As part of our on-going science learning about Friction, Flamingo Class have been busy designing and building a contraption that can maximise the effects of air resistance.
Linking with our literacy work on My Dad’s a Birdman, we held a Great Human Parachute Competition! We wanted to see who could maximise air resistance by creating a parachute/hang-glider for a toy doll. The design process was very difficult: light and large materials were a popular choice, but making them strong enough to survive the fall was really tricky!
First, we thought about all the things we knew about the friction that occurs between two solid objects. We know that examples of high and low friction are all around us, helping us to live our daily lives. From the rubber tires on our car wheels to the smooth plastic of our playground slides, we know that friction is created everywhere!
However, we hadn’t realised that we all create a type of friction every time we move through the air around us! Air resistance is caused by any object that moves through the tiny particles of air that surround us all.
Using air resistance, we were able to make two identical pieces of paper fall at different speeds! The wide, flat piece of paper created a lot of air resistance and fell slowly. The tightly scrunched piece created much less and fell more quickly.
We tested 6 contrasting designs and reflected on why some were more successful than others. Amazingly, it was really easy to see which ones created a lot of air resistance. They really did float down to earth!
