Parachute Experiment

Parachute experiment

Aim:
The aim was to find the effect of holes on a parachute, varying their size and number.

Hypothesis:
1. By increasing the number of holes, the time it will take to the parachute to reach the ground will be longer and its flight will be more balanced.
2. By increasing the size of the hole on the parachute, the time it will take to the parachute to reach the ground will be shorter and its flight will be less balanced.

Apparatus:
- garbage bag (squared shape with rounded angles)
- string
- paperclip
- cello tape
- bung (used as weight)
- tape measure
- stopwatch

Method:
The garbage bag and the bung were attached with strings using cello tape and paperclip. The parachute was then dropped from 8 metres. Using a stopwatch, the time it took to the parachute to reach the ground was measured. Each drop was repeated 3 times.

Dependent variable:
The time it takes to the parachute to reach the ground is measured 3 times to get a more accurate result.

Independent variable:
By changing the number of holes on the parachute (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) and the size of the hole (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 cm), different amount of times are measured.

Data collection:

1. Number of holes

Time (s) +/- 0.1 s
Number of holes 1 2 3 average
0 7.09 7.88 6.31 7.09
1 6.56 6.54 7.28 6.79
2 7.41 7.08 6.89 7.12
3 7.44 7.66 6.99 7.36
4 7.16 8.50 6.19 7.28
5 7.54 7.12 8.38 7.68
6 7.28 7.69 6.53 7.16
7 7.68 7.32 7.09 7.36
8 7.19 7.37 7.09 7.21
9 8.09 7.50 8.44 8.01
2. Size of the hole

Time (s) +/- 0.1 s
Size of the holes (cm) 1 2 3 average
1 7.63 7.79 7.76 7.72
3 7.44 7.75 7.65 7.61
5 6.60 7.86 7.59 7.35
7 7.50 6.79 7.72 7.33
9 6.87 7.00 7.09 6.98

Graph:
1.

Errors:
-reaction time when stopping the stopwatch
-the attempts were needed, because the parachute sometimes touched the wall, therefore the results were not accurate
-the parachute did not touch the ground at the good place
Conclusion: