Can you protect a falling egg

Can you save this egg from getting scrambled? Share Print. Suggested Materials 2 raw eggs per team there may be accidents… Tape, glue, glue guns and other adhesives String Scissors Newspaper or plastic drop cloth Lots of recycled materials cardboard tubes, foam, styrofoam, plastic bags, sponges, straws, tissue paper, packing peanuts…anything you have around.

Opening Discussion Show your students a raw egg and ask them what they think would happen if you dropped it on the ground. The Challenge Save you egg from certain doom by creating a way to protect it from the cold, hard ground! Doing the Activity Divide your students into teams of 3. When they are ready, hand each team their egg. Tell them what their challenge is—they will need to create some method for protecting their egg after it has been dropped from a certain height the height depends on your available space—the higher, the better.

Make sure that you are taking safety into consideration, and that you are the only one doing the dropping. Create the egg protectors! Make sure you have lots of different kinds of materials for teams to experiment with.

Build On What They Talked About When everyone is done, drop the creations one by one, and check inside to see if the egg broke or was protected. His writing covers science, math and home improvement and design, as well as religion and the oriental healing arts. Things You'll Need. Attach something to the container to make it fall more slowly. Possibilities include:.

Several medium-size balloons. A makeshift parachute made from lightweight cloth or parchment paper. The rotor from a helicopter beanie.

Background Information on Egg Drop Experiments. Egg Drop Device Ideas. How to Make an Egg Drop Box. Physics Egg-Drop Experiment Ideas.

Egg Drop School Projects. Successful Egg Drop Ideas. How to Build a Glider to Carry an Egg. Egg Parachute Design Instructions. Science Project Egg Experiments. Experiment with alternative materials by padding the egg in styrofoam cups, nylon stockings, liquids or other soft substances. Demonstrate curiosity and show inventiveness. Per Group of 2—3 students: 1 extra-large egg 1 bag of materials may include cardboard cup, string, tape, balloons, straws, etc. Details Activity Length 45 mins. There are three basic ways to increase the likelihood of safely dropping an egg: Slow down the descent speed.

Parachutes are an obvious method for slowing the decent speed, as long as the design includes a way to keep the parachute open. Cushion the egg so that something other than the egg itself absorbs the impact of landing. The largest end of the egg has an area of air trapped between the egg's two membranes. This air space forms when the contents of the egg cool and contract after the egg is laid. It accounts for the crater you often see at the end of a hard-cooked egg.

Upon impact the heavier spherical yolk continues moving towards the ground. The compression of the airspace acts like an air bag for the eggs' valuable contents. Building an artificial cushioning device will also help absorb the impact of landing. Orient the egg so that it lands on the strongest part of the shell. The arch structure at either end of the egg is stronger than its sides. Pressure is distributed down or up the arches so that less pressure acts on any one point.

Orienting the arch downwards will increase the egg's survival. Objectives Demonstrate curiosity and show inventiveness. Brainstorm in a team to generate ideas.

Use problem-solving strategies in building simple structures.