Parachute+Air+Resistance

Miriana and Grace Period 6 Goal: To find which parachure takes the least amount of time to reach the destination. How does air resistance play a part with different materials that are used to create the parachute? Trial 2: 2.23 Trial 3: 2.21 Average: 2.21 || Trial 1: 2.57 Trial 2: 2.53 Trial 3: 2.58 Average: 2.56 || Trial 1: 3.62 Trial 2: 3.54 Trial 3: 3.59 Average: 3.58 ||  || Calculations: Mass* acceleration=-(Mass*Gravity on Earth)+Force Force=Air resistance*(velocity^2) C=Air resistance
 * || Latex parachute || Paper Parachute || Brown Paper Bag Parachute ||  ||
 * Change in Distance (m) || 4.1 || 4.1 || 4.1 ||  ||
 * Air resistance (N) || .01035 || .0112 || .0252 ||  ||
 * Area of material used (m^2) || 4.52 || 4.52 || 4.52 ||  ||
 * Time (s) || Trial 1: 2.19
 * Mass of Parachute (Kg) || .003 || .003 || .003 ||  ||
 * Velocity (m/s) || 1.852 m/s || 1.601 m/s || 1.145 m/s ||  ||
 * Acceleration (m/s/s) || 2.037 m/s/s || 1.43 m/s/s || 1.229 m/s/s ||  ||

.0061=-.0294+F F=.0355 N .0355=c(1.852^2) c=.01035 N .00429=-.0294+Force Force=.0337 N .0337=c(1.601^2) c=.0112 N .0037=-.0294+Force Force=.0331 .0331=c(1.145^2) c=.0252 N Procedure: Get materials: latex material, paper, brown bag, string, meter stick, hole puncher, 3 styrofoam cups, stopwatch, camcorder, USB, scissors, a calculator and thinking cap. 1. Make parachutes by measuring and cutting out three 4.52 m^2 circles out of the three different materials; latex, paper, brown bag. Make 4 holes in opposite sides of the circles. Measure out three 70 cm strings and loop them through the four holes, as shown in the picture, until the strings come together in the center. Make a hole in the bottom center of a styrofoam cup and loop the strings through the cup and tape them on the other side. Do this for all three materials. 2. Mass each parachute on a scale and record it. Divide grams by 1000 to convert grams into kilograms. 3. Measure the distance which the parachute will be dropped from and record it. 4. Hold each parachute from the same spot and drop it straight down. Make sure to have the camcorder and timer ready to go as soon as the parachute is dropped. Record the time in seconds, it took the parachute to land each time. Do three trials for each parachute. 5. Upload the videos of the parachute dropping to the destination. Then, graphically analyze the video by playing each video and then forwarding through to see the change in location of the parachute. Also, dot each new location of the parachute until it reaches the destination. Finally, make a like of best-fit and analyze the aceleration and velocity. Make sure to record both of these sets of data. 6. Plug these variables into the air resistance formula ma=mg * F. Then set Force= cv^2. The C represents air resistance. 7. Make a conclusion on what was observed in the experiment.
 * Latex:** (.003*2.037)=-(.003*9.8)+Force
 * Paper:** (.003*1.43)=-(.003*9.8)+Force
 * Brown Bag:** (.003*1.229)=-(.003*9.8)+Force

Videos: [|Latex parachute] [|Paper Parachute] [|Brown Paper Bag Parachute]

Brown Bag Parachute

 Conclusion: When measuring air resistance, it was obvious that the brown bag parachute had the most air resistance. This can be seen when looking at the data table. As a result, it had a lower velocity and acceleration. This is a positive outcome when dealing with parachutes because the device is meant to save a person and increase their time in the air, which is an average of 3.58 seconds. The paper parachute had the second-"best" time in the air, which was an average of 2.56 seconds. The latex parachute had the lowest average and the highest velocity which is obvious in the graphs. When someone is in a parachute, the gravity on Earth is pulling us down. Then, the parachute exands and catches air. Te force of that air pushes up against the parachute, which creates air resistance. The air resistace shouldequal out to the gravity on Earth in order to hold us up. There were many controlled variables in this experiment, for example, the height in which the parachute was dropped from, the type of cup added to the parachute, the mass of the parachute, the string length and type used to make the parachute and finally the area of the circle of the different material used to make the parachute. There are a few soures of error which would result in much more accurate data. For example, the thicknes of the material used. For instance, a paper bag is slightly thicker than a piece of paper. There is also a reaction time involved in this experiment. For example, one person drops the parachute, while the other hits the stopwatch on and off. Therefore, if someone has a slow reaction time, the data can be slightly altered/ inaccurate.