Science Inertia Assignment
Prac Report – Investigating Parachutes Experiment
Aim: To measure how the size of a parachute t’s surface area affects the parachute’s speed, acceleration and time of flight.
Hypothesis: A parachute with a larger surface area would fall slower due to that fact there would be a higher level of drag, or in other words more air resistance.
Materials:
* Sturdy garbage bags * Metric ruler * Scissors * Washers * Twist ties * Light-weight string * Stopwatch
Method:
1.Gather all equipment necessary for this experiment
2. From an opened garbage bag, a series of square parachutes of different sizes was made. The surface area of the parachutes was 100cm2, 400cm2, 900cm2 and 1600cm2, from large to small. Each parachute was square in shape, so the four sides were the same length. The edge length and area of each different parachute was recorded. 4 were made. The parachute did not exceed a side length of 60 cm.
3. each of the four differently sized parachutes were cut from the garbage bag material and had a knot tied in each of the four corners of the square. The knots were used to anchor the string. Four pieces of 40 cm string were cut out for each parachute. The end of each piece of string was tied around one of the four knots, positioning the string right above the knot.
4. The centre of the plastic sheet was held in one hand and all strings were pulled with the other to collect them. The free end of the strings was then tied together with an overhand knot. Some washers were attached to the bundle of strings with a twist tie. Each parachute had to have the same number of washers attached, or too many independent variables were being changed. A stopwatch and the parachutes were brought to a safe, high surface, at least 2m above the ground.
5. A systematic way to find the average time it takes each parachute to fall to the ground was thought of. Only one independent variable was changed, the surface area, everything else had to be
Aim: To measure how the size of a parachute t’s surface area affects the parachute’s speed, acceleration and time of flight.
Hypothesis: A parachute with a larger surface area would fall slower due to that fact there would be a higher level of drag, or in other words more air resistance.
Materials:
* Sturdy garbage bags * Metric ruler * Scissors * Washers * Twist ties * Light-weight string * Stopwatch
Method:
1.Gather all equipment necessary for this experiment
2. From an opened garbage bag, a series of square parachutes of different sizes was made. The surface area of the parachutes was 100cm2, 400cm2, 900cm2 and 1600cm2, from large to small. Each parachute was square in shape, so the four sides were the same length. The edge length and area of each different parachute was recorded. 4 were made. The parachute did not exceed a side length of 60 cm.
3. each of the four differently sized parachutes were cut from the garbage bag material and had a knot tied in each of the four corners of the square. The knots were used to anchor the string. Four pieces of 40 cm string were cut out for each parachute. The end of each piece of string was tied around one of the four knots, positioning the string right above the knot.
4. The centre of the plastic sheet was held in one hand and all strings were pulled with the other to collect them. The free end of the strings was then tied together with an overhand knot. Some washers were attached to the bundle of strings with a twist tie. Each parachute had to have the same number of washers attached, or too many independent variables were being changed. A stopwatch and the parachutes were brought to a safe, high surface, at least 2m above the ground.
5. A systematic way to find the average time it takes each parachute to fall to the ground was thought of. Only one independent variable was changed, the surface area, everything else had to be