Paper Helicopter Experiment
Scientific Method Project
September 24th, 2014
Ms. Klemm
Problem
Does mass affect the rate of descent of a paper helicopter?
Hypothesis
Increasing the mass of the paper helicopter will increase its rate of descent.
Research
The research for this experiment comes from three online resources. Several other research organizations have found that increasing the mass (in the form of the number of paper clips attached to the paper helicopter) increases its rate of descent. One organization that performed this experiment and found such a result is the Arkansas Discovery Network (http://www.arkansasdiscoverynetwork.org/assets The /Uploads/buildinghelicopter.pdf). Another research team that had the same outcome was Ms. Lai’s physics class in 2013 (http://blogs.dulwich-beijing.cn/18suevernl/uncategorized/2013/12/04/paper-helicopter-experiment/). The textbook, Conceptual Physics, by Paul Hewitt provides physics background for this experimental observation on page 68, stating that increasing the mass of an object in flight will increase its acceleration downward.
Design
In this experiment, the independent variable is the mass of the paper helicopter. The dependent variable is the rate of descent, the speed of the helicopter. The control group in this experiment is the paper helicopter with no paper clips on it. The experimental groups are the groups with 1 and 2 paperclips on the helicopters. The constants in this experiment are the size, shape of and materials used for the paper helicopter. Additionally, the paper helicopters will be tested in the same room at room temperature.
Materials List:
· Paper Helicopter Template
· 2 paper clips
· Scissors
· Stopwatch
· Metric Ruler
Procedure
1. Place the paper helicopter one meter above the ground.
2. Start the stopwatch as the paper helicopter is dropped to the ground.
3. Stop the stopwatch when the paper helicopter hits the ground.
4. Record the time it took to fall one meter in the data table.
5. Complete two more trials, repeating steps 1-3.
6. Add one paper clip to the bottom of the paper helicopter.
7. Repeat steps 1-5.
8. Add another paper clip to the bottom of the paper helicopter.
9. Repeat steps 1-5.
Safety Rules:
1. Walk with scissors pointing down.
2. Keep paper clips away from eyes.
3. No horseplay with the meter stick.
Data
Data Table 1: Height, Time and Speed for 0 Paper Clips
Trial # / Height (m) / Time (s)1 / 1 / 2.1
2 / 1 / 1.9
3 / 1 / 1.8
Average / 1 / 1.9
Data Table 2: Height, Time and Speed for 1 Paper Clip
Trial # / Height (m) / Time (s)1 / 1 / 1.8
2 / 1 / 1.7
3 / 1 / 1.7
Average / 1 / 1.7
Data Table 3: Height, Time and Speed for 2 Paper Clips
Trial # / Height (m) / Time (s)1 / 1 / 1.6
2 / 1 / 1.5
3 / 1 / 1.6
Average / 1 / 1.6
Analysis
To determine the rate of descent for each paper helicopter, the speed equation was used. The speed equation is: distance/time = speed in meters/second (m/s). The average time that it took for the helicopter to descend one meter was used. Below is a sample calculation of how the speed for each paper helicopter was found.
Speed = height/time = 1 m/1.6 s = 0.64 m/s
This speed calculation was applied the paper helicopter with no paper clips, the paper helicopter with one paper clip and the paper helicopter with two paper clips. The speed for the paper helicopter with no paper clips was 0.52 m/s. The speed for the paper helicopter with one paper clip was 0.58 m/s. The speed for the paper helicopter with two paper clips was 0.64 m/s. See Figure 1 for a graphical comparison of these speeds.
Figure 1: Mass and Speed of Paper Helicopter
The above bar graph shows that the speed of the paper helicopter increases with increasing mass (in the form of increased number of paper clips). Each time a paper clip is added, the speed increases by 0.06 m/s.
Conclusion/Discussion
The hypothesis that increasing the mass of the paper helicopter will increase its rate of descent was accepted by the data collected in this experiment. Figure 1 shows that as the number of paper clips on the paper helicopter increases, the rate of its descent also increases. Each time the speed increases by 0.06 m/s. Adding paper clips to the paper helicopter increases the helicopter’s mass. Therefore, it is concluded that increased mass increases the speed of the helicopter.
One possible source of error in this experiment was human error when starting and stopping the stopwatch. It was difficult to stop the timer exactly when the paper helicopter hit the ground. Therefore, the data for time that was collected could have been improved by having two people conduct the experiment. Having one person in charge of only starting and stopping the timer would improve the accuracy of the time collected as that person would not have to worry about dropping the helicopter and looking for it to hit the ground before stopping the timer.
Future areas of research include investigating the increase in speed as another paper clip is added to the paper helicopter. In this experiment, it was found that each time a paper clip was added, the paper helicopter’s speed increased by 0.06 m/s. Would that happen if a third or a fourth paper clip was added? Or was the equal increase in time simply a random event that could not be replicated?
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