What protects an egg when it falls?
Help your child distinguish slowing a fall from cushioning the landing.
Egg drop: understand parachutes and padding
A parachute works during the fall: it adds air resistance and can slow the egg before it reaches the ground. Padding works mainly at landing: it squashes and gives the egg a longer distance over which to stop. These are two different ways to make an impact gentler.
In the lab, keep the drop height fixed and compare padding thickness first. Look separately at the speed just before landing and what happens as the padding compresses. Then try a parachute change. This keeps the two effects apart.
„Which part works before landing, and which part works at the ground?“
Try it together in the lab
- Begin with a prediction. You do not have to agree.
- Increase Padding thickness; keep the parachute and drop height unchanged.
- Invite your child to compare the fall and the compression of the cushion.
Next comparison: Reduce the padding a little, keeping the height and parachute unchanged.
Start the labAn activity away from the screen
Use a plastic egg or small ball instead of a real egg. Place different thicknesses of scrap-paper padding in a shallow tray and drop the object from close to the floor. Keep the height the same and compare how the cushions give way. A real egg may still break differently.