NAME: ________________________

Learning Objectives: Investigate how air resistance affects falling objects of different mass and surface
area. Explain how air resistance creates a terminal velocity.

You are going to do an investigation into how surface area and weight
affect the air resistance of paper and card. The card is the same size as
the paper but thicker and heavier. As objects fall through the air, the
resistance of the air limits their velocity to what is known as the terminal
velocity. This terminal velocity will depend on properties of the object.
By dropping paper and card with decreasing surface areas, we can
investigate how air resistance will affect the time it takes for them to fall.

Will the heavier card fall faster? Will air resistance increase or decrease because it’s heavier?

Equipment
A4 paper & card, metre ruler, stopwatch, graph paper

Method
1. Drop a piece of A4 paper from a height of 1.5m and record the time it takes to hit the ground.
Try to be consistent about how you hold and drop it. Repeat twice more and find the average –
remember the average is (1st + 2nd + 3rd)/3.
2. In the last column find the velocity by dividing the distance it fell 1.5m by the average time.
3. Fold the paper in half and then repeat step 1. Keep going until you have folded the paper 4
times.
4. Repeat the experiment using A4 card.

Make a Prediction
Do you think the paper or the heavier card will always fall the fastest even after being folded? Think
about air resistance too.

Paper / Card / Both the Same

Why do you think this? _________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Take Some Measurements

Start off with the A4 paper. Time it falling 3 times before you fold it in half. Then do the same with card.
Remember to ensure that you drop them from the same height and try to hold them flat. Calculate the
velocity in the final column by dividing the distance fallen (1.5m) by the average time.
Paper

Time to fall(s) Velocity =

Number of Surface area
1.5m/Average
folds (cm2) 1st 2nd 3rd Average (m/s)
0 624
1 312
2 156
3 78
4 39

Card

Time to fall(s) Velocity =

Number of Surface area
1.5m/Average
folds (cm2) 1st 2nd 3rd Average (m/s)
0 624
1 312
2 156
3 78
4 39

Plot a Graph
Plot two line graphs of both paper and card on the same graph. Plot surface area along the x-axis from 0
to 624cm2 and the velocity up the y-axis. Use as much of the graph paper as you can. Draw a line of best
fit through the points (it may be a curved line).

Conclusion
Was your prediction correct? Did the paper or card always fall faster? __________________________

How does surface area affect air resistance?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

How does mass affect air resistance?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Did you find a terminal velocity for the paper and card and how did you know?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________