Egg Drop Eggstravaganza
by Rheese W.
In football, the defensive lineman applies a force on the running back for a period of time to stop the momentum of the running back. This example explains how momentum is something moving that is hard to stop and needs a force to stop it. The egg drop extravaganza project is designed to teach us that objects in motion have momentum and impulses. When the egg is dropped from the bleachers it has momentum in midair. The more mass it has then the faster it will fall more likely causing the egg to break. But with enough support to cushion the blow on the egg and increase its time of impact, then the less chance it has of breaking.
Description of my Egg Case
My egg case is built to support my egg and cushion its blow on the ground. I will stick my egg in a jello case. The jello case will then be put inside a sock. The sock will then go inside a shoe box that is packed tightly with foam and bubblewrap. The mass of my egg case was .451 kg or about one pound.
What is momentum?
Why did the egg cases have approximately the same change in momentum when they hit the ground?
Momentum is mass in motion. The more momentum something has then it becomes harder to stop. Momentum = mass x velocity
Mostly all the egg cases had the same mass. And since they were dropped from the same height with the same mass then they had approximately the same momentum.
What is impulse?
Why did all the eggs cases have approximately the same impulse?
Impulse causes the change in momentum. Anything that has momentum has an impulse. Impulse = Force x time
We all have the same change in momentum since our egg cases all have the same mass and velocity so we all have to have the same impulse.
If all the egg cases had the same impulse, what varied with each egg case?
The stuff inside the egg cases that are used to increase the time of impact and decrease the force on the egg.
Did your egg break? Why?
No! My egg did not break because i used several different materials that helped increase the time of impact on my egg and decrease the amount of force on my egg.
Reflect on your design as a scientist or engineer would. How could you improve your design? What a new design or materials would you try in the future?
I could improve my design in the future by adding more materials that would increase the time of impact. I used bubblewrap which was common in people's egg cases and seemed to work well. But towels, tissues, and hair gel are other good options that i might add in the future. But since my egg didn't break, I wouldn't change mine very much.
How could you use what you learned from this activity in real world situations? What have you learned from this activity?
Some real world situations are shipping fragile objects, boxing, and jumping off of a roof. When shipping companies ship fragile objects they stuff the box with bubblewrap and packaging peanuts. The bubblewrap and packaging peanuts increases the time of the fall and which decreases the force on the fragile object. This helps prevent the object from breaking. In boxing you are supposed to ride the punch to increase the time of impact and decrease the force on your body. This prevents the punch from hurting so much. When jumping off a roof you want to bend your knees in order to decrease the force of impact on your legs and increase the time of the fall. This helps you not break your leg.
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