The children started off by learning about different forces including air resistance. We watched videos and had discussions about how the shapes of objects affects how they perform in the air and water as well as different materials that are used for parachutes. We also learned about streamlining and the shapes of different parachutes and what they were used for and why the shapes were different.
“I thought the paper plate would have landed last because the material was thicker and the surface area was larger but it actually fell second in each test.” Aleshia
“I actually thought the newspaper would have landed second each time but it landed last each time in our group which means it was the most effective material for a parachute.” Eilidh
“It was quite hard to make a fair test where all the parachutes were the same size and shape because we were using different materials.” Iona
“I was surprised by the results as I thought the paper plate was going to be the most effective because it has a flat surface area and the little bits at the side come down like the brakes on the wings of an aeroplane but it fell second in most of the tests.” Zoe
“When planning a fair test you have to make sure all the variables are exactly the same apart from the one you are testing.” Beth
“It was fun doing the tests to see which one would land first.” Sofia
Children testing the effectiveness of their own streamlining paper aeroplanes.
