The Egg Drop Experiment

contributed by Harry Wood, ScienceTeacher

At Kendall School in the fall of 2002, the students were challenged with an experiment I created. Students were asked to develop a container of some design that would cushion an egg from a free fall. Students were studying the 6 steps of the Scientific Method – State the Problem, Gather Information, Create a Hypothesis, Collect Materials, Analyze Data, and State a Solution. Students learned each of these steps as they worked on the egg drop experiment.

On Tuesday, the students went on a tour of the building in order to find a good drop location. We ultimately settled on the back patio (2nd floor) for the experiment. It was about 20 feet above the ground. They were given about 10 minutes to observe the location and consider the factors involved. We discussed this briefly. After returning inside, I asked students what the problem was that they were trying to solve. We established on the following question: “How can we protect an egg from breaking after dropping it 20 feet?” Having gathered information about materials to be used, the drop site, and other factors, students worked in teams of 2 or 3 to develop a hypothesis and a design in order to protect the egg.

Wednesday, after students had shared their hypotheses, they collected materials for the design. The materials provided were 1 egg, 50 drinking straws, and masking tape. Students worked on their design for the rest of the class time and on Thursday as well. By Friday morning, all the students were raring to go. There was quite some imagination in some of the creations. After dropping the eggs, students analyzed the results of their experiment and came to a conclusion. Many of the drops failed, but a few did succeed. All the students enjoyed themselves very much. After the drops were made, students were asked to think about how they could have improved their design to increase chances of success. This is the part students learned that you would go back to the Gathering Information stage and create a new hypothesis. The students learned that the Scientific Method is an ongoing cycle until you are able to find a satisfactory result.

Click here to see a movie about the Egg Drop Experiment.