Darwin developed the theory of evolution to explain why there are so many different kinds of living things. He could easily observe that offspring of any animals were slightly different from their parents and that this could allow for big changes over thousands of years. He did not know that genes caused the differences. Genes are now very important in the modern theory of evolution.

The ratio of lift to drag l/d for a wing or airfoil is an important aerodynamic parameter, indeed, it is a direct measure of the aerodynamic efficiency of the wing. if a wing is pitched through a range of angle of attack, l/d first increases, then goes through a maximum, and then decreases. consider an infinite wing with an naca 2412 airfoil. estimate the maximum value of l/d. assume that the reynolds number is 9x10^6.