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Final Parachute Drops
For most students, the parachute unit's day of reckoning
is the final parachute drop. DITC's two science teachers took
quite different approaches to this near-finale activity. Earl
conducted the last drops indoors as a paired-elimination contest.
Bridget had her students test their chutes from the top of
the school's football bleachers. Be sure to compare these
approaches to that of the Tech Ed teacher in the
Day 5-Final Contest movie.
Movie 1 & 2 Questions:
1. How were conditions for outdoor drop different from the
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classroom conditions where the chutes were designed? What were the typical modes of failure for the
chutes in this new setting?
2 . What were some strengths and
drawbacks of the drop settings for the two movies from an
educational standpoint?
3. Compare Earl's way of conducting a final drop with Ed's
and Bridget's. What are some +/- of each?
4. What misconceptions about testing and the challenge did
you hear from students?
5 . Some design converge on a single "optimal" design. Did
the parachutes shown in these movies encounter this?
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