Sixth hour physics teacher Dan Young decided to make a fun lab that incorporates the current unit into a real-life example. Young did this by holding an egg drop competition with the entire class on April 11. 

  The goal was to build a device that would cushion the eggs from the drop off the entire stadium at Roscoe Eades Field. Class days prior to this were dedicated to building the devices as well as answering some physics related questions on the devices. 

  The physics behind the lab involves potential and kinetic energy, momentum, and impulse. Before the device is dropped, the kinetic energy is zero and all of its energy is in potential. This is because it has a speed of 0 m/s and the device has reached its max height. As the object is dropped, this potential energy is converted into kinetic energy and is at its maximum kinetic energy just before it hits the ground. This is because it has no more potential energy and has reached its highest speed. 

  The law of conservation of energy states energy is always conserved and never lost and that potential and kinetic energy are inversely proportional (as one goes up, the other goes down). 

  The main goal of this lab was to keep the egg intact when dropped from over 30 feet. This was done either by lengthening the force on the device over a long interval of time or mitigating the damage by cushioning the egg. 

  Students came up with an idea to make a parachute to lessen the velocity of the device. Every single device that had a parachute survived. 

  Senior Kylan Reyes-Krepfle said, “If the device has a parachute, then it’s cheating.” 

  Reyes-Krepfle said this because it defeated the purpose of the lab. Students were supposed to make a device so the egg would survive with a certain force. With a parachute, this lessens the force the egg hits the ground with. But intelligent students found a way around this. However, Young banned parachutes due to their competitive advantage. He said, “Next year we will be without parachutes.” 

  The lab was a success and allowed students to apply the information they learned in the classroom to real life.