckily, in this case, we later got a reprieve because of our friendship, including trade history, and

our defence partnerships (that's the battleship reference). Donald Trump announced Australia

won't have to pay anything extra to export its steel and aluminium after all.

DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT: We have a very close relationship with Australia. We have a

trade surplus with Australia - great country; long-term partner. We'll be doing something with them.

But while being best friends can come with some perks, it's not so fun for those left out of the deal.

Stephen Hawking

Reporter: Jack Evans

INTRO: World-famous scientist Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76. He was a pioneer in

cosmology and theoretical physics. Here's how he made such a big impact on the world.

He was often called the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Albert Einstein. Known for his

ground-breaking theories that changed the way we think about the universe and even time itself.

But Stephen Hawking's amazing career actually started as a young man who struggled to get

around to doing his homework. That was the word around Oxford University where he studied

physics. That's the examination of all matter and the forces that interact with it. He then went on to

Cambridge to research cosmology, the study of the origin of universe.

But when he was 21 Hawking's life hit a big hurdle. He was diagnosed with Motor Neurone

Disease. Which causes the brain to stop sending messages to a person's muscles. At the time,

doctors said he would only live for around 2 years, but he proved them very, very wrong.

STEPHEN HAWKING: However difficult life may seem there is always something you can do and

succeed at.

And with the help of a special wheelchair and speech computer that's exactly what he did. Hawking

spent much of his time researching the beginning of the universe and black holes. His most

famous discovery was probably when he demonstrated that black holes emit some radiation.

Before this it was believed that nothing could escape their gravitational pull. The radiation from

black holes has since become known as Hawking Radiation. He also spent a lot of time thinking

about what existed before the big bang. Which sounds pretty complicated right? But Hawking

wrote books that explained his big ideas in ways that could be understood by the average person.

In 1988 he published 'A Brief History of Time'. Which became really popular and sold more than 10

million copies.

But he wasn't just known for his books. He also had a lot of fun becoming a regular on TV screens

around the world. He featured in shows like the Big Bang Theory. And came to life as an animated

character on Futurama and The Simpsons. He even had a big Hollywood film made about his life.

©ABC 2018

Throughout his life Stephen Hawking inspired people to look beyond our planet and expand our

knowledge of the universe. His family says that he'll be greatly missed but the legacy of his

amazing ideas will live on.

Quiz

We'll head into space for our first quiz.

How long does it take light to travel here from the sun? Is it

8 mins 20 secs

16 mins 20 secs

Or 30mins 20 secs

The answer is: 8 mins 20

This Week in News

Firefighters have been battling bushfires in New South Wales and Victoria. More than 200 people

had to evacuate after a fire broke out near Bega in New South Wales. It destroyed around 70

homes and buildings.

Meanwhile people in Victoria have been battling blazes of their own. 18 homes have been

destroyed in the state's south west.

In Darwin people are cleaning up the city after it was hit by a cyclone. Tropical Cyclone Marcus

swept through on Saturday and these videos show things got a little scary.

The Northern Territory Chief Minister closed all the schools in Darwin and Palmerston and even

asked some businesses not to open while they worked to fix things the electricity and water supply.

South Australia went to the polls on Saturday and voted in a Liberal government for the first time in

16 years. Stephen Marshall is now the state's new Premier.

Kids from around the country gathered in Sydney on the weekend for the first robotics competition.

The annual comp challenges teams to build a robot that can complete certain tasks the fastest.

The winner gets to head to the world championships in the US.

COMPETITOR: We're going to compete in Houston next month for the world championships.

We're also an all-girls team, we're one of the few all-girls teams in Australia.

But our award goes to this kid and his robotic sunnies!

©ABC 2018

Check that out again in slow mo.

And students a school in Hobart have made a giant human pie. Not an edible pie; the maths kind.

See, it was pi day last week on the 14th of March.

Basically, a celebration of that fancy number used in lots of calculations that involve circles. This

school used it as a way to get kids excited about maths. Oh, and as a reason to eat real pies of

course.

Australia’s Population Future

Reporter: Jack Evans

INTRO: Okay. It's time for the second part of our special on Australia's population. Last week we

looked back at our journey to 24 million. Now we're looking ahead to see how big our population

could get and whether we're really ready for it.

Did you know that every 104 seconds a baby is born in Australia? Or that in 2017, 169,993 people

moved here from all over the world? While that might mean a lot more potential friends in the

future. It also means we need to start thinking about how we're going to prepare for all these extra

people.

