Ever feel like it’s hard to pull something towards you? As if there is something pushing in the opposite direction? Well, that invisible force has a name: drag.
Have you ever heard of the four forces of flight or the four forces that help an airplane fly? Pictured to your right are drag, lift, thrust, and weight— the four forces of flight! Today we’ll be learning a little bit about drag. Drag is the force that acts opposite to the direction of motion. Drag is caused by friction and differences in air pressure. Now, let's do an experiment that models this force!
Materials:
Tape, Scissors, Pennies, Colored tape or markers , Recording Device, Printable Cube and Cone Template
Time Estimated:
20-30 minutes
Directions:
First, cut out all of the shapes from the templates. Then, take the cube template and fold it along all of the lines.
Now, use tape to connect all of the edges of the cube together.
Repeat with the other cube.
Cut out all the pieces of the cone from the templates.
Fold the paper into a cone and use tape to secure the edges.
Attach the circle to the bottom of the cone using tape.
Repeat with the other cone.
Now, attach one penny to one cone and one cube. Then, attach two pennies to the other cone and the other cube. Do this using tape.
Now, pick two different colors of tape. Use one color for the shapes with one penny and one color for the shapes with two pennies. You can also use marker or colored pennies instead of colored tape!
Use a recording device or timer and drop your objects from standing height or from a ledge of any height. Set up your device and start recording before you drop the cube and the cone at the same time. Make sure to use the cube and the cone with the same amount of pennies.
Try dropping two cubes or two cones to see if the amount of pennies affects the amount of time the shapes will spend in the air.
Watch the recordings to see which of your shapes fell first!
You can also experiment with more pennies or different paper shapes!
Think Like A Scientist:
Do you think the cubes or cones will fall faster?
Do you think the number of pennies will affect how fast the shapes fall?
How It Works:
The cone should have fallen faster than the cube because it has less drag and is a more streamlined and sleek object. Drag tends to slow objects down, so since the cone has less drag, it falls faster than the cube. Was your hypothesis correct? The objects with one penny should have fallen just as fast as the objects with two pennies because mass does not affect how fast an object falls.
We hope you enjoyed this experiment and learning about drag!
Looking for more fun at home STEM activities for your young scientist? Check out our workbook full of exciting science experiments and empowering activities!
