Making a parachute

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Making a parachute
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Materials used
Plastic bags x 2 Thread Foam rubbers x 2 Egg x 1
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Design
The resources we used to produce this product are
some waste materials we found in our daily life
such as plastic bag and thread which are
environmentally friendly. The parachute can be
divided into three parts two plastic bags and
one foam rubber containing the egg. The foam
rubber is at the bottom of the parachute. Above
the foam rubber, there are two layers of plastic
bags. They are all linked by some threads in
the four corners of the square plastic bags and
therefore a parachute is then formed.
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Application of physics principles
F Net Force f friction (air resistance) m
mass a acceleration W Weight of the
parachute g gravitational acceleration(10ms-2)
By the Newtons Second Law F ma
W f ma mg - f ma
As m and g are constant, only the change of f
(air resistance) may affect the
acceleration. When f (air resistance) increases,
the acceleration of the parachute will decrease.
Therefore, we try to make up two plastic layers
to increase the surface area of the layers in
order to increase the air resistance so that we
can lengthen the time for the parachute to land.
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Results of experiment
Our parachute has taken about 10 seconds to land
and it is a good result. The egg protected by the
foam rubbers did not break on landing. The main
reason is that the two layers of plastic
increases the surface area and the air
resistance. As a result, the parachute landed
very slowly and the egg did not break on landing.
Conclusion and discussion
We think that the ratio of the layers and the
thread is very important for making a parachute.
A good ratio can make the parachute descend more
slowly. Also, we think that the layers which
increase the air resistance is essential because
it can help the parachute to move against the
weight of it. By Fma, the mass also affect the
acceleration, so the lighter parachute, the
longer time it takes to land.
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Comments of group members
CHAN LAM SUM 4E (22) We did a good job. However,
when we were doing this project, we had a lot of
problems of improving the parachute. For example,
we considered which materials could be more
useful. Although we were not the best group, we
gain some unforgettable experience and
friendship. I hope our group can do better next
time and try our best.
LI MAN YU 4E (32) I think this project was good
for us to learn physics knowledge and gave us a
good experience of making a parachute which we
cannot learn from books. In this project, we
faced many problems such as how to make the best
parachute. Eventually, we have not only solved
the problem, but also won friendship among our
group members.
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Comments of group members
PAK WING YIU 4E (37) This is a wonderful
experience that I will never forget. Before doing
this physics project, we have already faced some
difficulties. We could not get together because
everyone had their own jobs during the Easter.
Therefore, we did this project in a short time
without any discussions. Similar to other groups,
we failed many times and tried to do our best. It
made me feel tired but very happy and satisfied.
We have done an amazing job not because we are
the second best team in our class it is because
we learned how to respect others and their
opinions.
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Comments of group members
WONG WAI YIU 4E (38) Doing this project
together, we have learnt lots of knowledge, not
only the concepts or laws of physics but the
spirit of cooperation and team working. During
the process of making the parachute, we have to
experience many times of failure and made a lot
of corrections to our parachute. Although it is
very tiring and hard to come across, we all
satisfy with our working because it is worthy for
us to make that much of effort. These are the
experiences that we cant learn from books. As a
conclusion, this is an unforgettable experience
for every single member in our group.
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Comments of group members
YIP WAI NAM 4E (40) From the physics project, I
know how to make a parachute. It is very
difficult to make a parachute. I and my
teammates did it many times but all of them
were failure. At last, we did it. Although it is
difficult, I think it is very funny. I hope I
can do it more times and do it well!
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The End