1

Whirligig Design Challenge

I developed two initial whirligig models for experimentation. I used the templates provided and
cut out the design on a cereal box. One of my whirligigs was about 1/3 the size of the other one. I
dropped each of them from a set of stairs 5 times and videoed each drop so that I could count the
number of spins. I noticed that the smaller whirligig spun faster than the larger whirligig. Below
is the series of data that I collected to meet the design criteria of the activity.
2

Criteria 1: A whirligig that falls as slowly as possible.

Question: How will the blade length affect the fall speed of the whirligig?

Hypothesis: The longer the blade, the slower the whirligig will fall.

To test this research question, I will:

 create three whirligigs, with blade lengths of 3.25 inches, 2.5 inches, and 1.75 inches
 drop each of them from the top of the stairs 3x
 video each drop
 record the time it took each whirligig to drop
 graph data

Independent variable: Blade length

Constants: height of the drop, material, blade width, and type of paper clip

How to slow the drop?

2.5

2
Drop time(sec)

1.5

0.5

0
3.25 inch 2.5 inch 1.75 inch

Blade length(inches)

Drop 1 Drop 2 Drop 3

Conclusion: Based on the data presented in the chart above, I support my hypothesis. As the
blade length increased, the drop time increased. The fall speed of the whirligig was the slowest
when the blade was the longest.
3

Criteria 2: A whirligig that spins as many times as possible.

Question: How will the size of the whirligig affect the number of spins?

Hypothesis: The smaller the whirligig, the faster it will spin.

To test this research question, I will:

 create three whirligigs with the following dimensions:
o 8” x 2”
o 6” x 1.5”
o 4” x 1”
 drop each of them from the stairs 3x
 count and record how many spins each whirligig had on the way down
 graph data

Independent variable: size of the whirligig

Constants: height of the drop, material, number of paper clips, and type of paper clip

How will the size of the whirligig affect the number of spins?
35

30

25
Number of spins

20

15

10

0
8x2 6 x 1.5 4x1

Whirligig size (inches)

Drop 1 Drop 2 Drop 3

Conclusion: Based on the data presented in the chart above, I support my hypothesis. Of the
three sizes, the smallest whirligig spun the fastest, and the largest spun the slowest.
4

Criteria 3: A whirligig that spins as few times as possible.

Question: How will the addition of paper clips affect the number of spins?

Hypothesis: If I add more paper clips to the whirligig, it will spin slower.

To test this research question, I will:

 design 3 whirligigs of the same size
 add one paper clip to each blade of one, add 2 paper clips to each blade of one, and leave
one whirligig with no paper clips
 drop each whirligig from the stairs 3x
 record the number of spins for each drop
 graph data

Independent variable: number of paperclips

Constants: type of paper clip, size and shape of whirligig, material of whirligig, drop height

How do paper clips affect the number of spins?

14

12

10
Number of spins

0
0 1 2

Number of paper clips (per blade)

Drop 1 Drop 2 Drop 3

Conclusion: Based on the data presented in the chart above, I support my hypothesis. As I added
paper clips to the blade, the whirligig spun at a much lower rate. When it had no paper clips, it
spun relatively fast. When I added two paper clips to each side, it barely spun at all.