"Parachute Man"

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SCIENCE CONCEPT:

Air resistance holds a parachute open. Air is trapped under the "dome" creating enough resistance to slow a parachute down.

STUDENT OBJECTIVE:

The student will employ simple equipment to demonstrate the gliding flight of a parachute or floating seed.

OVERVIEW:

The student will make a flying toy out of an action figure with an attached parachute and project it into the sky above in order to observe the gliding flight of a parachute.

TEACHER TEXT:

As seeds disperse to find the perfect growing place they too seem to "fly" with the wind. Some, like dandelion seeds and milkweed pods have parachutes made of fine hairs which let them "fly" many miles through the air.

PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes

LESSON TIME: 30 minutes

TEACHER PREP:

Gather plastic bags and send out a note ahead to the parents of students asking them to send in their child's small action figures for a Science experiment.

WORDS TO KNOW:

• air
• float
• glide
• throw
• plastic bag
• action
• figure
• wrap
• bundle
• handles

MATERIALS NEEDED:

• plastic grocery bag (with handles)
• 6 inch action figure (Power Rangers, GI Joes, Super Heroes)

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

1. Wrap and tie each bag handle securely to the arms of the action figure. (Hint: Start making the knot in the bag and slip the arm of the action figure before tightening the knot.

2. Grab the bottom of the bag and squeeze all the air out.

3. Wrap the bag around your hand until it forms a small bundle.

4. Slip your hand out from the bundle.

5. Outdoors, throw (underhand-style) the whole bundle straight up as high as you can.

6. Extension: Use plastic film canisters partially filled with sand as weights for the parachute.

WHY?:

The air is trapped in the parachute which slows its descent.

ASSESSMENT: Can the student communicate what they observed?

4....Student is able to communicate that air trapped under a parachute creates resistance in the parachute holding it open and slowing its descent.

3....Student is able to communicate that the air trapped under the parachute holds it open and slows its descent.

2....Student is able to communicate that the air under the parachute holds it open and slows it down.

1....Student can only communicate that the air under the parachute hold it open.

CURRICULUM LINK IDEAS:

MATH:

Clocking Descent: With a stopwatch, time the descent of a parachute varying the weight of the objects to which the parachute is attached. Graph your results.

LANGUAGE ARTS:

Creative Writing: Ask students: What if Humpty Dumpty had a parachute? Rewrite the poem with this new version.

Record Keeping: Scientists have two great skills : being able to observe and recording their observations with careful notes. Create a scientific observation log and record your results of the Egg Drop (located in the Visual/Performing Arts Link section).

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Group Reports: Research various uses of parachutes such as in times of natural disasters, famine, animal drops, search and rescue operations, military operations,etc. Have your small group report on the practical applications of parachutes using visuals in your report.

VISUAL/ PERFORMING ARTS:

Egg Drop: Design and make a parachute for an egg. Can you design the parachute that will keep your egg in tact? Have a class performance of each specially created egg parachute by gathering around a tall ladder or other place of height and having each "Egg Drop Engineer" test out their parachute.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION:

Parachute Activity: As a class, experiment with a real parachute (found often in the Perceptual-Motor section of School or Sports Equipment catalogs). Have students notice the "trapping of the air" under this life-size parachute as they do their activities.

LITERATURE LINKS:

Parachuting, the Art of Freefall

Author: Pat Works

Publisher: Deland, Florida: Arrow Graphics, 1988

Grade Level: 3-8

Synopsis:

???

The Search for the Secret of Flight

Author: Books for Young Readers

Publisher: New York: Simond and Schuster,1990

Grade Level: 4-8

Synopsis:

???

Why Doesn't the Earth Fall up? and Other Not Such Dumb Questions About Motion

Author: Vicki Cobb

Publisher: :Dutton, 1989

Grade Level: 3-6

Synopsis:

Force, motion and gravity are explained in this book. The illustrations are cartoon drawings that enhance an understanding of each concept. The author introduces early scientists and discusses the logic and reasoning behind their concepts and theories.

Gravity Is a Mystery

Author: Franklyn M. Branley

Publisher: :Harper, 1986

Grade Level: 3-6

Synopsis:

Gravity is clearly explained, as is the relationship between weight and gravity.