The egg drop experiment is a great way to explore the laws of motion and universal gravitation formulated by Sir Issac Newton in 1686, over 330 years ago. If only Newton could have known that being struck with an apple would render millions of broken eggs in countless egg drop experiments. For certainty the law of gravity of has not changed since the days of Newton. A dropped egg, rather than an apple and a bruised head, is a great way to apply Newton’s discoveries and the laws physics in the classroom.
The following three laws of motion as described below will be utilized in the analysis of the egg drop experiment.
Newton’s “First Law”: This law describes how an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion. These tendencies define inertia.
Newton’s “Second Law”: This law describes the force equaling the product of mass and acceleration (F=ma).
Newton’s “Third Law”: This law describes that every action will generate an equal but opposite reaction.
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The egg was contained in a contraction that was built with materials limited by the class syllabus. The materials I selected to build my container were a card box (12x12x12 inches), duct tape, metal paper clamps, and a stocking. To reduce weight I cut out 10 inch squares on all six sides. I reinforced the box with duct tape to withstand the impact force of the fall. I then cut out a small hole in the two adjacent corners to attach the stocking diagonally inside the card board box. The stocking was used to set the egg inside the card board box. The egg was secured inside the stocking with a knot and metal clamp. The egg was centered in the box to maximize the effectiveness of shock absorbing characteristics of the