Egg Drop Design Challenge

Project Explanation:
For the Egg Drop Design project, we had to design and build a device that would protect an egg from cracking or breaking when it was dropped from specific heights.

Technological Concepts:
We had to make sure that when the device was dropped, the inertia of the falling egg would be counteracted with the device when it hit the ground. The device had to have a nice combination of cushion, sturdiness, and materials. Also, the lighter the device, the better, because of less inertia.

Learning Goals:
The goal of this project was to see how well we could utilize materials that we had, in order to make a very sturdy device. Combining the different materials made us think about the small details that could affect our device in any way. We had to think in depth about our design and the factors of its fall.

Our Design!

 

Our design's body was a small cardboard box. We glued cotton balls to the bottom of the box, in order to cushion the first impact of the box with the ground when it was to be dropped. We also lined the bottom of the box with four popsicle sticks that were to keep the box standing upright and not tip over when it fell. We stuck eight straws into the box, making two squares on the inside, between which we would place the egg. We then stuffed the remaining space inside the box with shredded paper, for compression and cushion. Since the rules of the design challenge stated that at least a small part of the egg must be visible, we left a very small hole in the top of the box and we didn't cover the top of the egg, in order to make it visible.






Positive Feedback:
My partner and I were quite confident in our design, because it was overall very sturdy, and we thought the compression concepts that we put into it were excellent. The straws that held the egg, along with the shredded paper that surround the egg, and the cotton balls on the bottom of the box were a great combination of compression and cushioning.

Redesign:
Everything about our design seemed pretty solid, until we dropped it during the actual test. As the device fell, it started spinning in different directions and rotating in the air, so it was completely upside-down when it hit the ground! And because we had left a hole and the exposed part of the egg at the top, that exposed part hit the ground and therefore smashed the egg. When thinking about a redesign, we realized that it would have helped a lot to cushion all around the whole device, so that it could land on any side of it and still be able to save the egg. Also, if there was a way to prevent the box from flipping in the air, we would do that.

Technological Resources:
We each brought some materials from our houses to use in our device. Luckily, both my partner (Amanda Dooley) and I had done this project in seventh grade science. We were even in the same group back then! Even though our design was way different from seventh grade's, we were prepared to think about certain concepts while building this design. Also, the technology lab had plenty of tools for us to use, such as rulers, scissors, tape, etc.

Biggest Challenge:
The biggest challenge of building our egg drop design was that we had to think about as many aspects of the device as possible, including cushioning, compression, sturdiness, weight, and more. We had to pull all those ideas together and use our materials to execute them in an efficient and effective way.

What I learned from this challenge:
I learned from this challenge that when designing devices like this egg drop design, I have to think about as many scenarios as possible that could happen to the device when it is in action. My partner and I didn't consider that our device would spin and flip upside-down when it fell, and that was an issue. We probably could have added something to our design that would have saved the egg in that case. So, overall, I must be prepared to overcome the worst-case scenarios.

What is Technology?

The definition of technology is that it is the human made products and processes that extend human potential and satisfy human needs.

The 3 areas of technology are:

Physical- transportation, manufacturing, and construction

Information/Communication- Sending and receiving of information (human or machine)

Bio-Related- prosthetics, human safety related, cloning, environmental protection, etc.

The two technological systems models are open and closed systems. An open system is a physical system that interacts with other systems. A closed system does not interact with other systems (isolated system).

The resources of technology are tools, machines, processes, materials, people, capital, energy, time, and information.

The 8 steps of the problem-solving process are:

1. Identify the Problem- a need is defined.

2. Set Goals- make them realistic and consider your resources.
3. Research- get the necessary information to solve the problem.
4. Create Ideas- brainstorming (thumbnail sketches) puts ideas into motion.
5. Select the Best Idea- rank your ideas by how well they solve the technical challenge using a design matrix.
6. Implement and Build- make the design come to life!
7. Test- use the design in real life testing situations.
8. Feedback- evaluate the test results. Can the design be improved? Does it need some work to become perfection? Does it solve the problems and satisfy your initial goals? Go back and make improvements.

Some examples of older technology are the very first cell phones, the first airplane made by the Wright Brothers, and the T-Model car.

Some examples of newer technology are iPads, iPhones, I.O.S. 7, E-Readers, and there are many more.

Some examples of some fun technology are mostly those which I listed above as newer technology, as well as TV's, Pandora, Spotify, and video games. My generation is constantly using our mobile devices (iPhones) for social networking, apps, and communication in general.

Some examples of important technology are computers and databases that help us save our work on anything, anytime.                             

Technology affects daily lives in the way that it helps us to do many things in very short amounts of time. Most students depend on computers to get their homework done. Just about everybody uses a cell phone to get in contact with one another, and they also can check the weather or go on the Internet anytime of day, if they own a smartphone. Almost any kind of information that a person will need at anytime will be accessible if they usethe technologies that are available today.

Introduction Post, Alisha Ungkuldee

Alisha Ungkuldee
2013-2014 School Year, Sophomore, Class of 2016

   

“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

About Me:
I am the youngest of two children in my family, the other being my older sister Mellissa. I live with my parents, my dog, and my cat. I love dogs, and I love to travel to places both far and close by. I play the cello with the Saline Fiddlers, and it's a blast. I am a captain of the JV Field Hockey Team. I'm also on Student Council and a member of the EC Board for FCCLA.I like physics, but I'm still going back and forth between going into Pre-Med, Pre-Vet, or Engineering when I graduate.