Safety Crash Testing

In a small blue toy car, sits an egg inside a plastic bag, wrapped in fuzzy yarn and surrounded at the back by a shield made from a short cardboard tube that cut open lengthwise.

Target Subject: Technology/engineering

Author

Adapted by Yoo Jin Chung and Kate Fraser

Purpose

To design safety equipment for a vehicle that can protect a raw egg from breaking during a collision.

Background Information

A vehicle has safety features designed to protect you in case of an accident. For example, a car has seatbelts, airbags, padded panels, headrests, front and rear bumpers. The engineers who develop these safety features have to take into account the physical features of the human body to determine what is needed. Then, they test these systems using dummies in an actual crash before it is approved for commercial use.

Preparation

Build a ramp at a 75° angle from the ground. Place the end of the ramp against a wall where the car will crash into after sliding down the ramp. This is a universally accessible activity.

Materials

raw egg, zip-shut sandwich bag, toy car capable of holding an egg, adhesive material, balloon, strings, yarn, rubber bands, popsicle sticks, straw, cardboard, etc. (anything you think might be necessary for your protective device).

Procedure

1. With your team, brainstorm designs for your vehicle’s safety device. Select the most promising design, and decide on which materials you will use.
2. Keep in mind the egg or its shell cannot be strengthened in any way. The egg cannot be boiled. The egg must be placed in a plastic zip-shut bag before testing. Although you can include anything in your design that will directly or indirectly protect an egg, you cannot interfere with the speed of the car.
3. Build your prototype safety device for the toy car.
4. Test out your prototype without the egg to determine if it meets the criteria and the constraints. Improve the ramp if necessary.
5. Place the egg in a zip-shut bag for easy cleanup. Then, place the bag in the car. Run a test of your system to see if the egg survives the crash.
6. Did your egg break or survive the crash? What could you have done to improve your safety devices?

Resources

Pierce, A.J., Karwatka, Dennis. Introduction to Technology. Glencoe / McGraw-Hill, 3rd Edition. 2005, Chapter 14, pages 354 – 355.