Egg Drop

By:Kimberly Kozloff and Arianna Gelen

5th Hour STEM physics
11/5/12

Problem: Building a container to keep an egg from breaking after dropping it from 34.1
ft.
Hypothesis: If we create a structure, where the egg is safely stationed between t
rubber bands, two on each side. When the egg is dropped from the the initial height,

(top of bleachers) the rubber bands will act as a trampoline format and safely secure the
egg from having a hard impact force.
Materials:
4 Dixie Cups
8 Straws
1 Wire Hanger
Glue
Tape
4 Rubber Bands
1 White Egg
Safety Precautions:
Make sure You keep both feet on the bleachers at all times.
Watch out for the egg when it is dropped so you do not get hit on the top
of your head.
Egg Drop Calculations:
One of the calculations we used was W=.06(-9.8m/s2). (W=ma2 )Which determined the
weight (w) of the contraption with the egg inside it, this helped us figure out the force
of the egg, and we want the force to as low as possible so our egg doesnt crack on
impact . To find the time it will take to get the ground we manipulated the equation
1
2
2
34.1 ft=0(0)+( )(9.8 m/ s )t . After we manipulated it we get get the equation:
2
t=
Vi is no longer exists in the equation because the initial velocity equals
zero .The initial velocity equals zero because we the egg and container is at rest until
we drop it. To find the final velocity we used this equation: V f =Vi+at. Which ends up
being Vf=at because there is no initial velocity.
Design Reasoning: We built our structure as if we were mothers, you know motherly
instinct! If our babies were to fall from 34 .1 feet off of highschool football bleachers.
Besides crying we would want it to be comfortable and of course SAFE. Using dixie
cups we decided to place the egg in because we want it to have a secure surrounding.
Having the egg baby fall out of our contraption would be awful! So our egg baby
wouldnt jiggle around in the cups we stretched two rubber bands on each cup. We did
that because when you enclose the egg between the cups the rubber bands will stretch
holding it in place. So the cups didnt fly off in opposite directions we taped them
together at the ends. Then we glued straws to the top and bottom of the cups.We did
this because the straws could take the badgering of the hit. The straws would crush
under pressure taking away some force that would be put against the egg. The egg will
be stitting vertically in the cups because it is the stronger area of an egg. As previously
stated the straws were to stop majority of the force so the egg has a better chance of
survival. The wire hanger is so if the egg falls horizontally the hanger will absorb some
of the force like the straws. There were also straws that were bent in half and glued on

the outside for more support. It gives it more protection, and therefore it will not hit the
ground and crack. We used glue and tape so the structure will stay together, and not fall
apart! That is why we designed the container like that.
Conclusion: In conclusion our structure did not prevent our egg from breaking. One of
the things that went wrong was the straws on the bottom broke on impact.I believe they
broke not only because of impact but because of they were cold making them more
fragile. Also when it fell it may have landed on its side and the straws and wire hanger
didnt protect it.
Re-Design: I we were to do this experiment all over again we would definitely make a
new design. The new design would be the skeleton of a cube made out of straws with
the egg fastened in the middle. At the bottom of the cube there would be a ziplock bag
filled with air and a few washers in it.There would be washers in it so it wouldn't tip over
on the way down. The bag would be there to absorb the force when it hit the ground.We
would secure the egg inside dixie cups with tape around them to keep them from flying
apart or out of the cube. The structure would be held together by glue. We would design
it like that because when we droped it the washers would keep it balanced,the bag
would absorb most of the force, and the straws and glue keep everything together.Thus
creating a sturdy structure that our egg can gently land on the ground in from a height of
34.1 ft. That is how we would re-design our structure.