The Egg Drop is a classic science class experiment for middle school or high school students. Students are given an egg to drop from a high point such as the roof of the school onto a hard surface as the parking lot. They must design a carrier for the egg to house it during the drop. Typical carriers are milk cartons or shoeboxes.
The students can modify the carrier by adding wings parachutes foam interiors or even marshmallow cushions. The students form hypotheses about which of the egg carriers will effectively protect the egg and then test those hypotheses. The experiment is not just for fun although students do enjoy it. It is intended to teach students about the relationships between force and momentum.
Newton's Laws of …show more content…
The force increases as the time required for the change decreases. If a train is moving along at a steady pace and needs to decelerate the force experienced by the passengers will be greater as the time for deceleration is shorter.
The objective of the egg drop experiment is to keep the egg from breaking as it decelerates. It becomes clear from Newton's Laws that in order to minimize the force experienced by the egg at impact, students designing the egg carriers must increase the time over which the egg is brought to rest or decrease the egg's velocity at the time of the crash.
In order to decrease the egg's velocity upon impact, students must design their egg carriers to have increased air resistance. An increased surface area on the carrier, such as a flying disc shape or a parachute, will cause the egg to hit the ground at a lower speed. To increase the time over which the egg comes to rest, students must provide their egg with something to absorb some of the force of impact. A sponge or other cushion in their carrier will keep the egg from stopping instantly when it hits the ground; the egg will continue its motion for a few nanoseconds, decreasing the
The students can modify the carrier by adding wings parachutes foam interiors or even marshmallow cushions. The students form hypotheses about which of the egg carriers will effectively protect the egg and then test those hypotheses. The experiment is not just for fun although students do enjoy it. It is intended to teach students about the relationships between force and momentum.
Newton's Laws of …show more content…
The force increases as the time required for the change decreases. If a train is moving along at a steady pace and needs to decelerate the force experienced by the passengers will be greater as the time for deceleration is shorter.
The objective of the egg drop experiment is to keep the egg from breaking as it decelerates. It becomes clear from Newton's Laws that in order to minimize the force experienced by the egg at impact, students designing the egg carriers must increase the time over which the egg is brought to rest or decrease the egg's velocity at the time of the crash.
In order to decrease the egg's velocity upon impact, students must design their egg carriers to have increased air resistance. An increased surface area on the carrier, such as a flying disc shape or a parachute, will cause the egg to hit the ground at a lower speed. To increase the time over which the egg comes to rest, students must provide their egg with something to absorb some of the force of impact. A sponge or other cushion in their carrier will keep the egg from stopping instantly when it hits the ground; the egg will continue its motion for a few nanoseconds, decreasing the