Egg on a Sheet: Difference between revisions

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{| class="wikitable" style="color:black; background-color:#ddd; text-align: center; margin-right: auto"
| Momentum
| Force
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| Momentum
| Impulse
| Impulse
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| '''p''' = '''m''' * '''v'''
| '''F''' = '''m''' * '''a'''
| '''F''' = '''m''' * '''a'''
| '''p''' = '''m''' * '''v'''
| '''I''' = '''F''' * ∆'''t''' = ∆'''p'''
| '''I''' = '''F''' * ∆'''t''' = ∆'''p'''
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Revision as of 22:05, 18 May 2016

Physics Engineering: Impulse, Force Transfers
Grade Range: Middle School, High School
Format: Stage

This does require throwing eggs, so try to do this only in a large open space, and ideally outdoors.

Materials

  • Fitted Bedsheet
  • Eggs (Hard Boiled or Raw)

Safety Precautions

Please read the Flying Particles section of the Demonstration Safety page before performing this demonstration.

This demonstration requires: Safety Goggles

Demonstration

  1. Have two volunteers or co-presenters hold up the sheet. They should each hold a corner of the sheet, standing at the sides of the sheet, so that the elastic at the bottom of the sheet makes a pocket and is off the ground.
  2. Show the audience that you are holding an egg. Ask the audience if they think you can break the egg by throwing it at the sheet.
  3. Take aim, and throw the egg into the sheet. The egg doesn't break! take the egg out of the sheet to show that it is still intact. You can repeatedly throw the egg into the sheet, and it won't break!
  4. You can show the audience that it is a real egg after throwing it by cracking it open over a trash can or bucket. If it is a raw egg, be sure to wash your hands afterward.


Why This Works

This demonstration shows how Force, Momentum and Impulse are all connected. Force is mass times acceleration, like when a car is speeding up. Momentum is mass times velocity, like a car going the speed limit on a road. Impulse is when something has a change in momentum in a short period of time, like a car making a sudden stop. These three are all happening in this demo. When the egg is thrown, it is being accelerated forward by the throwers hand, and until it is released it is having a force applied to it. Once released, the egg travels through the air due to the momentum it has, since it is no longer accelerating forward and now travels at a certain velocity. Once it hits the sheet, it experiences the impulse, or sudden change in momentum. Usually, we see an impulse as a near-instant effect, like if the egg splattered against a wall. The sheet, however, absorbs the impact and allows the impulse to take longer. This means the momentum has more time to change, and so the egg doesn't break!

Additional Information