The egg drop experiment is a project in which students are expected to construct a vessel that will hold a raw egg and protect the egg from breaking when it is dropped from a certain height. The vessel is typically constructed at home and is then brought to school on the day of the egg drop. Typically, there are banned items and materials when designing the egg drop vessel.
While the rules in egg drop experiments may vary, there are a few that are typically universal. For instance, many schools do not allow any kind of parachute-like attachment. Also, using glass for the vessel is often prohibited as it poses a safety hazard. Nothing can be added to the egg itself to make it more secure. Lastly, no part of the vessel can break off during the fall.
A competition format for the best vessel is common among fellow students. On the day of the egg drop, teachers will drop the vessels from a predetermined height and assign scores based on the results. Students will often get more than one chance at a successful egg drop. Scoring methods vary, with some schools offering no points for a broken or cracked egg and others determining success by the amount of damage inflicted on the egg. A broken egg may receive zero points, a cracked egg may receive half points and a perfect egg may receive full points in this system.
Eighth grade students participating in the egg drop experiment are expected to better understand the concepts of gravity and kinetic motion when the project is finished. They should not only consider the motion of the whole egg itself, but students should also take into consideration the motion of the egg within the shell and the effect that impact has on all aspects of the egg. Finally, students should consider the role gravity and kinetic motion had on their vessel, and why some vessels worked better than others.