How Does The Size Of A Parachute Affect How Fast It Falls

Parachutes: Does Size Thing?

Abstract

How does a parachute work? Do bigger parachutes piece of work better than smaller parachutes? Notice out in this scientific discipline project if the size of the parachute matters.

Summary

Very Short (≤ 1 day)

None

Readily available

Very Low (under $20)

No issues

Sara Agee, Ph.D., Science Buddies

Sources

This project was inspired by content from the NASA Explorers School program and Schlumberger's SEED plan.

Objective

Test different sized parachutes to see how changes in the size of the parachute affect flight.

Introduction

In the sport of skydiving, a person jumps out of an aeroplane from a very high altitude, flies through the air, and releases a parachute to assist them fall safely to the ground, as shown in Effigy 1. The parachute slows downwards the skydiver'due south fall so that they tin can land on the basis at a safe speed. How does the parachute practice this?

As the skydiver is falling, the force of gravity is pulling the skydiver and their parachute towards the earth. The strength of gravity can make an object fall very fast! The parachute slows the skydiver downward because it causes air resistance, or drag force. The air pushes the parachute back up, and creates a strength opposite to the force of gravity, slowing the skydiver downwards. As the skydiver falls slowly to the globe, these "button and pull" forces are nearly in balance.

In this aerodynamics science project, you will test whether the size of the parachute is important for slowing down the speed of the fall. You will make a series of parachutes from modest to large and examination how chop-chop they fall from the aforementioned peak. Will the large parachutes autumn more slowly than the small parachutes?

Terms and Concepts

Parachute
Gravity
Air resistance
Elevate strength
Surface area
Load

Questions

How does a parachute piece of work?
How will increasing the diameter of the parachute increase its size, or surface area?
Do bigger parachutes accept more than air resistance, or elevate force, than smaller parachutes?
How do you recollect the amount of elevate force a parachute has volition bear on how well it works?

Bibliography

This project idea was inspired past:

Schlumberger Excellence in Educational Evolution, Inc. (northward.d.). Make a Parachute. Retrieved September four, 2012.

These resources provide additional information about the physics of parachutes:

The Physics Classroom. (n.d.) Skydiving. Retrieved Oct xix, 2010.
Schlumberger Excellence in Educational Development, Inc. (2010). Adventures in Skydiving. Retrieved September four, 2012.
Aerocon. (n.d.) Calculating Drag. Retrieved October nineteen, 2010.

For help creating graphs, try this website:

National Center for Education Statistics, (due north.d.). Create a Graph. Retrieved June 25, 2020.

Materials and Equipment

Heavy weight garbage bags
Metric ruler
Scissors
Low-cal weight string (at least six.four m, or 21 ft)
Washers (4) and twist ties (four) or pennies (eight) and tape
A safe, high surface about 2 m from the basis. A expert place for your exam might be a secure balcony, deck, or playground platform.
Stopwatch, accurate to at least 0.1 sec
Optional: Helper
Lab notebook

Experimental Procedure

Each parachute will be made out of the garbage bag cloth, so showtime cut open the garbage bags to brand a flat sail of plastic.
Y'all will make a series of four parachutes of different sizes, from large to small. Each parachute volition be square in shape, so the four sides will each be of the same length. Table 1 below shows the listing of parachute sizes yous volition endeavor.

Cut out each of the iv differently sized parachutes from the garbage pocketbook material.
1. Tip: Ane trick is to fold the plastic sail in half twice and so that it is four layers thick. Then cutting the 2 edges (reverse the folded sides) down to one-half of the length you want your square to be. When you unfold it, you will have your foursquare!
For each parachute, tie a knot in each of its four corners.
1. The knots will be used to anchor your string.
Cut 16 pieces of cord, making each be 40 cm long.
1. Each parachute will need four pieces of cord.
For each parachute, tie one finish of each piece of cord around one of the four knots, positioning the string right higher up the knot, as shown in Effigy two below.

For each parachute, hold the center of the plastic sheet in ane manus and pull all strings with the other to collect them. Tie the complimentary stop of the strings together with an overhand knot, as shown in Figure 3 below.

Attach i washer to each bundle of strings with a twist tie. Alternatively, if you are using pennies and tape instead, record 2 pennies to each bundle of string.
1. Be sure that each parachute has the same number of washers or pennies attached, or this volition alter your results!
2. Your parachutes should now await like one of the parachutes in Figure four beneath.

In your lab notebook, make a data tabular array that looks similar Tabular array 2 below.
1. Yous will exist recording your results in this data table.
Bring a stopwatch, the parachutes, and your lab notebook to a rubber, high surface for your tests, most 2 meters from the ground.
1. A good identify for your test might be a secure balustrade, deck or playground platform.
Using your stopwatch, time how long it takes in seconds for each parachute to fall to the footing. Be sure to release the parachute from the aforementioned height each time. You may want to have a helper help time the parachutes when you release them.
1. If the parachute does not open during a trial, just do that trial over and then that when yous are finished yous have three trials which all worked.
2. Examination each parachute 3 times. Each time record your results in the data table in your lab notebook.
3. Brand an average of your information. Summate the average by adding together your iii times, and then dividing your answer by 3. Record the averages in your data tabular array.
4. You can also increase the number of trials higher up three to become meliorate data and organize your information table accordingly.
5. Tip: If the parachutes seem to be falling too fast, you could endeavour using a smaller washer of fewer pennies for each parachute. If the lesser of the parachute does not stay at the bottom as it falls, y'all could endeavour using more washers or pennies for each parachute. Be sure to have the same size and number of washers or number of pennies on each parachute when you test them.

Now make a graph of your information. Brand a line graph of time vs. surface area. "Time (in seconds)" should be on the y axis (the vertical axis), and "Surface surface area (in square cm)" should exist on the ten-centrality (the horizontal axis).
1. You can make a graph by hand or use a website like Create a Graph to make a graph on the computer and print information technology.
After you connect the dots on your graph, your line may gradient up or down. What does this tell you lot about the human relationship betwixt the surface surface area of the parachute and how long it takes the parachute to attain the footing? Which parachute was the virtually effective one? How do you recollect this is related to air resistance, or drag forcefulness?

Ask an Good

Do you lot have specific questions about your scientific discipline project? Our squad of volunteer scientists can help. Our Experts won't exercise the piece of work for you lot, but they volition make suggestions, offer guidance, and help yous troubleshoot.

Variations

In this experiment you tested one variable, the expanse of the parachute. What other variables could exist tested? Endeavour an experiment to exam these other variables:

Load - modify the number of washers to alter the weight of the load
Tiptop - driblet the parachute from dissimilar heights
Cord Length - modify the length of the supporting strings from short to long
Cord Weight - change the blazon of string from sparse to thick
Material - use different cloth for the parachute (nylon, cotton wool, tissue paper, etc.)
Shape - try making parachutes of different shapes (circle, rectangle, triangle, etc.)

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MLA Style

Science Buddies Staff. "Parachutes: Does Size Matter?" Science Buddies, 3 Mar. 2022, https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Aero_p017/aerodynamics-hydrodynamics/parachutes-does-size-matter. Accessed 13 April. 2022.

APA Way

Scientific discipline Buddies Staff. (2022, March 3). Parachutes: Does Size Matter? Retrieved from https://world wide web.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/projection-ideas/Aero_p017/aerodynamics-hydrodynamics/parachutes-does-size-affair

Last edit appointment: 2022-03-03

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