MYP

Science (Y10-11) lab Report: Factors Affecting Average Speed of a Falling Parachute

Introduction

A falling parachute is affected by the forces of gravity (weight) and air resistance (drag). The parachute will
accelerate at first then will tend to fall at a steady speed (known as ‘terminal speed’) when the forces
become balanced. The average speed of the parachute may depend on the mass or weight it carries and
the area/shape of the canopy (which affects the drag). It may also depend on the height from which it is
dropped, as the parachute will not fall at a steady speed all the way down (it must accelerate at first). We
can find the average speed of the parachute using speed = distance / time; the average speed is not
necessarily the same thing as the terminal speed, since the parachute must accelerate at first before
possibly reaching terminal speed.

Introduce the investigation. Discuss all of the important factors (variables) that may affect the
dependent variable.

Aim

To investigate how the average speed of a falling parachute depends on the mass of the load attached to
the parachute.

The aim should be short and clear. By reading the aim, the reader can already identify the dependent
and independent variables. The format is always: ' to investigate how the ... (dependent variable) is
affected by the ... (independent variable)'.

Prediction/Hypothesis

I predict that as the mass of the parachute increases, the

average speed will increase.
All bodies falling under gravity only (with no air resistance)
fall with the same acceleration, and therefore the same
average speed (from a given height), no matter what is the
mass. However air resistance obviously affects the falling
parachute, so it is not falling only with gravity.
The diagrams show two identical parachutes carrying
different masses, both falling at terminal speed so that the
forces are balanced. Fgrav is the weight and Fair is the drag.
The heavier parachute would need to fall at a faster terminal
speed in order for the drag to balance out the weight. I think
if the parachute has double the mass, then the drag needs to
be doubled to balance the weight, so the parachute should fall at twice the speed. In other words I predict
that the average speed will be proportional to the mass. This assumes that the parachute will always be
falling at terminal speed, which is not exactly true.
(source: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newtlaws/Lesson-3/Free-Fall-and-Air-Resistance.)

Make a prediction and explain it using scientific knowledge. The prediction must be a predicted answer to
the aim. You will need to do some research (CITED) to make a good hypothesis. Often a diagram can help
with the hypothesis. For a high level you will need to try to make the hypothesis mathematical (e.g. by
correctly using words such as ‘proportional’ and justifying this). Note that mathematical hypotheses are
often not appropriate in Biology investigations.
RCHK MYP Science March 2017
Variables

Independent variable

Variable How it will be manipulated

mass of the clay • the mass of the clay attached will range from 5g - 30g.
attached to the • the mass will be increased in 5g increments, measured using the electronic
parachute balance. There will be 6 different masses (data points).

Dependent variable

Variable How it will be measured

Average Speed of the drop time (t) for the parachute will be measured using a stopwatch; the height
the parachute (2.0m) will be measured using a tape measure.
&'()&*
The average speed (v) will be calculated (in m/s) using 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 =
*(+'

Controlled variables

Variable How it will be controlled Why it needs to be controlled

area of the The canopy will be measured with a ruler The force of drag depends on the area of
parachute at 20cm × 20cm square (i.e. 400cm2); the the canopy.
same canopy will be used for all trials.
However, this is the FLAT area; when
falling the parachute canopy has a
“dome” shape which gives an effective
area lower than the flat area.

drop height The height will be measured with a tape The parachute accelerates at the start so
measure at 2.00m; the clay (not the the speed is not constant. This means the
canopy) will start at this height. The average speed would depend on the
timing will be stopped when the clay height of the drop.
touches the ground, so the clay is falling
through 2.00m.

shape of the The flat shape will be square for all trials. The force of drag depends on the shape
parachute canopy of the canopy.

length of the strings The length will be measured at 20cm The shape of the canopy when opened is
with a ruler; the same parachute with different if the strings are different
the same strings will be used for all trials. lengths.

Describe all of the variables clearly (e.g. just the word 'mass' alone is not clear).
Explain how each of the control variables will be controlled, including the unit. (Why they need to be
controlled is not essential but may help to make your choice of control variables more valid).

RCHK MYP Science March 2017
Materials/Apparatus

Model parachute (made from plastic bag 20cm × 20cm square and 4 strings 30cm long);
modeling clay (at least 30g will be needed);
tape measure (0-20m, measures to 0.1cm);
ruler (0-30cm, measures to 0.1cm);
digital stopwatch (measures to 0.01s);
electronic balance (measures to 0.1g).
List all of the apparatus and give useful details where possible, including precision of measuring
instruments, masses/volumes of materials needed, sizes of glassware etc.

