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Can a parachute, made out of plastic bags and string, save an egg from a two story fall?

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Purpose

The purpose of this project is to see what size parachute is needed to save an egg from a two story fall.

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Research

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While reading the article “How to make an egg drop experiment with a parachute” on sciencing.com, it was discovered air resistance is friction with gas particles which can slow down the speed of a falling object. The main variable in this experiment is the size of the parachute. We will determine if larger parachutes work better than smaller ones.

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Hypothesis

I think we will need a large trash bag to prevent the egg from cracking because the larger the parachute, the slower the fall.

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Materials

  • 45 and 55 gallon plastic heavy duty trash bag
  • Plastic sandwich bags
  • String
  • Scissors
  • Hole punch
  • 3 Eggs

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Procedure

  • Cut a square from the garbage bag that is 20 inches on each side.
  • Use a hole punch to punch one hole in each corner of the piece of plastic garbage bag.
  • Cut four pieces of 20-inch long string.
  • Thread a piece of string through each hole in the bag and secure by tying the string firmly on each corner.
  • Place one egg into the plastic sandwich bag, twist the top of the bag and tie closed with the loose ends of strings. This will also attach the parachute to the bag holding the egg.
  • Repeat the experiment with different sizes of bags and strings (the length of the strings should match the size of one side of the square).
  • Take the egg parachute to the second floor of your house and have a parent help you drop it from the window.

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Data Table

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Can a plastic bag keep an egg from getting broken from a two story fall?

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How the egg looked

The size of the parachute

What was the fastest time the parachute slowed down

Trial #1

Had a bit of scratches

small

The small one was the fastest for it to slow down

Trial #2

Had small holes

medium

Medium 2nd fastest

Trial #3

Looked like someone tried to break the egg

large

Large was the 3rd fastest

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Pictures

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Conclusion

My conclusion rejected my hypothesis because the smaller one made the least damage .

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Real World Connections

My experiment was teaching about aerodynamics, specifically aerodynamic drag and how to use it to safely land an egg.