Up, Up and Away
Day 3 -- Acceleration and Parachutes

Center for Talent Development
Northwestern University
Summer 2004, Session 1

S. Reed & C. Kalember, Instructors


Week 1
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5

Week 2
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10

Week 3
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15

Activity/Lab - The morning session was spent discussing velocity and accleration  Marbles of various masses were dropped from different heights to measure their final velocities...

Building Project - The first records of parachute designs were in the early 1500s on Leonardo de Vinci's famous illustrations of flying machines (incidently his parachute design was tested in the late 1990s ... and it worked!! ).  The parachutes were constructed using tissue paper, glue and string.

Gores were assembled.

String was measured and attached.

Once the parachutes were completed ...

... students were encouraged to make a parachute of their own design.