The Terminal Velocity of a Paper Helicopter

The Terminal Velocity of a Paper Helicopter

Introduction.

Terminal velocity is the resulting occurance when acceleration and

resistance forces are equal. As an example, a freefalling parachutist

before the parachute opens reaches terminal velocity at about 120mph,

but when the parachute is opened, terminal velocity is reached at

15mph, which is a safe speed to hit the ground at. This experiment

will be no different, as I will be examining the terminal velocity of

a freefalling paper helicopter.

Planning and Method.

Any experiment needs variations as well as fairness to be a true

success. The two variations I will include in this experiment shall

be:

1) The number of paperclips on the bottom of the helicopter.

2) The length of the helicopter rotors.

The number of paperclips changes the acceleration force while the

rotor length changes the resistance force. Finally, to make this a

fair test I shall use the same helicopter throughout the experiment.

The helicopter shall always be dropped from a height of two metres, as

this continuity makes the experiment even more of a fair test.

My method of working is that I will start off by completing the tests

involving the number of paperclips. I will then move on to the rotor

length tests, which will all be carried out with a standard weight of

one paperclip. All tests will be repeated three times, and averages

will be taken, as this will rule out the possibility of anomalous

results. The rotor lengths will be recorded in centimetres.

Predictions.

Knowing the information given in my introduction, I can hypothesise on

two things.

1) The more paperclips there are, the greater the acceleration will

be.

2) The shorter the rotor length is, the smaller the resistance will

be.

I have come to these predictions using scientific knowledge. The

heavier something is, the faster they fall, so I decided to base my

first prediction on this fact. I based the second hypothesis on the

parachutist example in my introduction.