CILT1: Science Parachute:

The world’s best parachute

Setting the context

Oscar Longdrop spends all his spare time jumping out of aeroplanes, opening his parachute and landing on the grass at summer fetes. The crowds always love him and he gets lots of applause and cheers. Now he wants a better parachute. In fact, he wants one that will come down much more slowly so that all the excited crowds that watch him will be able to see him in the sky for longer. Can you help?

The problem

Can you make a parachute that will float through the air as slowly as possible? What material will you use and how will you test it?

You will need

30 cm square pieces of thin material, cotton thread, scissors, masking tape and Plasticine®

Obtaining evidence

·         The children need to cut out a circle from their piece of material. The sizes will vary, which is fine, but make sure that they don’t cut too small a circle.

·         It is important to remind them that the size of the ‘canopy’ of the parachute is very important.

·         Using the picture on photocopiable page 54 as a guide, the children should attach four pieces of cotton to the material with tape. The loose ends of the cotton should then be attached to a small piece of Plasticine®

·         After they have attached their Plasticine® (don’t forget that the weight has to be appropriate-not to heavy and not too light), the parachutes are ready to be tested.

·         When you go outside, take more Plasticine® in a plastic container.

·         Let each pair test their parachute and talk about why it did or did not work. You might find it easier to do the test yourself. This might make a fairer test.

How does the parachute work?