Egg Drop Lab (25 pts)
Day One: Brainstorm/Design Day
Working with your partner, design an enclosure (egg capsule) such that a fresh egg, when
placed inside and then dropped from a significant height (4.89 m) above the ground, will
not break. The egg capsule may be made of any materials of your choice, but you must
obey the following rules:
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The individual pieces used to construct the capsule cannot be larger then
10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm.
You cannot use liquids/gels, etc. as a part of your construction.
The entire capsule cannot be more than 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm. This
includes anything attached to it.
Make certain the egg can be accessed so it can be determined if it is
broken.
The teacher will provide the egg.
*You and your partner are responsible for bringing in the materials needed for the
next day. You should think about things you already have at home that you could
use. If you do not have the materials for the build day, you will be given 12 (3 x 5)
index cards and a meter length of tape to build a capsule.
Today you will make a draft diagram of your design. In your diagram, you must explain
how you applied the physics we have learned in your capsule. Remember the physics of
“impulse” and “changes in momentum” during a collision when you design your capsule.
Day Two: Build Day
1. Using your materials, you will now build your capsule. You must make sure it
obeys the rules outlined above.
2. You will have one class period to construct and test your capsule.
3. You should make a diagram of your capsule and label all of the parts. Beside
each labeled part you should indicate (using physics vocab) how it will help
protect your egg.
Day Three: Test Day
1. You will obtain an egg from your teacher and put it into your structure. Then you
will use the provided balance to obtain the mass of the egg capsule with the egg
inside.
2. You and your partner will then drop the capsule from the balcony. We will time
how long it takes the capsule to drop to the ground. After the drop you and
your partner will calculate the velocity, acceleration, momentum, and force which
needs to be completed on the math component sheet.
3.
You will also draw a detailed diagram of your egg capsule that includes the
following:
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Label all parts of egg capsule and explain why you used each part (use
physics vocab).
Describe any changes to the design that would make it more successful
Egg Capsule diagram (follow all instructions from above)
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Did you label all parts of your capsule and explain why you used each part?
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Describe any changes to the design that you would make it more successful.
Analysis Questions
1. We learned the equation Impulse = Force x Time. What did you in your capsule
design that affected this equation?
2. Did you use anything to affect air resistance? Why might you want to affect air
resistance and what could you have done with your capsule to affect it?
3. Did you do anything to affect momentum? Why might you want to affect the
momentum and what could you have done with your capsule to affect it?
Names____________
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The Egg Drop Lab- Math Component
Time of drop: __________ sec
Mass of capsule + egg: __________ g (covert to kg) (1000g = 1kg) ___________ kg
Distance from balcony to floor: ____4.89______m
Use the appropriate formulas given by your teacher. Please write them down and
substitute your experimental values into the equations. Hint: When mass is involved in
the equations please use “kg” instead of “g”. Complete the calculations by showing
your work and indicating the answer with the correct number of significant figures and
the correct units.
1. Acceleration
a = 2d
t2
2. Velocity
V = gt
3. Momemtum
p = mv (mass should be converted to kg)
4. Force
F = ma (mass should be converted to kg)