Science

Science in the 3s

Towards the end of the autumn term the 3s started a new topic on Forces. As part of this we have discussed balanced and unbalanced forces and hence terminal velocity.  In the last week of term 3M and 3H made parachutes from bin bags and then attached them to festively decorated eggs.  By dropping the eggs from the balcony and timing their fall we could see which parachutes created the most drag.  These would have the smallest terminal velocity and so the eggs would be less likely to break on impact.

When a parachute is dropped it accelerates (gets faster) but it quickly reaches a terminal velocity – maximum speed.  The faster the parachute drops the bigger the air resistance or drag.

The parachute accelerates until

Drag   =   Weight

Then the parachute travels at constant speed.

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