So what’s this egg drop project all about?

As you will find, we do research projects a little differently in physics. We want you to research a topic (or collection of related topics), but we do not want you to regurgitate the information that you attain. Instead, you will take the knowledge gained; analyze this information and synthesizing a product! All of these things together show a more advanced internalization of information; a more true “learning.”

The first quarter project is the egg drop project. The nitty-gritty details are available online, but basically you have to build an efficient eco-friendly device that will safely transport a raw egg from the top of Catan Stadium to the ground. Here are some things to get you started….

  1. The key idea to this project is understanding the “Impulse-Momentum Theorem.” Before you can understand this theorem you will need to develop an understanding of both momentum and impulse separately. So….

A. What is momentum? How can an object have large momentum? (Is there only one
way to achieve this?)

B. What is impulse? How can something experience a large impulse? (Is there only one
way to achieve this?)

C. How are impulse and momentum related?

  1. Consider if we hold a water balloon toss in class (sorry…don’t ask…we can’t….latex allergies). You and your partner are doing a kick-ass job and are separated by about 15-feet. In order to toss the water balloon that large distance it must be thrown with a fairly substantial velocity. How would you (physically) catch the balloon in order to keep it from breaking all over you? Think about your body motion.
    Why would you catch it this way? Think about this in terms of the questions that you answered in part 1.

3. There are two main approaches to the egg drop dilemma. You can figure this out without understanding much physics at all. Think about if you were dropped from a high elevation – how would you prefer to fall?
First – you could decrease the speed of the fall so that the impact velocity was low.
Second – you could fall quickly into something that would “cushion” the impact.
Third – you could do both.
Which approach is best?
Which approach is best for you?
The answer lies in a strong understanding of physics! Do your research…we have laid the foundation for your search…it is yours from here!