In just one year, Australia's population has grown by nearly 400,000 people. That's like adding an

extra Canberra annually. Most of them are moving to our major cities. By 2050 Melbourne's

population, for example, is expected to nearly double to 8 million people. There are some benefits

to having more people in the country and it’s not just lots of potential new friends. More people

means more businesses; more buildings means more jobs; and more people paying taxes. But it

might also mean more issues ahead.

For starters, experts say we're going to need better public transport and fewer cars if we want to

stop the main roads of the future looking like this. That means construction of better rail networks

and more efficient roads especially in big cities like Sydney and Melbourne.

PROFESSOR PETER MCDONALD, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE: We haven't done well with

transport infrastructure for a long, long time. Other cities in the world have great metro systems

that move people around really, really well. They have very fast trains between the big cities. We're

still back in the 19th century in this regard.

Transport's not the only thing that's going to feel the pressure either. More and more families are

currently moving to our capital cities. That means we're going to need more schools.

JAMES MERLINO, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, VICTORIA: We need to accommodate in

Victoria, 90,000 additional students over the next five years, just incredible enrolment growth. So,

we've got 56 new schools in the construction pipeline, 11 of which are opening for the 2018 school

year. But we just need to keep that pace up, year after year, because the enrolment growth, the

birth rate, interstate migration, this pressure is not going to stop.

But with limited space schools are going to have to be built more like this. But education and

transport aren't the only potential problem areas. Experts say healthcare, housing, the environment

©ABC 2018

and vital resources like water could all feel the pinch as the country grows. That's why some

people reckon we should keep Australia's population around the size it is now. It's pretty hard to

limit how many babies are born though. So, they suggest limiting the number of people Australia

takes from overseas instead.

Other people say we should embrace a bigger Australia and all the benefits that come with it. And

instead get started fixing all of the potential problems before they happen. In the meantime,

though, it's clear we're all going to have to get used to sharing a bit more of our country and

possibly our cake.

Ask a Reporter

Have you got a question about our population? Ask me live on Friday during Ask A Reporter!

Head to our website for all the details.

Poll

And we'll also make that topic our poll this week too. Let us know what you think on our website.

Do you think Australia’s population should grow or stay the same size?

Kids Contribute Promo

Have you shared your good deeds in the BTN Kids Contribute Survey yet?

It looks like this and it's super easy to fill in. You can do it on a computer, tablet or mobile. It'll only

take 5 or 6 minutes and all of your details and answers are completely anonymous. After the

Easter holidays we'll crunch all the numbers to help tell Australia just how valuable you guys really

are. Thanks for getting involved.

Sport

The Aussie women's cricket team have reclaimed the world number 1 ranking after crushing India

3 – nil in their One Day International series. In the final match opener, Alyssa Healy, scored her

maiden century.

ALYSSA HEALY, CRICKETER: I've played a lot of cricket to not have one so I'm pretty excited to

sit here finally with a 100 under my belt.

To the women's AFL now and the Adelaide Crows' hopes for a back to back premiership came to

an end over the weekend with the Collingwood Magpies taking a 53-32 win at Olympic Park Oval.

Their win means the Brisbane Lions and the Western Bulldogs will face off in the grand final on

Saturday.

©ABC 2018

And finally, a young Mick Fanning fan up in Queensland's snagged an incredible gift from the

superstar surfer. Fanning was competing in the Gold Coast Pro but after being knocked out he

gave his surfboard to this kid who was just after an autograph.

Amelia Earhart

Reporter: Ruby Cornish

INTRO: Some bones discovered on an island in the Pacific in 1940 are likely those of Amelia

Earhart according to new research. She was a legendary aviator that disappeared while attempting

to fly around the world. Next up, we'll take a look at her life. Then Matt will find out how the planes

she loved so much actually work.

It's one of the world's greatest mysteries. In July 1937, intrepid pilot Amelia Earhart set out on what

she hoped would be her first solo flight around the world, but she disappeared. There are lots of

theories about what actually happened and we'll get to those. First, let's see where her amazing

story began.

Amelia grew up in America in the early 1900s. She hadn't always been interested in planes, but

when she was about 23 she had her first ride in one and she made up her mind then and there to

become a pilot. In fact, she wrote in her diary at the time "by the time I got two or three hundred

feet off the ground, I knew I had to fly." In those days, women didn't have the same rights as men.

They'd only just won the right to vote, and the idea of a woman piloting planes was pretty out there.

But Amelia wasn't fazed. She began flying lessons, and a few years later became the 16th woman

in America to get her pilot license.

