Purpose: To explore concepts of momentum and collision by developing a container to lessen the force of impact when an egg is dropped from a high place.
Table of Contents
What is the physics behind the egg drop experiment?
The cup drop illustrates the transfer of potential energy to kinetic energy. The potential energy from the eggs transfers into kinetic energy after an outside force (gravity) acts upon the egg.
How does Newton’s 1st law apply to egg drop?
Newton’s First Law, once the egg was moving, it didn’t want to stop. The container of water interrupted the egg’s fall, providing a safe place for the egg to stop moving so you could recover it unbroken. The gravity-pushed egg caused the water to splash out. Did someone get wet?
What physics principle is used to make a surviving egg drop project?
The science behind solving the falling egg “problem” is found in Sir Isaac Newton’s laws of motion. The first law states that an object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion, unless acted upon by an external unbalanced force.
How does Newton’s 3rd law apply to egg drop?
What forces are acting on an egg drop?
A falling object (egg) has a downward force acting on it due to gravity. Air resistance acting on the falling egg results in an upward force, and these 2 forces oppose each other.
How does the egg drop project related to momentum?
In any collision, the momentum change is equal to the impulse. So if the egg dropped from 5 meters has the greater momentum change, it will also have the greater impulse.
What type of collision is an egg drop?
Elastic Collision BUT: Air resistance becomes negligible when the object falls at a constant speed and is no longer accelerating, also called terminal velocity.
How do you drop an egg without breaking it physics?
How does gravity affect the egg drop project?
Gravity causes an object to fall to Earth when dropped. Drop an egg from eye level so that it breaks. When the egg hits the ground with a given force, the ground exerts the same force back on the egg. The faster the egg falls, the greater this force is.
What causes the egg to change state of motion?
When you spin the raw egg, its centre of gravity (or balance point) changes as the fluid inside the egg moves around. This results in a wobbling motion in order to achieve balance. When the hardboiled egg is spun, the solid centre has a fixed centre of gravity, causing it to move at the same time as the shell.
How does acceleration relate to an egg drop?
When dropped, the egg is accelerated by gravity. When the air resistance (the force experienced when placing one’s hand out in a strong wind), which increases with increasing velocity, equals gravity, the egg’s velocity will remain constant. This velocity is known as terminal velocity.
How does inertia affect an egg drop?
How it Works: It’s all about Inertia! Inertia says an object, the egg in this case, will stay at rest, unless an outside force acts upon it, your hand in this case. When you move the pie pan with your hand, gravity takes over and pulls the egg straight down into the glass of water.
What makes an egg drop successful?
Ensure that you have enough padding in the box to cover the egg evenly on all sides. When the box hits the ground, the force will cause the box to crush, which absorbs much of the shock of the fall. The force is also evenly distributed throughout and absorbed by the cushioning material.
What is the conclusion of the egg drop Challenge?
Conclusions/Discussion The results of this experiment support the hypothesis. It is possible to make a container that can prevent a raw egg from cracking when dropped from about 15 feet above the ground. All of the cushioning materials worked successfully.
Why does an egg not break when dropped on soft foam?
The egg dropped on the pillow slows down and stops more slowly since the pillow is squishy, therefore the force on the egg is smaller and the egg does not break. (The pillow also spreads the force over a larger part of the surface of the egg, which also helps save it).
Is momentum conserved in an egg drop?
The Vehicle increases the amount of time that the force of gravity is acting on the egg. The impulse equals the change in momentum so the only way to reduce it, is to reduce the initial momentum = mv because in the end it will be stop by floor and have zero momentum there. Conservation of momentum equals mv=mv.
What is the effect of the mass of an egg and its drop height upon the force it experiences?
What affect does doubling the mass of an egg have upon the force that the egg experience? Doubling the mass makes the force twice as large.
Why eggs dropped on a carpet or a mattress do not break?
Because a carpet or a mattress is soft in comparison to the floor, the egg slows down and stops more slowly, resulting in less force on the egg, which prevents the egg from breaking.
What are the best materials for an egg drop?
- Raw egg, or other payload that needs protecting.
- Container, like a cardboard tube, cup, box, etc.
- External protection materials, like balloons, rubber bands, craft sticks, straws, etc.
- Internal padding, like fabric, packing materials, paper, etc.
- Pen or pencil.
- Paper.
- Tape.
- Scissors.
How do you calculate an egg drop project?
Using the formula, vf = vi + at, what was the velocity of the egg as it hit the concrete sidewalk? Did your egg survive the fall? How many Newtons of force did the 1 kg mass exert on the box as it hit? Use the formula, f = ma (mass in kg).
How many Newtons does it take to break an egg?
Going by the weight of the Earth. It takes 25 Newtons to break an egg. An large egg (the ones that you will commonly find, or referred to in a cooking book, is 57-64 grams.
How might you drop a raw egg onto a solid floor without cracking?
The answer is “A fence “. The fence runs all-around a backyard, yet never moves. 2.
How much force does it take to break an egg vertically?
The average load to break the eggs when standing up was 53 Lbs. On their side, an average of 90 Lbs was required. This makes sense because eggs are flatter on their side, which allows more of the platen/foam to contact the shell, helping distribute the force across a larger area.
How high can an egg fall without breaking?
The greatest height to drop a protected egg without breaking is 11.80 metres (38.7 feet) and was achieved by Ashrita Furman (USA) in Den Haag, Netherlands, on 4 November 2020.