On May 19th me and my class did a Egg parachute experiment with our science teacher Mr.Penrose. Given below are the details of what it was all about:
Aim:
We did this experiment to show our creativity with the designs and engineering. Although the main focus was making a successful design that lands without the egg breaking using the information we learnt about forces. We were investigating how different parachute designs affect the speed of falling objects and how air resistance can slow objects down, as well as how the weight affects the landing and the design.
Research:
Before building our parachute we researched what makes a good parachute design. We found out that larger parachutes create more air resistance, which slows down the fall. Lightweight materials also help because they reduce the total weight pulling the parachute down.
Some important things we discovered:
Bigger parachutes create more drag (air resistance)
Balanced weight helps the parachute fall steadily
Lightweight materials help slow the fall
Strong strings keep the parachute stable
We chose our design because we wanted a parachute that would fall slowly and protect the egg from impact, but we didn’t have enough time to make such a parachute which is why we failed in doing so. We decided to make a boat shaped design for our parachute to sit in. We put a lot of bubble wraps in there so the egg doesn’t break and we taped some of the bubble wrap around the egg.
Method:
We researched parachute designs and discussed ideas as a group.
We created a plan and sketch for our parachute.
We gathered materials such as plastic bags, string, tape, cardboards and an egg.
We built the parachute carefully and attached the egg securely underneath.
We tested the strength and balance of the parachute.
We put a lot of bubble wraps on the base, so the egg doesn’t break and we taped some of the bubble wrap around the egg.
Mr.Penrose allowed us to go up to the balcony in our class to drop the parachutes from a high place.
Mr.Penrose timed how long the parachute took to reach the ground for us.
We checked whether the egg survived after landing.
We compared our results with the rest of the class.
Here is the image that shows our design from the outside:
Results
Our Egg survived and we were really happy after seeing that it successfully did survive.
Time taken to fall: __0.791____ seconds
Compared to the class: Our parachute fell faster but about the same compared to other groups.
Our parachute didn’t really work because it was too small and the ship was too big. But the air resistance slowed down the fall enough to protect the egg when it landed.
Discussion
Some parachutes fell faster than others because of differences in size, shape, and weight. Smaller parachutes had less air resistance, so gravity pulled them down faster. Larger parachutes created more drag, which slowed them down.
This connects to the formula:
F = ma
(Force = mass × acceleration)
If the forces are unbalanced, the object accelerates. Gravity pulled the egg downward while air resistance pushed upward. At the start of the fall, gravity was stronger, so the parachute accelerated downward. As the parachute gained speed, air resistance increased. Eventually, the forces became more balanced, which slowed the acceleration.
The weight force acted downward because of gravity, while air resistance acted upward against the motion of the parachute.
Conclusion
Overall, our experiment was successful because we created a design that protected the egg. We learnt that air resistance is very important for slowing objects down and reducing impact force.
If we did this experiment again, we would improve our design by making the parachute larger and using lighter materials. This would increase air resistance and help the parachute fall even more slowly. We could also make the strings more even to improve balance and stability during the fall.