Science Fair

Grown-ups

Does a bigger parachute fall slower?

3rd–8th grade · 1 day of testing · free · ages 8 to 14 · 60 minutes a sitting

  • 👶 Small parts
  • 🧍 Drop from standing: never climb
What you need for the parachute size and fall time project: plastic bags, string or yarn, paper clips, a stopwatch or a kitchen timer

My hypothesis

If I change the size of the parachute, then how long the parachute takes to fall will ______, because ______.

You fill in the blanks. Think about how much air each parachute has to push out of its way as it falls. A guess is a good because: the test finds out.

Change, measure, keep the same

CHANGE

the size of the parachute: 20 cm square, 30 cm square, 40 cm square

MEASURE

how long the parachute takes to fall, in seconds

KEEP THE SAME

  • the same weight hanging underneath
  • dropping it from the same height
  • the same length of string

Scientists call the thing you change the independent variable and the thing you measure the dependent variable. The things you keep the same are the controls: if one of them changed too, you wouldn't know which change made the difference. Try each of the 3 levels 3 times.

What you need

  • Plastic bags: 3 big ones
  • String or yarn: 12 pieces, each 30 cm
  • Paper clips: 6
  • A stopwatch or a kitchen timer
  • ✂️ Kid scissors
  • 🩹 Tape
  • 📏 A ruler

Steps

  1. Cut three squares from plastic bags: 20, 30 and 40 cm across.
  2. Tape a 30 cm string to each corner of every square.
  3. Tie each parachute's four strings together and hook on two paper clips.
  4. Stand up and hold the smallest one high over your head. Never climb on a chair.
  5. Let go as a helper starts the timer, and stop it when it lands.
  6. Write the time down, then drop it two more times.
  7. Do three drops with the middle parachute and three with the big one.
  8. Find the middle time for each size and draw a line graph.

Every step is one you can do yourself, with a grown-up nearby. Write each number down straight away, in the table below, so nothing is lost.

Your results table

MY RESULTSPeabody 🦉 peabody.kids/science-fair

Name ______________________ Fair day ____________

Question: Does a bigger parachute fall slower?

I changed: Parachute size   I measured: how long the parachute takes to fall (seconds)

Parachute sizeTry 1 (seconds)Try 2 (seconds)Try 3 (seconds)Mean
20 cm square
30 cm square
40 cm square

MY GRAPH (a line graph: parachute size along the bottom, seconds up the side)

What I noticed: ______________________________________________

From 4th grade, add the tries for each level and divide by how many there were: that's the mean, and it goes in the last column. Then draw a line graph, because the thing you change is a number that goes up.

📊 Make my graph🖨 Print the whole packet (9 pages)🛠 Run it as an engineering project

Why it works

A falling parachute pushes air out of its way, and the air pushes back: that's air resistance. A bigger parachute pushes more air, so the push back is bigger and it falls slower. The weight pulls down the same every time, which is why it has to stay the same.

Going further (7th and up): Change a second thing: keep the 30 cm parachute and hang 2, 4 and 6 paper clips, then graph both tests.

Board layout

MY BOARD · 36 × 48 in tri-foldPeabody 🦉 peabody.kids/science-fair
  1. ❓ Question (10 × 8 in): Does a bigger parachute fall slower?
  2. 💭 Hypothesis (10 × 9 in): If I change the size of the parachute, then how long the parachute takes to fall will ______, because ______.
  3. 🧺 Materials (10 × 12 in): 4 things: see your list.
  4. 🪜 Steps (22 × 9 in): 8 steps, three tries at each level.
  5. 📊 Results (22 × 16 in): Your table (Parachute size down the side, tries across) and your line graph.
  6. ✅ Conclusion (10 × 14 in): My hypothesis was right / partly right / not right. I know because…

Materials to list: Plastic bags; String or yarn; Paper clips; A stopwatch or a kitchen timer.

Bring photos or drawings of your test. Nothing wet, hot, powered or alive on the table.

This project at your grade

1st–3rd gradeTries: three at each level (one is fine at a first fair). The table: levels and tries, numbers or pictures. The graph: a picture, or a simple bar graph. The conclusion: what happened, in their words.
4th–6th gradeTries: three at each level. The table: units in the header and a mean column. The graph: a bar graph, or a line for a number that grows. The conclusion: right, partly or not, and the numbers that show it.
7th grade and upTries: three or more at each level. The table: a mean for every level of both tests. The graph: a graph with two lines or two sets of bars. The conclusion: the numbers, what might have gone wrong, and a next question. Second variable: keep the 30 cm parachute and hang 2, 4 and 6 paper clips, then graph both tests.

From 4th grade up, the table gets a mean column. See every project for 3rd grade, or print a blank results table.

What a judge will ask

  • What did you change, and what did you measure? I changed the size of the parachute and measured how long the parachute takes to fall, in seconds.
  • What did you keep the same, and why does that matter? I kept the same weight hanging underneath and dropping it from the same height the same, so the only difference was the size of the parachute.
  • How many times did you test it? 3 times at each of my 3 levels.
  • If you did it again, what would you change or test next? I'd keep the 30 cm parachute and hang 2, 4 and 6 paper clips, then graph both tests.

Make it yours

Keep this project on this device and Peabody counts down to your fair day, with a plan for each day. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Try next

👨‍👩‍👧 For grown-ups and teachers: how much to help, the safety rules, and running a school fair. Science fair v0.16.1 · Checked .

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