*April 25-27, 2017

FSH Elementary School

6th Annual EGG DROP

Originality and creativity are appreciated, but your design must follow these guidelines:

  • Design cannot involve liquids, helium, other lighter-than-air gasses, or glass.
  • Egg container cannot exceed one foot in length, height or width. Winged designs need to fall within this dimension.
  • Use of parachutes is NOT allowed.
  • All containers must be made at home, prior to the event.
  • Entry forms are due by April 19th. Sorry, no late entry forms are permitted.

On the day of THE DROP:

1-If you turned in your entry form by April 19th, bring your container (with a raw chicken egg already safely tucked in it) to class and ask your teacher to keep it somewhere safe.

2-Listen for your class to be called out to the EGG DROP. Then, carefully carry your container to the contest. An adult volunteer will be our “Egg-Master” and will drop all egg containers.

3-After the drop, the contestant will be required to remove the raw chicken egg from their container to show the judges that it did not break. A cracked egg will be defined as one that is visibly leaking its contents. Hairline fractures are not considered cracks.

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Egg Drop Entry Form- Due by Friday, APRIL 19th(Sorry, no late entry forms are permitted.)

Parent Name (print): ______Date: ______

Signature of parent: ______

Student Name: ______Grade:______

Teacher’s Name______

I give permission for my child’s work, video or photograph to be displayed by FSHISD on the Internet or published in the newspaper or yearbook.

YES □ NO□

Can a raw egg survive the harrowing plunge from a height of at least 5 meters? Design a container that will protect a rawchicken egg from breaking.April 25-27, it's "eggs away"!!!

ENTRY FORMS ARE DUE BY APRIL 19th. (Sorry, no late entry forms are permitted.) EGG DROP SCHEDULE WILL BE POSTED ON APRIL 24th

Your Egg-citing Challenge

The goal of this challenge is to have a raw chicken egg fall approximately 5 meters, onto a hard surface, and survive the impact uncracked. Let's look at the elements of the problem.

  • Eggshells are remarkably strong. If you hold an egg in the palm of your hand and try to crush it by wrapping your fingers around it and squeezing, you will find that it takes a large force to crack the shell. However, the shell can be broken rather easily by hitting a small area with a hard object. Therefore, you need to protect your egg from very large forces applied all over and from moderate forces applied to small areas of contact.
  • Falling objects are pulled toward the earth by the force of gravity. The farther they fall, the faster they will be going when they stop. When an egg reaches the floor after a five-meter drop it will be going at about 11 meters (36 feet) per second and will be stopped very suddenly when it hits the floor (this is called the impact). Its speed when it hits the floor is about 37 kilometers (24 miles) per hour.
  • An unprotected egg falling five meters onto a hard surface will encounter the worst situation—a very large force applied to the small area where the egg first contacts the floor. The large force arises because the egg is going fast and because it is stopped suddenly. The egg will break!
  • An additional factor is the mass of the egg and its package. This plays a role, since the mass of the falling object affects the impact force. By requiring that all entries use chicken eggs, we can assure that the mass of each egg is essentially the same. That is why other kinds of eggs are not allowed. But the packaging material adds mass, and that must be a consideration when the package is designed. The two things you can do to reduce the force on the egg are to slow the egg down and lengthen the time of impact. You can design a package that will do either or both of these things.
  • Slowing the egg down as it falls can be accomplished by using wings, or similar device that relies on the resistance of air. Wings slow descent by increasing the friction of air on the surface of the wings. Wings also affect the direction of fall, and should be designed to allow the egg to fall vertically. Will the size of wings affect the fall? Is the position of the wings important? Why? The faster the descent of the egg, the more important the packing around the egg. An egg in free fall (no parachute or wings) needs more effective packing than an egg with a parachute.
  • Soft, crushable packing that encloses a lot of air is best. Foam rubber, feathers, cotton or synthetic batting are all good "cushioners." Think of other materials that are soft and yielding, and incorporate air (stiffly beaten egg whites, milkweed fluff, etc.). What soft, fluffy materials could be tried? How can you minimize the mass of the package?
  • A word of caution—water and other liquids are not permitted under the rules of the contest.