| The Experiment | | | | it to reach the ground. If the parachute does not open |
| This is part 2 of the science fair project ideas article | | | | on the first try, just do that test again. Test each |
| "Science fair project ideas - Quick and easy project #1 | | | | parachute three times and calculate the average for |
| - Parachutes - Part 1." | | | | each parachute. To do this you take the three test |
| | | | results of one parachute and add all of those times |
| 1. You will make each parachute out of the garbage | | | | together and then divide by 3. That will be the average |
| bags. First you want to cut the garbage bags to make | | | | for that parachute. It is a good idea to make a table |
| a flat sheet of plastic. | | | | similar to the one shown below for all your data. |
| 2. You will be making several parachutes, each of a | | | | Remember, all good science fair project ideas and |
| different size. You will make the parachutes square | | | | topics will have carefully recorded data. |
| shape to make all four sides the same length. In this | | | | Parachute # Trial 1 (sec) Trial 2 (sec) Trial 3 (sec) |
| there are 4 sizes listed for you to make your | | | | Average time (sec) |
| parachutes by. | | | | 1 |
| Parachute # Length of each side (cm) Surface area | | | | 2 |
| (cu. cm) | | | | 3 |
| 1 20 400 | | | | 4 |
| 2 30 900 | | | | 11. You may want to male a graph of your data. To do |
| 3 40 1600 | | | | this you will make a line graph of surface area of the |
| 4 50 2500 | | | | parachute vs. time it took to land on the ground. Start |
| 3. Using the garbage bags you made into flat sheets | | | | by making a scale of the surface area using square |
| of plastic, cut out one of each of the four different | | | | cm on the left side of the graph, which will be y-axis |
| sizes listed in the chart above. | | | | and a time scale in seconds at the bottom of your |
| 4. Tie a knot in each of the four corners of each of | | | | graph which will be x-axis. Place a dot where your |
| your squares. These knots will be your anchor for the | | | | data intersects and then connect the dots. You may |
| string. | | | | find your line will slope up or down. What does this |
| 5. Cut your string in 40 cm lengths. You will need four | | | | information tell you? What conclusions can you draw |
| pieces of string for each of your parachutes. | | | | from this? |
| 6. Tie the end of one piece of string around each one | | | | There are several variations you can make to this |
| of the knots on all four of your parachutes. Make sure | | | | experiment. The results with the variations will not |
| the string is right above the knot. | | | | necessarily be the same as the results you received |
| 7. Hold your parachute in the center of the plastic in | | | | from the variation you used. |
| one hand, and pull all four strings with the other hand to | | | | Load - you can change the number of washers, which |
| gather them together. Tie the free end of all four | | | | will change the weight of the load. |
| pieces of string together with an overhand knot. | | | | Height - You can drop the parachutes from a higher |
| 8. With the twist ties, attach four washers to the | | | | distance from the ground |
| bundle of strings on all four of your parachutes. Make | | | | String length - You can make the strings on the |
| sure all four of your parachutes have an equal number | | | | parachutes shorter or longer. |
| of washers or the results of your experiment will not | | | | String Weight - Try using a thinner or thicker string |
| be correct. | | | | Material - Try something other than plastic |
| 9. Choose a good spot to make your tests. Some of | | | | Shape - Make the parachutes round, triangle, etc |
| the places you might look for would be a secure | | | | instead of square. |
| balcony, a deck on a jungle gym in the park, or a | | | | Most of all have fun with your experiment. I'm hoping |
| platform that is in a safe place. Your parents or | | | | you found this one of my science fair ideas was |
| teacher may have a suggestion for you. | | | | interesting. If you want more science fair project ideas, |
| 10. After you have found a good spot, grab your | | | | check out my other articles, or better yet, visit the web |
| stopwatch and your parachutes. Drop your | | | | site below for a free copy of "Easy Steps to |
| parachutes one at a time from your platform and use | | | | Award-Winning Science Fair Projects." Good luck! |
| the stopwatch to see how many seconds it takes for | | | | |