Luckily we have a layer of air around our planet that slows falls. Air resistance or drag pushes against objects when they fall. Parachutes catch a lot of air, creating a lot of drag. They can drastically slow a fall, allowing a softer landing.
This slow drop, however, can be hard to control. A figure landing with a parachute might sway to the side during the fall.
Some parachutes trap air, just like a loose jacket can trap air on a bike ride. This trapped air wants to escape. It can often only escape at the edges, which makes those edges canopy edges or the sides of your jacket flap.
Some parachutes have a hole in the center to release air in a controlled way. It makes the chute more stable, with only a minimal change in drag. This activity brought to you in partnership with Science Buddies. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Go Paperless with Digital. Key concepts Physics Gravity Drag Air resistance Introduction Have you ever wondered what a parachute and an open rain jacket have in common?
Materials Tissue paper or a plastic bag Scissors Ruler Tape Hole puncher Twine Small, nonbreakable action figure or miniature doll that may be dropped on the floor If you do not have an action figure, use a piece of clay, a small wooden block, a measuring spoon, etcetera.
Safe location to drop your parachute from—for example, a 2nd-floor window, balcony, open staircase Preparation To make the canopy for the parachute, cut a by centimeter square out of the tissue paper or plastic bag , reinforce the corners with tape and punch a hole in each corner.
Create suspension lines by cutting four strings from the twine, each centimeters long. To assemble your parachute, attach one end of each suspension line to each corner of the tissue paper, fold the canopy in four so its corners lay on top of one another, and knot the unattached ends of the four suspension lines together.
Procedure Bring your parachute and action figure to your test location. In a moment you will drop your figure without the parachute from this spot.
Do you think it will make a soft or hard landing? Can you predict with precision where it will land? Drop your figure. Were your predictions correct? Drop it from the same location several more times. How would you describe these falls? Attach the parachute to your figure by winding the knotted end of the suspension lines around the middle of your figure and securing it with a knot or tape. In a moment you will drop your figure equipped with a parachute from this spot.
How do you think it will land this time? Will a smaller or larger surface area produce more drag? What do the slowest falling parachutes all have in common? Details Activity Length mins. Cope South is an annual bilateral aerial exercise designed to increase the combat readiness and interoperability of the U. Air Force and the BAF. Air Force photo by Capt.
Materials Per Student: 2 plastic bags or light material scissors string tape small object to act as the weight washer, peg, action figure Key Questions Which of the four forces of flight are you trying to take advantage of in this challenge?
What To Do Instructions: The challenge is to create a parachute that falls to the ground as slowly as possible to get your payload to the ground safely with the materials provided. The parachute will be released from a distance of approximately 3 metres. Attach 8 pieces of string of the same length of your choice to each of the holes.
Tie or tape the pieces of string to the object you are using as a weight. Use a chair or find a high spot to drop your parachute and test how well it worked, noting changes that you think would make it fall more slowly.
Extensions How can you get your parachute to fall straighter? When the parachute falls down, naturally, the air must escape somewhere.
And for this, the hole at the top is best. If this hole is not there, the air is escaping somewhere on the side, which makes the parachute to vibrate or oscillate in historical films with parchute scenes, that is actually good to see. You can imagine that this oscillation is not very pleasant and that it can also be dangerous if you get into wind gusts.
The hole on the other hand lets the air out slowly and smoothly and you can sink down straight. Please note: The contributions published on askingbox. They are not verified by independents and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of askingbox. Learn more.
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