Introduction/Aim
Over this term in science, we’ve been looking at forces and motion. We’ve done several experiments to look at how it works and different types of forces.
This week, we did an egg parachute drop to see how forces acted in the air and with different kinds of parachutes.
Research
We created a parachute in teams. My group wanted to go with a more protection-based approach so that the egg wouldn’t break. We used a lot of bubble wrap to make sure the egg wouldn’t easily fall out of the cup.
We looked at different parachute models and decided what would work for our idea, and collected the right materials to make it.
Method
First, we planned out what we wanted our parachute to look like and how it would protect the egg. We then gathered materials and spent time making it, such as tying a length of string to a plastic sheet to create the main parachute. Next, we added bubble wrap and little flaps to the cup so that the egg would stay in place.
After all the parachutes had been made, we went to the top of our auditorium and took it in turns to drop the eggs from the top. We had a person at the bottom checking if the eggs had broken after the drop.
Results
My group’s egg didn’t break, it stayed in the cup and didn’t fall out. It fell pretty quickly compared to a lot of other groups, mainly because ours was slightly heavier than most groups. Our parachute worked well, in my opinion, and it operated as we had intended it to.
Discussion
Some parachutes fell faster than others because of their weight and overall mass. If we had taken measurements of the forces, we could have calculated how much weight exactly they had using the formula for working out forces. (F=ma)
The forces of the parachute would have been unbalanced as it was falling, as the weight would have been quite a lot stronger than the lift. Our parachute wasn’t built to counter air resistance, and so it didn’t have as much of that force when it was falling.
Conclusion
I personally would try making it lighter next time. If we had spent more time researching it, the parachute would have remained in the air longer, therefore, protecting the egg better.
I enjoyed this experiment, it was fun and let us be creative. I didn’t find it challenging and had a good time overall while doing it. I enjoyed being able to work in a group with my friends for this experiment.