Brian Morris
Egg Drop Challenge
April 3, 2013
Egg Drop Challenge
Introduction
The purpose the Egg Drop Challenge was to design a structure that when dropped from
the height of the ceiling, it would allow the egg to land safely. This means it could not break or
crack. In the Egg Drop Challenge we used our understanding of how to use crumple zones
efficiently. Trial and error was the best process to find ideas that were accurate and helped our
egg structure. It needed to absorb the energy from the impact of the ground, rather than the
egg. Our group named our egg Egglizabeth Benedict.
Initial Design Strategy
Our group planned on building a structure similar to a hot air balloon, the egg would sit
at the bottom and the top would be parachute-like. Before we assembled this idea we discussed
the pros and cons. We realized the vast amount of cons, more so than the pros. Such as the egg
falling out and there would not be a lot of protection for the egg in a basket. We took our
parachute idea and greatly improved it. Instead of having our egg sit in a basket, we created a
strong structure that absorbed the impact of the fall. The first part of the structure built was a
rectangular prism of straws to hold Egglizabeth. We then formed triangles to fit around the
prism. The triangles were used to absorb the energy from the structure hitting the ground,
creating a more soft landing for the egg. They were rotated at different angles so they would
absorb the impact on any side the structure lands on. The parachutes formed from 2 index cards
were attached at the top of the prism structure to act against the acceleration of gravity
(9.8m/s/s) and increase the time it takes for the structure to reach the ground.
Left: Initial
structure without
parachute
Scan the QR code
below to view our
PDF or video online
Right: Final
structure with
parachute attached
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Brian Morris
Egg Drop Challenge
April 3, 2013
Research
A crumple zone is the zone of an object that absorbs the majority of the energy resulting
from a collision. The purpose of the crumple zone is to increases the time it takes the object to
come to a complete stop in comparison to the object it hits. By increasing the time it takes for
the object to come to a stop during a collision, it reduces force of impact. In our egg drop we
used multiple crumple zones to reduce the force of impact on the egg, much like NASA’s
strategy for the Mars Rover landing on Mars.


Features


Objective
Mars Rover
A parachute
deploys at 7 miles
or 7 minutes
from the surface
of Mars to slow
the spaceship's
cruise stage from
13,200 miles per
hour, first to 900
mph and
eventually to 180
mph
About a mile
above the
surface, the
rocket-powered
landing stage will
take over,
slowing to the
walking-speed
rate of 2 mph
At the very
modest altitude
of 66 feet, the
rover will finally
separate out.
NASA had a very
large budget
The main objectives of
the MSL mission are to
determine whether Mars
could have supported life
and to study the climate
and geology of the
planet.


Similar
Both structures
used parachutes
to increase the
time it takes for
each object to
reach the ground
Both structures
had triangles
involved with
their design
because they are
the strongest
shape due to the
way force is
distributed
outward from
one point down
to many points
on the base
The objective for both the
Egg Drop Challenge and
NASA’s crash landing for
the Mars Rover is to
create a safe landing for
each falling object.
Egg Structure
 A parachute was
attached at the
top of our
structure to
increase the time
it takes to reach
the ground
 Triangles all
around the main
structure to
prevent energy
traveling directly
to the egg. It
could bounce off
any corner and
absorb the
impact of the fall
because of the
triangles
 We were limited
to 15 straws, 1m
of tape and 2
index cards
Our objective was to use
crumple zones in the
creation of our structure
and understand how and
why they affect the
landing.
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Brian Morris
Egg Drop Challenge
April 3, 2013
Design Improvements
After we completed the tests and trials of dropping our structure. We reviewed the
results and discussed how we could improve the design of the structure. It was noted that our
structure was very successful, completing 3 tests with a pencil sharpener and a set of keys as
well as 3 trials with Egglizabeth Benedict without any damage to the structure. During the
construction of the structure we used some of the straws that were not planned to be used, as
extra padding. We believe that our structure would be just as successful, had we not used these
extra straws. They only gave the structure a larger mass. To change and improve our design we
would remove this unnecessary straw mass.
Calculations
1. The height from the floor to the ceiling is 2.75 metres.
2. It takes our structure 0.87 seconds to fall from the ceiling to the floor.
3. We found our structure’s average speed was 3.16 m/s:
∆𝑑 2.75𝑚
𝑉𝐴𝑉 =
=
= 3.16 𝑚/𝑠
∆𝑡
0.87𝑠
4. The structure’s final speed was 6.32 m/s:
𝑉1 + 𝑉2
𝑉𝐴𝑉 =
2
𝑉2 = (2)𝑉𝐴𝑉 − 𝑉1
𝑉2 = (2)3.16 − 0
𝑉2 = 6.32 𝑚/𝑠
5. The structure’s acceleration was 7.26 m/s/s:
𝑉2 = 𝑉1 + 𝑎∆𝑡
𝑉2 − 𝑉1
𝑎=
∆𝑡
6.32 − 0
𝑎=
0.87
𝑎 = 7.26 𝑚/𝑠/𝑠
6. The acceleration calculated in question 5 is not the same as the acceleration due to
gravity on earth because of the parachute attached to the structure. The parachute
created another force acting on the structure in the opposite direction of the pull of
gravity. This changes the total force acting on the structure, decreasing the
acceleration of it.
7. Our structure was designed to reduce the force of impact as much as possible
through the use of a parachute, triangles and crumple zones. The parachute on the
structure reduces the acceleration and increases the time it takes to reach the
ground. This will allow the structure to have a softer landing and reduces the energy
travelling through the structure upon impact. The bottom of the structure is a point,
forcing it to land on its side. The straw triangles around the structure are rotated to
become crumple zones on any side it lands on, absorbing the energy.
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Brian Morris
Egg Drop Challenge
April 3, 2013
Conclusion
To summarize, Egglizabeth Benedict remained safe in our structure through the use of a
parachute, triangles and crumple zones. Our well-planned, successful egg structure was able to
absorb most of the energy from the impact of the 2.75m fall. This increased the time it took our
egg to come to a stop (0.87s), which reduced the force of impact and ultimately protected our
egg from casualty. The structure’s average speed was 3.16 m/s. It accelerated at 7.26 m/s/s as it
was falling, and had a speed of 6.32 m/s as it reached the ground. The Egg Drop Challenge was a
great opportunity to understand crumple zones better and learn how to use them.
References


Wall, Mike. "11 Amazing Things NASA's Huge Mars Rover Can Do." Space.com. N.p., 20
Nov. 2011. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://www.space.com/13689-nasa-amazing-marsrover-curiosity-science.html>.
Grayzeck, Ed. "Mars Science Labratory." NASA, 27 Mar. 2013. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.
<http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/masterCatalog.do?sc=2011-070A>.
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