Fast Fall, Slow Fall Drop a stone and a feather from the same
height. The stone reaches the ground before the feather. That's
because of the drag of the air. The stone falls quickly because
the drag of the air is small (compared to its weight). Drag has
a much greater effect on the fall of the feather. Two astronauts
tried a similar experiment (using a hammer) on the Moon, where
there is no air. What do you think they found? Drag is a force
which tries to slow down anything moving through the air.
Another name for this force is air resistance. Challenge 1: A
sheet of paper falls slowly through the air, like a feather. How
can you make a sheet of paper fall more quickly? Investigate
ways of making a sheet of paper fall as quickly as possible.
Challenge 2: Stones fall quickly through the air. How can you
make a stone fall more slowly? Investigate ways of making a
stone fall as slowly as possible. What do you know? From your
investigations, say what you have found out about the force
called drag. [ Flights of In