Hi, so my teacher said he wanted us to figure out the force needed to break an egg. He said we would need about 2 eggs, and some simple household items.
Here are two experiments my friend and I formed:
A.) We find the mass of a large egg. Then we hold it up a certain height (not very high) we time the drop, and see if it breaks. If it doesn't break we keep increasing the height until it does break. When the egg breaks (perhaps even on the first height) we use the acceleration of gravity, and the mass of the egg to find force using F=ma. BUT we are dropping the egg, so how could we incorporate height into this formula? Maybe we could find the final velocity using the acceleration and time (initial velocity would be 0) and then use the final velocity and the mass to find the momentum of the egg.
B.) This is a much simpler idea. We find the mass of the egg. Then we put the egg onto a weighing machine and keep applying pressure until it breaks. We take the total kg, and subtract the mass of the egg. Then we convert kg into Newtons.
I'm not sure if either these methods will work. Also, if anyone has ever done this before, how did you figure out the force needed to break an egg?
Any help is appreciated but PLEASE no answers like: depends on the size of the egg, or something like 'i don't know'. This project is really important!! Thank you to everyone in advance!!
Here are two experiments my friend and I formed:
A.) We find the mass of a large egg. Then we hold it up a certain height (not very high) we time the drop, and see if it breaks. If it doesn't break we keep increasing the height until it does break. When the egg breaks (perhaps even on the first height) we use the acceleration of gravity, and the mass of the egg to find force using F=ma. BUT we are dropping the egg, so how could we incorporate height into this formula? Maybe we could find the final velocity using the acceleration and time (initial velocity would be 0) and then use the final velocity and the mass to find the momentum of the egg.
B.) This is a much simpler idea. We find the mass of the egg. Then we put the egg onto a weighing machine and keep applying pressure until it breaks. We take the total kg, and subtract the mass of the egg. Then we convert kg into Newtons.
I'm not sure if either these methods will work. Also, if anyone has ever done this before, how did you figure out the force needed to break an egg?
Any help is appreciated but PLEASE no answers like: depends on the size of the egg, or something like 'i don't know'. This project is really important!! Thank you to everyone in advance!!
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B) is simpler. If you want to do A) you would have to find the energy of the egg using PE=mgh where h is the height you drop it from. You would then work out the force using W=Fd where W is the energy you worked out before (equal to the work done by the ground in bringing it to rest) and d is the distance over which the egg is stopped (the depth of the hole it makes!).
To be 100% accurate you would have to include the depth of the hole in the PE calculation.
Also, the force you calculate will be the average force, so you would need to assume a uniform force.
It would be interesting to use both methods and compare your results: you could write a great discussion...
Hope this helps.
Answer to your message: if you drop onto concrete, and the egg breaks, the stopping distance will be the reduction in the length of the egg. If it doesn't break, it's the deformation of the egg and the only way you could measure that would be with a high-speed camera.
To be 100% accurate you would have to include the depth of the hole in the PE calculation.
Also, the force you calculate will be the average force, so you would need to assume a uniform force.
It would be interesting to use both methods and compare your results: you could write a great discussion...
Hope this helps.
Answer to your message: if you drop onto concrete, and the egg breaks, the stopping distance will be the reduction in the length of the egg. If it doesn't break, it's the deformation of the egg and the only way you could measure that would be with a high-speed camera.
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I think B) would work fine. Its a sound argument and the results would be more accurate.