Would you dare place an egg on top of a tower and then make the tower collapse under the egg to make the egg fall!? Call us crazy, but that is exactly what we did in this Egg Drop Experiment and the result was pretty cool!
Find more Egg Experiments For Kids here!
The best thing about this nerve-racking egg dropping experiment is that it makes learning about gravity and inertia both fun and educational for kids!
Egg Drop Experiment
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Supplies Needed:
- 1 Egg (Raw or boiled depending on how brave you are)
- Clear Glass Cup
- Plastic Plate
- Water
- Cardboard Toilet Paper Roll or Paper Towel Roll
Egg Drop Challenge
- Fill a clear glass cup about three-quarters full of water.
- Place a plastic or paper plate on top of the glass.
- Stand an empty cardboard toilet paper roll on the plate.
- Place an egg on the top of the cardboard roll.
- Quickly but carefully knock the plate out from under the cardboard tube and egg.
- Watch and enjoy as the egg falls straight down into the water-filled cup!
- Repeat the steps again but this time make a bigger tower by replacing the toilet paper roll with a paper towel cardboard roll.
Step 1: Pour Some Water Into a Glass
To get started you need to grab a tall cup or glass and fill it about 3/4 of the way full of water. If you fill the glass with too much water then you will end up with a lot of water to clean up when the egg splashes into the glass.
If you do not add very much water, then you run the risk of the egg breaking open when it lands in the cup after the tower collapses.
It’s also a good idea to use a clear glass cup to make it easy to see the egg when in crashes into the cup. If you don’t have a clear glass though you can substitute for any other tall cup.
Step 2: Set a Plastic Plate on Top of The Glass
After filling the glass with some water, place a plastic plate on top of the water-filled cup. You can also use a metal pan for this, but it is very important not to use a glass plate or anything breakable for this part!
Make sure to center the middle of the plate directly over the glass of water. This plate will be the platform for the tower we are going to build next.
Step 3: Place a Cardboard Toilet Paper Roll on the Plate
Using a cardboard roll from an empty roll of toilet paper, stand it up on the plate that is over the cup of water.
Again, you want to make sure the carboard cylinder is directly in the middle of the plate and centered over the glass of water below.
Step 4: Set an Egg on Top of the Cardboard Roll
Now it’s time to grab an egg and carefully set it on the very top of your tower you created using the glass of water, plate, and cardboard tube.
The egg should be large enough to sit on the top of the carboard tube without falling through the inside of the tube, but be very careful not to tip the tube over while placing the egg on top.
This experiment will work with either a raw egg or a boiled egg. It is up to how brave you are feeling if you want to risk the experiment going wrong and having a raw egg breaking open on you or not!
Step 5: Knock the Plate Out From Under The Tube and Egg
This is honestly the scariest part, but it is also where the fun and excitement of this egg drop experiment begins!
Now that your tower is all put together with an egg sitting on the top, it’s time to knock the plate and carboard tube out from under the egg and see what happens to the egg.
Do you think the egg will fly off to the side in the direction of the plate and carboard tube it was sitting on, or will the end fall straight down and splash into the cup of water below!?
To find out the answer, gently but quickly knock the plate out from under the cardboard tube and the egg.
Whatever direction that you push the plate out of the way, make sure it’s not going to hit and break something else. This is why we use a plastic plate for this step!
Step 6: The Egg Will Fall Down into the Water Filled Cup
Watch and enjoy as the plate and cardboard tower fly off to the side, but the law of inertia and gravity work together to make the egg miraculously drop straight down and plop into the cup filled with water below!
You will probably notice a few splashes of water on the table from the impact of the egg dropping into the cup, but egg should remain unbroken in the cup of water!
Step 7: Do it Again, but Use a Paper Towel Roll To Make the Tower Taller
Since we had some success with our first try at this super cool egg drop experiment, its time to take to to the next level with a taller tower this time!
To do this, repeat the steps of building the tower on top of a glass-filled 3/4 of the way with water, but this time substitute the toilet paper cardboard tube for an empty paper towel tube.
This will make the tower about twice as tall as before and could make the egg drop challenge and bit more tricky!
Go ahead and place the egg on the tower, knock the plate out from underneath and see what happens to your egg as it falls from an even higher altitude than before!
If all goes well, then your egg should still fall straight down and land safely in the cup of water. The water will act as a cushion to the impact of the egg falling and should again keep your egg from cracking!
Egg Drop Experiment Explanation
This amazing egg drop experiment is only possible because of Newton’s law of inertia.
This law states that an object in a resting stage will stay in a resting stage or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by another force.
The egg on the top of our tower falls straight down into the cup of water because it was already sitting in a resting stage.
As my hand (another force) moved the plate and tower out from under the egg, the egg was pulled straight down into the cup thanks to gravity.
Even though the egg falls at an incredible speed, the water in the cup acts as a shock absorber and cushions the impact of the egg into the glass. This is what protects the egg and keeps it from cracking!
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