How do you keep an egg from cracking as it drops?

BIG IDEA

Distance and speed of a fall.

FOCUS QUESTION

How do you keep an egg from cracking as it drops?

PREDICTION/ HYPOTHESIS

• If we put soft material around like yarn, add sponges and cotton balls then wrap it in aluminum foil it it won't break
• If we wrap it in cotton and sponges, then secure with a pipe cleaner, it won't break
• If we make a parachute it will fall more slowly and not break

PLANNING
Materials
pipe cleaners
cotton balls
egg cartons
yarn
foil
sponges

First we tried to wrap our egg in cotton, sponges and then in foil. 

Next we tried to secure the cotton and sponges with pipe cleaners.

Then we built a parachute and wrapped the egg in cotton balls and sponges and attached it to the parachute. 

DATA

Trial	Result	How far was it dropped
Wrapped in soft material, then in foil	didn’t break	Table and floor
Cotton, sponges and pipe cleaners	It broke	Table
Parachute and wrapped in soft material and foil	It broke	Table

CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE

Claims	Evidence
If we put soft material around like yarn, add sponges and cotton balls then wrap it in aluminum foil it won't break	The egg didn't break, it bounced a little when it hit.
If we wrap it in cotton and sponges, then secure with a pipe cleaner, it won't break	It broke when it hot on the side with just the cotton covering it.
If we make a parachute it will fall more slowly and not break	It broke and fell quickly. The parachute didn't slow it down.

CONCLUSION/REFLECTION

We can prevent the egg from cracking by shortening the distance of the fall and decreasing the impact of the fall by covering the egg with soft, cushioned material. To slow the egg down a parachute has to be carefully designed to trap air. If you can slow down the fall the egg won't break as easily. 

QUESTIONS
Do real parachutes work in the same way?
Does gravity pull on parachutes?