How Did Our Egg Survive?

In Friday's class we did the experiment where using given supplies, the group must construct a container that will allow the egg to be dropped from a height of 8 ft and not break. This happens to be a common activity for engineers.

Our group knew there were two things that at least one but preferably both must be done for the egg to survive. They are the impact intensity needs to be reduced, and the force of the impact needs to be dissipated to away from the egg.

For good measure, we decided to do both. The container itself we made out of two cups. Putting slits in the bottom cup, allowed for the cup to crumple and absorb some of the shock. Also, for good measure we put shredded paper into the cup and this helped the egg not have to stop its momentum as sudden. And the last thing we did was attach a plastic bag to the top of the cups to act as a parachute. This slowed the decent of the contained so the impact was less intense. Thankfully we were successful and our egg did not break.

By: Ben Schnepp