Method

1. Make a model parachute as in the diagram, from a square piece of plastic bin liner and strings.
2. Attach a ball of clay of mass 5.0g, measured using the electronic balance.
3. Hold the parachute open so that the bottom of the clay is 2.0m above the ground (measured using
the tape measure), and release.
4. Record the time taken for the clay to touch the ground, using the stopwatch.
5. Repeat four more times for the same mass (discard any results where the parachute touches the
wall on the way down, or when the drop is very non-vertical).
6. Repeat all of the above for masses of 10g, 15g, 20g, 25g, 30g to get six data points in total.
7. Calculate the average speed for each trial and plot a graph of average speed against mass to look
for a relationship.

Give a clear step-by-step description of the procedure. Do NOT give trivial details (e.g. a step-by-step
account of how to make the parachute). Most importantly, describe clearly what will be measured, and
how all of the variables will be manipulated and measured. Give your planned values of the
independent variable If possible (at least 6 values), and how many trials you plan to make (at least 3).
Plan to change the independent variable in even steps, and in a good range (e.g. 5g to 30g in steps of
5g is a good range; 20g to 25g in steps of 1g would NOT be a good range). End by stating how the data
will be processed after you have collected it.

Safety

We will be standing on a table to drop the parachute, so we must be careful not to fall.

As with all science labs we must make sure that objects such as bags, stools etc. are not in the way.

Discuss safety precautions relevant to the experiment. In some experiments (especially in chemistry) there
may be several important safety considerations, in this experiment there are not many.

RCHK MYP Science March 2017

Diagram
plastic bin liner, 10cm × 10cm square

a
string, 20cm long

clay, various masses

2m
mis

Give a clear, labeled diagram or photo of the experimental set-up (NOT diagrams/photos of individual
items).

Data Collection – Table 1: drop times and speed against mass of clay.

Raw measured data Processed data

Mass of Drop time (s) Average Average speed =
clay (g) #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 time (s) height ÷ time (m/s)
5.0 2.42 2.38 2.17 2.18 2.03 2.24 0.89
10.0 1.43 1.48 1.67 1.60 1.73 1.58 1.26
15.0 1.31 1.30 1.90 1.20 1.32 1.41 1.41
20.0 1.10 1.18 1.30 1.03 0.98 1.12 1.79
25.0 1.12 0.89 1.09 0.90 1.00 1.00 2.00
30.0 0.98 0.91 0.88 0.92 0.87 0.91 2.19
The drop height was always 2.00m (controlled variable)

Qualitative observations

• On release the parachute took varying times to fully open which is likely to affect the data.
• The parachute did not always fall vertically, it would drift sideways which would probably make it take
longer to reach the floor.

The table must be clearly formatted. The headings must show names of quantities and units. The units are
shown at the head of the table only, not in every cell of the table. The independent variable is always in the
first column. Be consistent and correct with using decimal places (even if the last digit is zero). Show all
trials (at least 3) and averages. There must be at least 6 data points (i.e. 6 different values of the
independent variable), more if practicable. The independent variable should be changed in equal steps if
possible. Show how any processed data (e.g. speed) was calculated (note: not all labs require the use of an
equation, sometimes the only processing is to find the average). It is useful to distinguish between raw data
and processed data. It may be a good idea to have separate tables for raw and processed data. Highlight
any anomalous data in some way (and refer to them later in the ‘reliability of data’). Also describe
qualitative (non-numerical) observations that may be important to the investigation and data.

RCHK MYP Science March 2017

Graph

average speed (m/s) Graph 1- Average speed against mass for a falling parachute
2.50

2.00

1.50

1.00

0.50

0.00
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0

mass (g)

Use the 'scatter' graph on Excel or Numbers (although sometimes you will be making a bar chart). Make
sure the axes are labelled with names of quantities and units. Show a best--fit line (trend-line) that is
either a straight line or a smooth curve. Add the gridlines to the graph. Give the graph a clear title.
Highlight any anomalous data points (and refer to them later in the ‘reliability of data’).

