6th grade egg toss experiment.

Well, this is the last week that Eliason will be an Elementary Student as he graduates tomorrow (June 2nd), even though the last day of school is on June 3rd.  Eliason had an Egg Drop Experiment today at school.  He had to use the 'scientific process' last week to form a hypothesis, test his contraption, collect data and make it better.  The complex rules included things like:  "You may not use Nerf Balls, pillows, foam, bubble wrap or stuffed animals to protect your egg", "The egg and the project must have a combined weight of less than 200 grams", and "Of course the egg and its contraption must hit the ground!  I will be doing the throwing, and I'll throw them out the window anyway I want!" So I had Eliason brainstorm his own ideas, design, and hypothesis.  Once we had finished the first contraption, I tested it and helped him with further development.  While I was at work Friday and Saturday, Eliason wrote all of the following paper but the conclusion and reflection sections (which he finished tonight).  They had the "toss" today, and his egg survived fully intact!  I was really amazed with his writing, and thought all of  you would like to read it, so here it is:

 

 

Eliason Mendenhall

Mr. Berdoll's 6^th grade class

June 1^st, 2009

 

Egg Toss Experiment

Prior Knowledge:

Gravity is a force that pulls down, what keeps us on Earth. This relates to me because I need to make something that will protect an egg from cracking when it hits the ground. Force is physical power that that can be put in to an object that gives it movement or to change its shape. This relates to me because Mr. Hudelson will use his force to toss my egg drop project out the window. Gravity and force work together when something hits something else to make an impact. This relates to me because when Mr. Hudelson tosses the egg that is force and when it falls that is gravity acting and when it hits the ground that is impact. Shock adsorption is helping me because everything that is cushioning it decreases the presser on the egg.

 

Question list:

I thought of making a tube out of paper and filling it with paper, would this work?

How does the density affect the project?

Would glue work?

If someone put an egg in the freezer and it froze would that work?

Would it work better in a bigger container instead of a small one?

Would it work better if it was stuffed tight or a little loose?

Would it be more likely to stay intact if you dropped it instead of tossing it?

Would it work if you crumpled up cookies to protect the egg?

If something is frozen does it have more shock adsorption?

Would something smooth work better than something rigged?

    Would a rotten egg work better?

If you put in a box would it work bettor if you put it in a harder box or a softer box?

Would it work if you wrapped your egg in clay?

 

Hypothesis

 

I believe that my egg will survive because I think that the egg wrapped in paper placed in plastic bags placed in a box will work best. I think this is the best option because all the different materials will give a wide range of shock adsorption.

 

 Research plan:

I plan to put paper in a Frango mint box, a hexagonal mint box, and then put the egg in the paper and put paper over the egg. Then go outside and toss it to test it. We will toss it several ways so we can make sure that the egg is protected on all sides.

 

 

Data / notes

We tossed my first project three times. The first time it worked and the seconded time it worked but the third time it broke so I had to come up with a new design so I did. I think my egg broke because the angle we tossed it at too high or wrapped tightly enough.

My second design was in one of my reel boxes, a rectangle shaped box, all we put in it was paper and on the third time we tossed it broke.  I think it broke because it was packed too tight in the small box. 

 After that I made one that I put the egg in the reel box with paper then I put plastic in the Dr. Pepper box to pad it more. It broke on the third time. I think it broke because rectangle in square doesn't provide equal shock absorption.

On this one I did the same thing but instead of using the reel box I used a round plastic plant container. It survived six good tosses by my dad so I went down to Rosauers to weigh it, and it came in (with the egg) at 0.42 ounces. When I got back my dad thought it was cutting it a little close so I designed a new one.

I took the egg, wrapped it in paper, and put it in a plastic bag.  Then I put the bag with the egg in another bag then I filled that bag with plastic bags and I weighed it (0.31 ounces) whick was fine so we tested it. It broke on the first toss.  I think it broke on the first toss because only paper and plastic bags don't provide enough shock absorption.

So I took in my fourth design to school and it weighed in at 153 grams without an egg.  Mr. Hudelson said that was ok.

 

Conclusion and Reflection:

My egg survived but I had to use my fourth design instead of my first design so I proved my Hypothesis is wrong. I think it worked because everything together provided a wide range of shock adsorption. I really wouldn't change anything it was so great.