Parachute EEI Report

Rina Hwang 8S
Table of Contents
Abstract page 3
Introduction page 4 - 7
Risk Assessment page 8
Results/ Tables page 9
Analysis/ Discussion page 10
Evaluation page 11
Conclusion page 12
Bibliography page 13
Abstract
The aim of this experiment was to determine if a raw egg can
safely be delivered to the ground from a certain height using
a parachute design. The eggs were to be transported to the
ground as fast as possible without cracking. The big
rectangular parachute and the circular parachute was
predicted to best carry the eggs without it breaking as it was
not too big or small and the strings attaching the parachute
to the box was the same length and strong. To complete this
experiment, the stockings were attached to the box and the
three different parachutes were made. The parachutes were
then attached to the box using string and the egg was placed
inside of the stockings. The box was then dropped and the
data was recorded.
Introduction
Aim: To determine if a raw egg can be delivered safely to the
ground from a two-story building using a parachute design.

Hypothesis: If the length, width or material of the parachute

is changed then it will affect the time, speed and distance
that the parachute travels because the drag of the parachute
will affect the fall.

This experiment is about the motion of falling objects/

Newtons three laws of motion:
1. Every object persists in its state of rest or
uniform motion in a straight line unless it is
compelled to change that state by forces
impressed on it. (NASA, 2017)
2. Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a
mass. The greater the mass the greater amount
force needed. (Lucas, 2017)
3. For every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction. (NASA, 2017)
We can use these three laws to conduct this experiment.
Falling objects increase their speed as they fall because of
their weight and gravity that pulls them down. There is also
an upward force or drag called air resistance that slows them
down. (Johnson, 2017) Larger objects such as parachutes
have more air resistance which causes them to fall slowly.
This is because frictional forces such as air resistance act
against the direction of motion and thus causes the object to
fall slower. The terminal speed is reached when the amount
of air resistance and force are equalled. (BBC, 2017) This
means that when a falling object has reached its terminal
speed, it is travelling at its fastest pace and remains at a
constant speed until it reaches the ground. An object that is
moving only because of the action of gravity is called a free-
falling object and its motion is described by Newtons second
law.

The physics basics that were used in this experiment were

gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy. Kinetic
energy is the energy that is created because of its motion. If
an object is to be accelerated, then force must be applied to
it. After a force has been applied to an object, energy has
been transferred to it and the object would then be moving
at a new constant speed. The equation for kinetic energy is
* mass * velocity. Gravitational potential energy is the energy
that is stored in an object due to its height. The equation for
gravitational potential energy is mass * gravity * height. It
represents the potential that an object has due to its location
in a gravitational field. If an object was to be lifted and the
force is then removed, the object would fall back down and
the gravitational energy would be transferred into kinetic
energy.

Method:
1. The equipment was gathered
- Egg
- Small box
- Stockings
- String
- Bubble wrap
 - Fabric
- Scissors
- Stapler
- Ruler
- Book
- Pencil
2. The box was made with stockings attached with a
stapler from every side and the egg was to be put in the
middle inside the stockings. Bubble wrap was also put at
the bottom of the box in case the egg had fallen out and
two holes were made in every corner of the box to tie
the strings onto from the parachutes.

3. The 3 parachutes were made with different

measurements and shapes.
4. Each parachute was attached to the box, dropped and
timed.
5. The distance between the box and the landing pad was
measured for every drop.
6. The box was then examined after every drop to check if
the egg was cracked.
Risk Assessment
Hazard Prevention Management
1. The 1. Be aware of 1. Ice pack, call
parachute surrounding teacher
falls on and warn 2. Ice pack,
another people on the bandage, call
person ground teacher
2. Someone 2. Clean up after
slips over when the
cracked egg. experiment is
finished
Results/Table
Parachute Drop Time Distance from Egg cracked? m/s
(Seconds) landing pad
(m)
Circular 1 2.62s 1.2m No 2.43
parachute 2 2.82s 1m No 2.45
3 3.35s 2.1m No 2.43
Large 1 3.69s 0.01m No 3.43
rectangle 2 3.66s 1.5m No 3.43
parachute 3 3.69s 1.05m No 2.68
Small 1 2.43s 2.4m Yes 3.07
rectangle 2 1.42s 2.45m Yes 6.33
parachute 3 1.53s 2.7m Yes 5.88
No parachute 1 1.20s 1.6m Yes 7.5

