ADNOC STEM FOR LIFE EGG DROP CHALLENGE Construct a container that will keep a raw egg from cracking when dropped from a significant height. شركة بترول أبوظبي الوطنية Abu Dhabi National Oil Company EGG DROP CHALLENGE INTRODUCTION About 300 years ago, Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity. The story is that Newton saw an apple fall out of a tree and realised that there must be a force that caused the fall which he called gravity. Gravity is a force that causes objects to fall to Earth when dropped. If you drop an egg from eye level, it will strike the ground with a certain force, and the ground will return the same force back to the egg. If the force is too strong, it can cause the shell of the egg to crack. THE CHALLENGE Theme: Awesome Engineering REGISTER & SUBMIT ADNOC STEM for Life has a new, dedicated learning portal where students, parents and teachers can access our programs and submit projects. Should you have any questions, please contact us at: support@adnocstem.ae. David Donoghue holds the record for longest egg drop without breaking. He threw an egg out of a helicopter onto a golf course in the UK from a height of 213 meters (700 feet). Your challenge is to engineer a container that will keep a raw egg from cracking when dropped from a significant height or when thrown against a wall. www.adnocstem.ae MATERIALS Health and Safety Note: Ask an adult to help you access a high place. Health and Safety Note: If you are going to use sharp tools, be sure to have adult supervision. THE PROCESS • Step 1: Know your Process Before you start, watch this video to learn about the engineering design process. Step 2: Research and Develop a Solution Think of a design that would reduce the force affecting the egg shell. Some ways to do this would be to slow down the speed of the egg using something like a parachute, or using some sort of cushion so that something other than the egg itself absorbs the impact of landing or whatever else you can think of! Step 3: Design and Build a Prototype Draw your design ideas on paper. What does your container look like? What materials will you use? Try using internal padding which will cushion the egg inside the container, like airbags in a car, in addition to external protection on the outside of the container which will protect the egg by absorbing the impact of the fall. Note: If dropping an egg from a height is not possible, design a device that would protect the egg if thrown against the wall. Step 4: Test and Evaluate Test your device by dropping it from up high or throw it against a wall. If the egg doesn’t crack, then your design works! If the egg cracks, make changes to your design and test it again. When testing, you can use a hard-boiled egg or put the raw egg in a sealed plastic bag to avoid making a mess. Step 5: Share Your Work Share a photo or video of yourself completing these activities and show us your work! You can share on Facebook, but also remember to join adnocstem.ae and post your projects on our new platform to get a certificate! • Pen or pencil • Tape • • • • • • Paper Scissors Raw egg Plastic bag A container, like a cardboard tube, cup, box, etc. Internal padding, like fabric, bubble wrap, paper, etc. External protection materials, like balloons, rubber bands, craft sticks, straws, etc. EXTENSION A spacecraft’s trip back to Earth is a kind of an egg drop, just much more complex. Check out this video to watch the trip of three astronauts returning home to Earth from the International Space Station on board of the Soyuz, a Russian spacecraft. Another spectacular return is that of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft after a mission to resupply the International Space Station. Read this article to find out more about the technology behind the spacecraft.
