Getting Started

This is a model of a ball drop that allows you to experiment with different object masses and different parachute sizes to see their effect on an object's terminal velocity.

To start experimenting:

1. Click on the Start button to start the simulation. The simulation will stop automatically when terminal velocity has been achieved.
2. Click on the Analyze button to see the data in a CODAP table.
3. To restart the simulation, click on the New Run button.
4. To change the mass of the object, click and drag on the slider under Mass of jumper.
5. To change the size of the parachute, click and drag on the slider under Parachute size.

To a see a visualization of your data, click on the Graph icon

The Case Table

• Take a look at how the table is organized, including the column headings on the left and right sides of the table.
• Click on the "-" or "+" symbols in the middle. What happens?
• Hover over the column headings. What happens?
• Click on a line on the left side table. What happens? What happens in the graph?

The Graph

• Take a look at the graph. What do the data points represent?
• Click and drag "Time" column header from the table to the x-axis on the graph.
• Click and drag "Distance" column header from the table to the y-axis on the graph.
• Hover over a point on the graph. What happens?
• Click on a point on the graph. What happens? What happens in the table?

What is the effect of the mass and the parachute size on terminal velocity?