About
this Daily Classroom Special:
Science to Go provides easy yet meaningful
science activities for grades k-8. Science to Go was written
by Barbara Smith, Magnet Coordinator at Harvard Elementary, Houston
(TX) and former Teachers Network web mentor.
How Large Is My Parachute?
Objective
- Determine cause and effect
- Conduct experiments using scientific method.
- Graph results
Problem
How does change in parachute canopy size affect falling time?
Materials
- Tissue paper
- Kite string or thread
- Large paper clips
- Compass
- Ruler
- Small round stickers
- Ladder
- Stopwatch
- Scissors
Procedure
- Cut 24 pieces of kite string, each 30 cm long.
- Using the compass and ruler, make 4 circles on the tissue paper,
one each in the following diameters: 10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm, 40 cm.
- Cut out circles of tissue.
- Using 6 stickers, attach 6 pieces of string to each tissue
circle. Stickers should be evenly spaced at edge of circle, and
only one end of each string should be under each sticker.
- Gather the free ends of strings for one of the tissue circles,
and tie them to a large paper clip. Repeat for each tissue circle.
- Take a “parachute” to the top of your ladder, and drop.
- Have a student time the fall from release to floor contact.
You might want to practice to ensure greater accuracy.
- Record fall time for each parachute. Try estimating fall time
of last parachute, based on numeric trends from previous tests.
- Construct graph of fall times.
- Make conclusion.
Extensions
Using graph, estimate fall time for parachutes 50 and 60 cm in size.
Construct and test. Was the estimation accurate? What else could affect
the experiment?
Test one size tissue circle and different lengths of string for each.
How does this affect fall rate? Is there an optimum ratio of string
length to tissue diameter?
Do number of strings make a difference?
Web Picks for Science
The Magnetic
Kaleidoscope Club Page of Flight
An independent study group composed of young students share their
experiences as they study different elements of flight.
Welcome to Thinking
Fountain! (Science Museum of Minnesota)
Lots of activities, science explanations, book lists, galleries of
student work, surprises.
My favorite: Cross Section Gallery, where the insides of objects are
drawn or photographed and posted by students.
Surfing the Net with Kids:
Guide to the BEST KID SITES for kids of all ages
Syndicated columnist Barbara J. Feldman posts theme-based links previewed
for children. (Recent examples: Ben Franklin's birthday, U.S. Presidential
Inauguration, California Gold Rush, and Chinese New Year.) Sites are
rated as to quality. |
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