Describe the relationship between height and the kinetic energy of a dropped egg.
Explain why some materials are better than others for absorbing the kinetic energy of a falling egg.Explain the transfer of potential to kinetic energy of a dropped egg and explain where the energy goes after it hits the egg catcher.Identifying the materials that help to meet project constraints is an important aspect of the design process.Īfter this activity, students should be able to: Engineers who design computer keyboards want to select a material that can be repeatedly tapped, can be easily and permanently be printed on for the letters, feels good under finger tips, is inexpensive and environmentally benign, and is cleanable. For example, engineers design skyscraper foundations using concrete and steel so that any given foundation can withstand the huge force of the building it supports as well as the dynamic forces it may experience during earthquakes. Materials can dissipate energy through various means, such as heat, light, and vibration. They also need to understand the properties of materials in order to design complex systems. This engineering curriculum aligns to Next Generation Science Standards ( NGSS).Ĭopyright © 2015 Denise Jabusch, University of California DavisĮngineers must understand well the concepts of energy transfer, conservation of energy, and energy dissipation in order to design uncountable real-world projects.
As an alternative to a ladder, detailed instructions are provided for creating a 10-foot-tall egg dropper rig. The activity scales up to district or regional egg drop competition scale. Pre- and post-activity assessments and a scoring rubric are provided. They also experience a real-world transfer of energy as the elevated egg's gravitational potential energy turns into kinetic energy as it falls and further dissipates into other forms upon impact. They carefully consider material choices to balance potentially competing requirements (such as impact-absorbing and low-cost) in the design of their prototypes. Acting as engineering teams, during the activity and competition they are responsible for design and construction planning within project constraints, including making engineering modifications for improvement. To support their design work, they learn about materials properties, energy types and conservation of energy. Student pairs experience the iterative engineering design process as they design, build, test and improve catching devices to prevent a "naked" egg from breaking when dropped from increasing heights.
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