Use the concept of impulse to decelerate an egg safely from a high point.

Old cars are made of strong premium materials. New car bodies are often made with plastic and metals that bend easily like aluminum.

Which do you think is safer to drive in? Why? 

What are some features that can make cars safer by lowering the force on passengers?

Impulse (J) is the amount of force applied over a period of time. Objects can experience a large force over a small period of time or a low force over a large period of time and have the same overall impulse because they have the same change in momentum in the collision. In other words the object can slow down to 0 m/s from the same velocity in different ways. Think about the old cars and new cars. Old cars have a rigid body that works with seat belts to immediately stop the car and a large force is applied to the passenger. Even slowing down from the same speed a new car has a longer impact time because the front of the car crumples slowly meaning a lower force is applied to passengers. 

Let’s do some impulse testing with a pumpkin. 

What question do we want to ask and how can we test it? 

You are to build something that is the lightest possible weight, and yet durable enough to protect an egg dropped from a high vantage point, so that the egg doesn't break from the fall. Think of the egg as a passenger in a car going through a crash test. Your job is to design a contraption that will use the concept of impulse to keep the egg intact. We will be dropping the egg from 3 different heights — a table, the stairs, and (if any make it this far) the balcony. You have one test egg and one drop egg. 

Height Award — this contraption withstood an egg drop from a higher height than others

Technical Award — this contraption was the lightest, used the least mass of material, and withstood at least the first drop

Creativity Award — this contraption was the most creative by objectively subjective standards

Draw a first sketch of your design and start building!

Draw a scientific model of your design for the egg drop with labels. Explain how your design lowers the force on the egg using the concept of impulse. 

Physics · 1 Forces & Motion · 6 Impulse

Are Old Cars Built Better Than New Cars?