Last week during physics classes at LCA, students learned in three different lab settings about surface area, mass, and terminal velocity. As a hands-on project, the students designed contraptions within certain size and mass restrictions to best protect their eggs during an “egg drop” that took place on Friday—from the top of the football stadium. Students were allowed to use straws, rubber bands, glue, and one other recyclable material in their designs, and it was interesting to see all of the effort and creativity!
Students took turns dropping their projects while other students timed the drops for analysis of the experiment. Here are the preliminary results of how many eggs did not break: during 1st hour 30 percent made it to the ground unbroken, during 2nd hour 50 percent survived, and during 3rd hour 0 percent of the eggs landed safely. Congratulations to the 2nd hour class for winning the overall challenge and to each of the students who earned an “A” participation grade if the egg did not break or a “B” if it did. Further conclusions were drawn back in the classroom after the outdoor experiment.
This was a fun, interactive experience for all of the students, employed by Mr. John Welsch. When asked about the project, he said, “This was a fun way to challenge the kids to think and be creative. I think everyone enjoyed the project without thinking about it being physics. I’m trying to remove the stigma that physics often has.” Mr. Welsch earned a master’s degree in Secondary Science Education from Georgia State University, and he thoroughly enjoys teaching three high school classes of physics at LCA.
