Chutes Away!

Designing Parachutes

Your Mission: Design a parachute that has a maximum float time and lands closest to the target.

Your Materials:

• 2 small size clear plastic garbage bags
• sand filled balloon for weight
• scissors
• rulers
• cotton string
• masking tape
• stopwatch

Basic Design:

There is very little in terms of required or suggested design. I will recommend you use a hole at the top of your chute (like we saw at Museum of Flight with the parachuting cows) which increases the stability. Everyone will tie a weighted balloon to her teamπs chute for releases.

Remember: focus on ONE VARIABLE at a time. If you change too much at the same time, you wonπt know why your results are better/worse. Also, your team will receive only TWO garbage bags. Use the materials wisely. Bigger doesnπt always mean better.

Documentation (Due at the end of class, 1 submission per group):

• Record the surface area of the chute (minus the hole), diameter of stability hole, length of string, number of strings, flight time and accuracy with respect to the target.

Homework (Due the next time we meet for engineering design):

• What did you learn about parachutes?
• What challenges did you face? What successes did you enjoy?
• What might you do differently next time?
• Self assess your work with your partner (Communication), giving detailed evidence to support your grade.
• Self assess your Democratic Citizenship, giving detailed evidence to support your grade.