This week, Year 5 carried out their planned science enquiry. Their enquiry question was:
Does the size of a parachute affect the time it takes for it to fall to the ground?
The children were able to identify the affects of air resistance and make connections related to the surface area of the parachute. The children were able to use scientific vocabulary to describe the investigation. Using the data collected from our investigation, we were able to draw conclusions and make further suggestions on how we could improve or adapt the experiment.
Here are some of their thoughts:
Zachary 5JB: “I loved this activity because the parachutes were amazing and I now know what air resistance is!”
Dhiren 5JB: “I really enjoyed the experiment because we learnt that the size of the parachute creates more air resistance when the surface area is bigger, and will go faster when there is less air resistance.”
Tyler 5JB: “I’ve learnt that to have air resistance you need to have a greater based area (which would be the 30cm parachute) would trap more air under so that it would stay in the air for longer because of the air. The 10cm parachute would be quicker because there would be more gravity pushing the parachute down than the air resistance.”
Gabriel 5JB: “I have learnt that the larger the surface area the longer it will take to fall to the ground. My quote is “The Larger The Surface Area, The Slower It Falls, And The Smaller The Surface Area, The Quicker It Falls.”
“This parachute test was the best! I really loved watching it fly down from the top and I think it brought out some really good results in our investigation about air resistance! What I wish would have happened was to do the experiment on a windy day.” – Jumana 5KI
“The parachute test was exiting, but the making the parachute was the best part because it was fascinating to see what they might have done to make a parachute when they were first invented. It was heart-breaking to see some of our parachutes fall into disappointments and now I know how air resistance works!” – Goldie 5KI
Categories: Science
