LAB REPORT TITLE: Falling through air; increasing the speed of a falling piece of paper EXPERIMENT DETAILS: Name

Paula McDonald Partner Maddesen Greig Date 28/02/2013 PURPOSE: To record the speed of a falling piece of A4 paper, then explore methods of doubling and quadrupling the initial speed. RESTRICTIONS: No additional weight to be attached to paper. HYPOTHESIS: Making folds in a sheet of paper will double and quadruple its rate of fall. MATERIALS and METHODS: One sheet of A4 paper was timed using an iPhone timer as it was dropped from a height of approximately 4 metres (fig. 1). To obtain an accurate average speed, this was repeated three more times; using a new piece of A4 paper each time. An average speed of 5.25 seconds was calculated (table 1). The average speed of fall for one piece of A4 paper (5.25 seconds) was then halved to obtain a goal (2.63 seconds) for two times the initial speed. Another piece of paper was then folded once end to end and timed as it was dropped from approximately the same position. A result of 3.4 seconds was recorded. Another piece of A4 paper was then folded in half end to end then folded in half once more (fig. 2). This piece was then timed as it was dropped from approximately the same height as the previous pieces. A time of 2.4 seconds was recorded. This was then repeated three more times; using a newly folded piece of paper each time. An average speed of 2.35 seconds was calculated (table 2). A single attempt was made with a new piece of A4 paper folded lengthways in threes. A time of 3.0 seconds was recorded. A single attempt was made with a new piece of A4 paper with four folds in the shape of a fan. A time of 2 seconds was recorded. The average speed from the initial attempts (table 1) was then divided by four to obtain a goal (1.31 seconds) for four times the initial speed. Another piece of A4 paper was then folded in half end to end, then half and half again. This piece was then timed as it was dropped from approximately the same height as the previous pieces. A time of 1.5 seconds was recorded. This was then repeated three more times; using a newly folded piece of paper each time. An average speed of 1.6 seconds was calculated (table 3). A single attempt was made with a piece of A4 paper loosely hand-scrunched. A time of 1.1 seconds was recorded.

A single attempt was made with a piece of A4 paper tightly hand-scrunched. A time of 1 second was recorded. RESULTS: Attempt Time (seconds) 5.1 5.1 5.4 5.4 Total time (seconds) Average time/speed (seconds) 5.25

1 2 3 4

21

Table 1: Average speed of unfolded A4 paper dropped from approximate height of 4 metres.

Fig. 1 The paper was held relatively flat before being dropped from a height of approximately 4 metres.

In each of the initial four attempts the paper appeared to slowly spiral to the floor.

Target

Attempt

Time (seconds)

Total time (seconds)

Average time/speed (seconds)

1 2.4 5.25 9.4 2.35 2 2.1 (.28 sec from T by 2 = 3 2.5 target) 4 2.4 a 2.63 ble 2: Average speed of A4 paper, folded in half then half again, dropped from approximate height of 4 metres.

Fig. 2 To test for 2 times speed, paper was dropped from approximately the same position after being folded in half then half again.

Subsequent attempts where the paper had been folded resulted in the paper following an unpredictable flight path to the floor.

Target

Attempt

Time (seconds)
1.5 1.8 1.6 1.5

Total time (seconds)

6.4

Average time/speed (seconds)

1.6 (.29 sec from target)

5.25 by 4=

1.31

1 2 3 4

Table 3: Average speed of A4 paper, folded in half three times, dropped from approximate height of 4 metres.

DISCUSSION: The results appear to show that altering the shape of A4 paper by folding or scrunching it speeds up the rate of fall. The data gathered during the second test (table 2) indicates that folding A4 paper in half, and then half again approximately doubles its rate of fall. Similarly, the average speed of an A4 sheet of paper folded in half three times, appears to fall approximately three and a half times faster than an unfolded piece of A4 paper. The hypothesis was not proven as the experiment was unable to accurately double and quadruple the initial speed of a falling piece of unfolded A4 paper. The varied trajectories of the folded and unfolded sheets of paper may indicate that the rate of fall could be linked to the shape and the flow of air around the paper rather than size. The method provided inaccurate results as only a small number of attempts were made during each stage. More attempts per test would have provided more accurate averages. Furthermore, each piece of paper was dropped by hand from an inexact height, resulting in each attempt falling from an approximation of the previous attempt. CONCLUSIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS: The small number of attempts made during each stage of testing provided insufficient results for producing precise averages. When conducting this experiment it is recommended that significantly more attempts be made to ensure average speeds recorded are accurate. In addition, the slightly varied heights used to drop each sheet of paper may have influenced the results and produced inaccurate rates of fall. It is suggested that an exact starting point from which to drop each sheet of paper be measured and marked prior to beginning testing. The timing of each attempt was made using a handheld device. This may have led to human error impacting on the accuracy of the recorded times. More accurate times may have been recorded if several timing devices were used simultaneously. Another issue to be considered relates to the folds made in the paper. The folds throughout this experiment were generally haphazard and showed no uniformity from one attempt to another. When reproducing this experiment, more precise test times could be gathered if the paper was folded in exactly the same way for each attempt.