Physics Classes Build Shatterproof Egg Containers
Students in Mr. Sear’s physics course recently worked on a STEM project by building a container to protect an egg from being dropped out of the window of the physics classroom. The project involves a research phase, a prototype and testing phase before finally testing the final product with a real egg.
These are two videos from the prototype testing phase in what is a real engineering project, complete with group reports and a simulated budget.
The first is a close-up of a container colliding with a force plate. The plate measures forces with the ground during a collision. Students then watch the slow motion video to see if their device reacts as planned when it hits the ground.
The second video was taken outside, where students are testing to see how well their device slows the egg during the fall. A meter stick is in the video so they can measure speed by knowing how much time it takes to pass the meter stick. Time is measured by advancing the slow motion video frame by frame.