Activity Overview
Egg drop competition is a popular activity to reinforce the lessons in force and motion. In the activity, the students are asked to design a vehicle to carry the egg safely when dropped from a height of 10 feet (about 3 m) or more.
Real-time and concrete data collected and analyzed during the design process of the vehicle can help the students think critically. The activity is both fun and self-motivating for the students.
Before the Activity
Review motion graphs:
Constant Velocity
Linear motion Positive Velocity
Free fall graph (positive acceleration)
During the Activity
CONTAINER SPECIFICATIONS:
A. The container should be as light as possible (less than 100 g without the egg).
B. The container should be the smallest possible container (including folded wings or parachutes). Size should fit a 6 by 6 by 6 box.
C. The vehicle must be designed to allow raw eggs to be EASILY inserted and removed from the container. The term "easily" means it can be opened with ease and does not require an instrument to open the container.
D. The vehicle must be reusable.
E. The total weight of the vehicle includes the weight of the parachute if the design calls for one.
After the Activity
Have the students analyze their design and compare their expected result with the actual result.
Ask them to redesign their vehicle if necessary.