Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Would socks and a plastic container with lid on, be a good material for a protective shell for the egg drop?
I'm dropping the egg from 5 feet, 7 feet, and 9 feet.
I'm supposed to find and answer for the question but I can't find anything.

Hi!

Egg drops are super fun! You have the right idea of padding the eggs fall with the socks, which slows down the impact on the ground. Something you should consider is that there are two ways to minimize the force of the impact on the egg: 1) increase the time of impact for the egg (with padding, just like you did) and 2) divert the impact around the egg.

The first option works because force is calculated as mass multiplied by acceleration (F=ma). This means that if you spread out the (de)acceleration of the egg as it hits the ground (by adding padding), there would be less force exerted on the egg -- which makes it less likely to break.

I'll link a video below that I found super helpful when I was doing an egg drop, and it will explain the second option in more detail (visuals are super helpful in this case). Although I'm not sure how soft your socks are, you might want to find a softer, spongier material to use, which would slow the impact of the egg even more.

Hope your egg survives!

The aformentioned video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsnyl8llfH4