Egg: 65 grams
Box: 90.5 grams
Speed = Distance travelled divided by time
Analysis/Discussion
The findings in the results of this experiment supports the
expected findings in the hypothesis. This experiment
demonstrates that a fragile object like a raw egg can securely
be delivered using a parachute design. This experiment was
somewhat successful as most of the drops met the
expectations and did not crack the egg. As illustrated in the
table above the parachutes that display the best data was
the circular parachute which took 2.62 seconds and landed
1.2 metres away from the landing pad and the large
rectangular parachute which took 3.69 seconds and landed
0.01 metres away from the landing pad.
It is clear that these two parachutes were significantly more
successful. This could have been because the parachute was
too small or the material used was not even as there were
decorations on only one side causing the parachute to fall
unevenly and thus cracking the egg.
Evaluation
The systematic error could have been that the box was
uneven therefore leading to a tilted landing which can cause
the egg to crack. The unsystematic error could have been
that the data was not recorded properly thus leading to
inaccurate results. Improvements in this experiment could
have been to measure the lengths of the string for the third
parachute as they were uneven and use material with no
decorations as the sequins on top of the material were only
on one side which made the weight uneven and thus causing
the box to land upside down.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the hypothesis was supported by the results in
the experiment, however, the findings in this experiment
were slightly unsuccessful as the third parachute was not
able to deliver any of the eggs to the ground safely. This
could have been because the parachute was too small and
uneven as there were decorations on the fabric used on only
one side. Although some parts were unsuccessful, the other
parachutes were able to meet the expectations. This proves
that the size or material of the parachute can change and
affect the time, speed and distance that the parachute
travels.
Bibliography
Grc.nasa.gov. (2017). Newton's First Law of Motion. [online] Available at:
https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/newton1g.html [Accessed 21 May
2017].

Grc.nasa.gov. (2017). Newton's Second Law of Motion. [online] Available at:

https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/newton2.html [Accessed 21 May 2017].

Grc.nasa.gov. (2017). Newton's Third Law of Motion. [online] Available at:

https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/newton3.html [Accessed 21 May 2017].

Grc.nasa.gov. (2017). Free Falling Object Motion. [online] Available at:

https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/mofall.html [Accessed 21 May 2017].

Grc.nasa.gov. (2017). Falling Object with Air Resistance. [online] Available at:
https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/falling.html [Accessed 21 May 2017].

Grc.nasa.gov. (2017). Terminal Velocity. [online] Available at:

https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/termv.html [Accessed 21 May 2017].

Grc.nasa.gov. (2017). Shape Effects on Drag. [online] Available at:

https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/shaped.html [Accessed 21 May 2017].

Lucas, J. (2017). Newtons Laws of Motion. [online] Live Science. Available at:
http://www.livescience.com/46558-laws-of-motion.html [Accessed 21 May 2017].

Madehow.com. (2017). How parachute is made - material, manufacture, making,

history, used, parts, components, structure, machine, History. [online] Available at:
http://www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Parachute.html [Accessed 21 May 2017].

Johnson, L. (2017). How to Make an Egg Drop Experiment With a Parachute.

[online] Sciencing. Available at: http://sciencing.com/make-egg-drop-experiment-
parachute-12064516.html [Accessed 6 Jun. 2017].

Bbc.co.uk. (2017). BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Falling objects. [online] Available at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_gateway_pre_2011/forces/fa
llingrev1.shtml [Accessed 2 Aug. 2017].