Conclusion

As the mass increases so does the average speed, which agrees with my prediction. The best-fit line I chose
is a curve with a reducing gradient. It may also be possible to choose a straight line, but this would not pass
close to the origin. It seems obvious that if the mass was zero the speed should be zero, so the graph
should pass close to the origin (although the parachute canopy and strings would still have some mass so
would still fall slowly, even if no clay was attached). The curve chosen (the ‘Power’ trend-line) extends
down towards the origin when forecast backwards. If the graph is curved then the average speed is not
proportional to the mass, so my hypothesis was not mathematically correct. Even if I choose a linear trend-
line this would not pass close to the origin, so still the relationship cannot be proportional. The speed
increased by 0.37m/s when the mass increased from 5g to 10g, but after that the speed increased by less
for each extra 5g added (only increasing by 0.19m/s between 25g and 30g), so the graph curves with a
falling gradient.

The conclusion must answer the aim, according to your data. Refer to your data/graph to justify your
conclusion. Compare your conclusion with your prediction/hypothesis: do they agree? Try to discuss a e
mathematical relationship if possible (e.g. 'proportional'). Refer to the data to justify your conclusion, but
do not simply re--state the data without adding extra useful information. Give some scientific description
for the conclusion (this might be the same description given in the hypothesis. However if the hypothesis
was proven to be incorrect you need to try to find a different description).

RCHK MYP Science March 2017
Reliability of Data

The data points seem to form a good curve with one slight anomaly (circled in red). The repeat trials were
all fairly similar to each other except for the third trial at 15g mass (highlighted in red in the table). This
caused the average speed to be too low for that data point causing a slight outlier on the graph.

Discuss the reliability of your data by comparing the trials (are they similar or very different?) and by
discussing how well the data points fit the trend-line drawn and by identifying any anomalies if present.

Further Processing (this would be considered beyond expectations for an MYP student).

The first graph is a curve with a reducing gradient, which suggests that possibly the square of the speed
may be proportional to the mass.
From further research I found an equation for terminal velocity (vt):
𝟐𝒎𝒈
𝒗𝒕 = (source: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/airfri2.html)
𝑪𝝆𝑨
(m = total mass, g = gravitational acceleration, C = drag co-efficient, r = density of air, A = area of
parachute canopy).
This equation also suggests that the velocity squared may be proportional to the mass.
I will further process the data and plot a second graph to check this.

Table 2: speed and speed squared against mass of clay

Mass Average speed Average speed

(g) (m/s) squared (m2/s2)
5.0 0.89 0.79
10.0 1.26 1.59
15.0 1.41 1.99
20.0 1.79 3.20
25.0 2.00 4.00
30.0 2.19 4.80

Graph 2 - Average speed squared against mass of clay for a falling parachute

6.00
average speed squared (m2/s2)

5.00

4.00

3.00

2.00

1.00

0.00
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0

Mass (g)

RCHK MYP Science March 2017
This graph is close to linear and through the origin, providing strong evidence that the square of the
average speed may be proportional to the mass.

This type of advanced processing and analysis would not be expected for full marks at MYP level, but may
help you to get there if you understand the point of it.

Evaluation

Problems Possible effect on the data Possible improvements

Human reaction Human reaction time (usually It is possible that an electronic timing
error estimated at around 0.3s) using a method could be used, but this would be
stopwatch can cause random difficult as the clay does not always land in
errors in the measured times, the same spot.
which were all less than 3 seconds. The results might be improved by
This means that the % error in all videotaping the fall and finding time from
measurements is higher than 10%. the playback.
Dropping from a greater height would make
the time longer and so the percentage effect
of human reaction time would be less.
Using a larger parachute area would also
increase the times and so reduce the %
uncertainty in timing.
Inconsistent The timing is affected by the way This would be less of a problem if we
opening of the the parachute opens after release. dropped the parachute from a much greater
parachute Sometimes it takes a little longer to height. We can also discard data where we
fully open and so then it falls could see that the parachute did not open
faster. correctly. We could also start timing after
the parachute has already opened and
passes some point below the release point
instead of starting the timer immediately
upon dropping the parachute.
Non-vertical drop This increases the distance moved Perhaps by experimenting with different
of the parachute so may increase the time taken, parachute designs or string lengths this
leading to an apparently slower could be improved.
speed. We could also drop the parachute many
more times and ignore all of the
measurements where the parachute did not
fall vertically.
Mass of the canopy Only the mass of the clay was Include the mass of the canopy and string in
and string measured, the actual mass of the the measurement.
whole parachute was slightly
higher.

Discuss the major sources of error in the method. Place them in rank order of importance in the table.
Suggest an improvement for each problem. All labs are different, but you should aim for a minimum of
two valid problems and improvements, more in many cases.

RCHK MYP Science March 2017