Parachutes Investigation :: Papers

Parachutes Investigation Aim The aim of this investigation is to find out how one chosen variable can affect the rate of descent of a parachute. There are many different factors that can be taken into consideration and varied to see what has the best effects on the rate of descent. The options where: a) The size of the canopy, b) The weight pulling on the parachute, c) The length of the chords, d) The shape of the canopy Also the forces acting on the parachute had to be taken into consideration and appreciated for how they could be influenced or used to aid the rate of descent. The forces came in the form of air resistance and gravity. Procedure I chose to see what the effects of the weight the parachute had to support would have on the rate of its descent. My original prediction after some general thinking was that the heavier the parachute was, the faster the parachute would descend. I believe this to be totally true as it is a logical thought process; a feather falls slower than a hammer indicating heavier objects fall quicker than lighter objects. Also the aerodynamics matters, if a surface area of a side of a brick is cut out on a piece of paper and dropped at the same time as the brick the brick will hit the ground before the paper. This is because heavier objects fall to the ground quicker than lighter ones. The next question is why is this important? It matters because if something is falling to fast or slow then other variables can be changed to counter act this, e.g. the size of the canopy or the aerodynamics of the weight. The object that needs to be controlled is air resistance; this is made higher or lower by parts of the parachute. The more air resistance created by the canopy then the slower the parachute will fall. What also matters is how the weight is distributed from the parachute. Parachutes Investigation :: Papers Parachutes Investigation Aim The aim of this investigation is to find out how one chosen variable can affect the rate of descent of a parachute. There are many different factors that can be taken into consideration and varied to see what has the best effects on the rate of descent. The options where: a) The size of the canopy, b) The weight pulling on the parachute, c) The length of the chords, d) The shape of the canopy Also the forces acting on the parachute had to be taken into consideration and appreciated for how they could be influenced or used to aid the rate of descent. The forces came in the form of air resistance and gravity. Procedure I chose to see what the effects of the weight the parachute had to support would have on the rate of its descent. My original prediction after some general thinking was that the heavier the parachute was, the faster the parachute would descend. I believe this to be totally true as it is a logical thought process; a feather falls slower than a hammer indicating heavier objects fall quicker than lighter objects. Also the aerodynamics matters, if a surface area of a side of a brick is cut out on a piece of paper and dropped at the same time as the brick the brick will hit the ground before the paper. This is because heavier objects fall to the ground quicker than lighter ones. The next question is why is this important? It matters because if something is falling to fast or slow then other variables can be changed to counter act this, e.g. the size of the canopy or the aerodynamics of the weight. The object that needs to be controlled is air resistance; this is made higher or lower by parts of the parachute. The more air resistance created by the canopy then the slower the parachute will fall. What also matters is how the weight is distributed from the parachute.