EGG CAR SPECSDue November 21stName______
Objective: Protect an egg driver from cracking or breaking during a crash.
1. Car: NO LARGER THAN 6 INCHES WIDE AND 12 INCHES LONG!!! It can be any model, made of any material
(Legos, Construx, Barbie Car, Pinewood derby car, shoebox on wheels, pop bottle on wheels, etc.) The car must be able to accelerate down the ramp (in other words, it must be able to roll freely.) If your car is too big, even by a millimeter,
your scoring will begin at 50 points. Measure it!
2. The egg driver will be a large, raw egg, placed vertically (long side up) in the front seat of the car. I will provide the eggs;
DO NOT bring eggs from home. When you come to class, you will be able to use a marker to put a face on the egg. The face should be about ¼ to 1/3 of the long side of the egg.
3. Safety features may include, but are not limited to: seat belts, crash helmets, crash bumpers, roll bars, air bags, etc. No part
of the restraint system you design and no part of the car may cover the egg’s face. You may not glue or tape your egg
into place in the car. You may use tape as a seat belt material- you just twist it so the sticky side is away from the egg.
4. Use only household materials – don’t go out and buy a bunch of stuff.
5. The ramp will be 12 inches wide and approximately 12 feet long. It will be set up at a 30 degree angle. It has no sides to
keep your car where you might want it to go, so test your vehicle to be sure it rolls straight. It must roll at least half-way
down the ramp before falling off. Most eggs “die” because they fall off the ramp.
6. The ramp will be set up in the classroom during the time allowed for construction so that you may bring your cars in for
testing. Record the data from each test trial – You should test it at twice before the final run.
7. If your egg “dies” you are the clean-up person.
8. Eggs must be returned to the teacher before you will be given a grade.
Scoring will be as follows:
100 points – no damage to the egg
85 points – egg has cracked during the crash, but is not leaking
75 points – egg is leaking or has splattered
50 points on down – car is too big, even by a millimeter, or the egg car does not make it
at least halfway down the ramp before falling off.
Egg Car Evaluation - Answers the following questions (50 points)
1. Draw a picture of the vehicle you have constructed. Indicate on the drawing the safety features
you have placed into the vehicle to insure the egg driver will survive the crash unharmed.
Length of car ______
Width of car ______
Mass of car ______
2. Explain why you chose the safety features you did and how they are supposed to function.
3. What was the result of each of your test runs? How did you modify your vehicle after each
test? Why did you make that change?
4. What was the result of your crash test? What was theaverage speed of the car?
Total Distance______
Total Time______
Average Speed ______
5. Identify the forces that acted on the car. What direction did the force act on the car and how did it affect the cars motion?
6. What changes would you make to your vehicle to further protect your passenger?
7. How does this experiment compare to actual car collisions?
8. Create a data table showing the mass, acceleration, and a description of the cars for yourself and at least 5 members
of the class.
Name / Description / Mass / Time / Average Speed9. Create a graph of the data from the class data table. ( Mass should be on the X-axis and
Speed on the Y-axis.)
10. What can you infer from the graph?
11. What other factors (besides mass) have an effect on the cars’ acceleration or the egg drivers’ survival? Explain.
12. After completing this unit, how important is it that you wear a seat belt every time you get in
a car?