Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi everyone, for my physic project this quarter I have to build an egg drop vehicle. Here are the rules:
OBJECTIVE-- to build an impact absorption vehicle in which one Large Grade AA egg will be dropped from the top of the gum and land within a circular target area w/ radius 3m directly below the drop point w/o any damage to the egg.
RULES
1) The entire vehicle ( and egg ) must fit within a .5m * .5m *.5m cube.
2) The vehicle must have a mass of 1.0kg or less.
3) The vehicle must be constructed of paper and clea "Scotch" tape ONLY
4) The vehicle must fall freely when released and stay in one piece until it contacts the ground.


I don't really get it??? We can only contruct the vehicle out of paper only??? So how can I build the egg drop car w/o the bubble wrap , it would be really hard to work right? Can somebody show me how to do this??? I'm really appreciate your help

chickentown wrote:Hi everyone, for my physic project this quarter I have to build an egg drop vehicle. Here are the rules:
OBJECTIVE-- to build an impact absorption vehicle in which one Large Grade AA egg will be dropped from the top of the gum and land within a circular target area w/ radius 3m directly below the drop point w/o any damage to the egg.
RULES
1) The entire vehicle ( and egg ) must fit within a .5m * .5m *.5m cube.
2) The vehicle must have a mass of 1.0kg or less.
3) The vehicle must be constructed of paper and clea "Scotch" tape ONLY
4) The vehicle must fall freely when released and stay in one piece until it contacts the ground.


I don't really get it??? We can only contruct the vehicle out of paper only??? So how can I build the egg drop car w/o the bubble wrap , it would be really hard to work right? Can somebody show me how to do this??? I'm really appreciate your help

Hi, chickentown!

This is a common project. My children were asked to do the same type of project when they were in school.

Your instructor is the expert on the reqirements for this project, so please check with him or her about the exact requirements and limitations. We can't answer questions about project requirements.

The vehicle you have been asked to design and build really is a shock-absorbing container. If you drop an egg off the gym roof, it will break when it hits the ground because of the energy of the impact - the shock. The vehicle you are to contruct out of paper is supposed to absorb the energy of the impact (shock) so that the shell does not break. Therefore, you should consider ways that you can design, shape and construct the vehicle to absorb much of the impact.

You mentioned bubble wrap. Consider what makes bubble wrap so effective. How could you accomplish the same thing with paper?

Best wishes for success!