Which statement describes the relationship between induced drag and angle of attack?

• A. Induced drag decreases as angle of attack increases
• B. Induced drag increases in direct proportion to the angle of attack
• C. Induced drag is independent of angle of attack
• D. Induced drag only occurs at stall

Answer: (B)

Induced drag is the portion of drag that comes from generating lift—the energy spent creating wingtip vortices as the wing produces lift. As angle of attack increases in the normal flight range, the wing generates more lift (lift coefficient rises). Since induced drag is tied to lift (specifically, it grows with the square of the lift coefficient), increasing lift causes induced drag to rise. In practical terms, this means induced drag increases with angle of attack, rather than staying constant or decreasing. It isn’t something that only happens at stall; it’s present whenever lift is being produced. The idea that induced drag increases with angle of attack is a simplified, commonly used way to describe the relationship, even though the exact dependence is quadratic with lift.