In 1928, she became the first woman ever to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. The trip lasted

nearly 15 hours and she had to contend with strong winds, icy conditions and a bunch of

mechanical problems along the way. And Amelia's achievements didn't stop there. Before long she

found herself a major celebrity. She kept breaking flight records, became a best-selling writer, and

an activist for women's rights. In July 1937, she set off on her attempt to fly all the way around the

globe. but on her longest leg of the journey, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, her radio

messages stopped and that was the last anyone heard from her.

Many people believe her plane crashed and still lies somewhere on the ocean floor, but there is

another theory too. In the 1940s, builders discovered some bones on the tiny Nikumaroro Island,

that’s right here in the South Pacific Ocean and about 650 kilometres from where Amelia was

meant to land. But experts who studied the bones at the time decided they actually belonged to a

man.

Fast forward to today and those bones are long lost. But an American professor decided to revisit

the case anyway. He used a pair of Amelia's pants to figure out her measurements and used a

photograph of her holding a can of oil to estimate the length of her arm bones. His verdict? He

thinks the bones are a likely match.

So, has the Amelia Earhart mystery been finally solved? We can't be sure, and we probably won't

ever know with 100 per cent certainty. But what we do know is that no matter what happened on

her final trip, Amelia is still inspiring little girls to have some very big dreams.

©ABC 2018

Did you know?

Did you know?

Amelia Earhart bought her first plane within six months of her first flying lesson.

She paid $2000 for it and nicknamed it 'The Canary' because it was yellow.

How do planes fly?

Reporter: Matthew Holbrook

INTRO: Hi BTN, my name is Jana, and I'm Charlotte. And our question is: How do planes

mechanically fly?

Aeroplanes, they're the big heavy hunks of metal taking over our skies.

MATT HOLBROOK, REPORTER: Someone should do something about them.

JACK: Something like celebrate their wonderous ability to defy gravity while taking us places

quickly and conveniently?

MATT: Oh Yeah.

Anyway, I've come to a place that does just that: The South Australian Aviation Museum. Where

better to understand how planes fly, than a place showcasing how flight technology has changed

and improved over time? I'm getting some expert help, from volunteer, John.

MATT: Tell us about this.

JOHN ROBERTS, VOLUNTEER: This is a Mark V, Spitfire 1943. It was pretty fast in its time.

MATT: So, John, how do planes like this one actually fly?

JOHN: It's the airflow going over the top of the wing and underneath the wing. Because of the

forward motion, and you increase as the engine goes, and takes you faster forward, this wing will

actually lift up.

Wings make lift by changing the direction and pressure of the air crashing into it. These wings have

a curved upper surface and a flatter lower surface. The curved upper part of the wing lowers the air

pressure directly above it, and the lower part of the wing increases it, helping to generate lift. There

are a few other forces going on, too. Importantly, thrust from the engine, which sends a plane

forwards. There's the resistance of the air as the plane moves through it, that's called drag. And

there's weight. You need more lift, than the weight of the plane to move it upwards into the sky.

The Spitfire may have been fast for its time, but John tells me it's got nothing on the F111, used by

the Australian Air Force up until 2010.

MATT: This is enormous, John, it must have some serious power going on behind it to make it go.

JOHN: You're quite correct there, Matt, there are two engines inside this aircraft. It actually flies at

2,500 kilometres per hour. If you put that into perspective, you can fly from Adelaide to Melbourne

in 12 minutes. Now that's fast.

©ABC 2018

MATT: That is fast. Should we go do it, then?

JOHN: Sounds good.

MATT: This is slightly overwhelming John, what am I supposed to do now?

JOHN: It's very impressive, isn't it, Matt? You have the joystick for flying, and that will take you in

any direction you wish. You are the captain.

MATT: I'm the captain?

JOHN: You are the captain.

MATT: Well, we're not going anywhere, I can tell you that much.

JOHN: And this young chap here who will eventually sit there is the weapons co-ordinator, he

looks after all the armament, that type of thing.

After brushing with supersonic speeds, I'm going back to flight school.

MATT: John, can you tell me what this is all about, this looks like fun!

JOHN: This was what was used in the fifties to see if any pilot or human being, male or female,

had any co-ordination to the limbs to the brain. The idea is to keep that light to the middle there for

two and a half minutes. If you could do that, you became or entered to become a pilot. So, there

you go, Matt, prove your point, you should be a pilot and not a TV host.

MATT: I thought this would be fairly easy, and it's not.

Not exactly reassuring, but I definitely have a newfound appreciation for these magnificent

machines and the people who fly them.

Closer

And that wraps us up for today. But we'd love to hear what you thought about today's stories on

our website and, while you're there, please make sure you have a go at our Kids Contribute

survey.

Thanks, and I'll see you next week for more BTN.