Choose the sheet for the learner's age. Each prints on a single page. Build the project first, then fill it in together.
Ages 5-7: Draw & tell
Name: ______________________Date: ____________
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Catching Eggs · Ages 5-7
Egg Catchers
Drop eggs and catch eggs. Which ones break?
1. Guess first: which egg will NOT break?
◯ Dropped on the tray◯ Thrown in the sheet
2. Draw the egg landing on the hard tray. What happened to it?
3. Draw the egg going into the sheet. Draw an arrow to show which way the sheet moved.
4. The sheet stopped the egg...
◯ Fast, all at once◯ Slowly, a little at a time
5. Name one soft thing that could catch an egg.
Ages 8-10: Predict, test & record
Name: ______________________Date: ____________
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Catching Eggs · Ages 8-10
Hard Stop, Soft Stop
Predict, test each landing, and record what happens.
1. Predict: which landing will save the egg? Why do you think so?
2. Test each landing. Keep the drop height the same.
Landing
My prediction
Did the egg break?
Did the landing move or give?
3. When the egg hit the sheet, the sheet...
◯ Stayed still◯ Moved back
4. What did you find out?
5. Why do you think the egg broke on the tray but not in the sheet?
Ages 11-14: Explain & design your own test
Name: ______________________Date: ____________
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Catching Eggs · Ages 11-14
Impulse and the Unbreakable Egg
Use impulse to explain your results, then design a better egg catcher.
1. Write the impulse idea in words: force x ______ = change in ______.
2. Use the word impulse to explain why the egg survived the bedsheet but not the baking sheet.
3. To keep an egg from breaking, is it better to have a quick stop or a slow stop?
◯ Quick stop◯ Slow stop
4. In your landing tests, what did you change, what did you look for, and what did you keep the same?
5. Plan a fair test of 3 landing pads you could build.
Pad design
Drop height
Prediction
Result
6. Why would bouncing be bad for the egg? Hint: think about the change in momentum.
7. Name two places where people use the same idea to protect something.
Answer guide for grown-ups
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Catching Eggs · Answer guide
Answer guide
Ages 5-7: Egg Catchers
Any guess is fine. (Result: the egg thrown in the sheet does not break.)
Open answer: look for effort and careful observation.
The arrow should point away from the thrower: the sheet moves back.
Slowly, a little at a time
Examples: a sheet, a pillow, a blanket, a big pile of towels.
Ages 8-10: Hard Stop, Soft Stop
Any prediction is fine; it gets tested next.
Open answer: look for effort and careful observation.
Moved back
The egg broke on the hard tray but survived the bedsheet, even thrown hard. The towel may or may not save it.
The tray stopped the egg all at once, which takes a big force. The sheet moved back and slowed the egg down gradually, so the force on the shell was small.
Ages 11-14: Impulse and the Unbreakable Egg
Force x time = change in momentum.
Both landings must remove the same momentum (impulse). The tray does it in a tiny time, so the force is huge and the shell breaks. The sheet gives way and stretches the stopping time, so the force is much smaller.
Slow stop
Changed: the landing surface. Looked for: whether the egg broke (and whether the landing moved). Kept the same: drop height, egg size, the person dropping, how the egg was released.
Open answer: look for effort and careful observation.
A bounce reverses the egg's direction, so the change in momentum is bigger than just stopping it, which means more force on the shell. An egg that bounces off can also land and break somewhere else.
Examples: air bags, car crumple zones, bike helmets, gym mats, catching a ball with soft hands, packaging foam, landing with bent knees.