SCIENCE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

SCIENCE - Essay Example A parachute falls towards earth because of two major factors, which are weight (mass) of the parachute and the speed with which it falls towards the earth. Now, the question arises, how weight and speed affect the falling of a parachute towards the ground. Our investigation is based on the hypothesis: â€Å"weight of a parachute and its speed affect its falling towards the earth†. Now, there are many factors that contribute towards the weight and speed of a parachute while it is falling, which are gravity and air pressure. Gravity is a factor that attracts everything towards the centre of earth. That is the same factor, which helps us to walk and stick to ground. Everything in air falls towards the ground because of gravity. The force of gravity is such that every free falling body accelerates with an acceleration of 9.8m/s2 (Walsh 1985). At this acceleration, the body takes much lesser time to hit ground. Therefore, when parachute is dropped, it falls towards the ground. We know that: The weight of a body depends on its mass and gravity, as these are the factors that allot a body with some weight. The weight of a falling parachute is calculated with the help of its gravity and mass (the space, which it occupies). It shows that weight of a parachute affects its falling towards the ground. Now as we know that a falling parachute not shows a free fall as in free fall, acceleration increases by 9.8m/s2, which is a very fast acceleration (Walsh 1985). The body having this acceleration also has a great velocity. If the parachute having this great velocity and acceleration falls, then it will smash itself after hitting ground (White 1968). Instead, in general, parachute never shows a free fall. Then what are the factors that slow the velocity of a parachute down. Air resistance is a factor that maintains the velocity of a parachute. As we know, air is a mixture of gases. These gases are