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Sardis students test physics in annual egg drop

Firefighters help take physics lesson to a higher altitude with 100-ft ladder

What goes up, must go down.

But even if that thing is an egg, it doesn’t always have to break. Sardis secondary physics students were put to the test on Thursday morning, with their annual egg drop.

While the experiment is always fun, it’s also a marked assignment. Students are required to use their physics knowledge to create a suspension system that cradle and protect three eggs from a hard fall. Usually, the contraptions are thrown of the school. But this year, they pushed their suspension systems to the limit.

They called in the Chilliwack Fire Department, who were happy to provide a crew on site for the morning with the ladder truck.

A few lucky students were able to ride up in the ladder, up to a height of 100 feet, to let egg containers fall to the drop zone.

Some fell down quickly, and hit with a thud or a splat. Others sailed down smoothly, with the assistance of features like wings, or propeller systems.

But landing safely is only part of the grade — and they were succeeding at a rate of about 30 per cent said teacher Joe Massie. The real trick is to design a system that is small in size. And light.

The egg systems were dropped one after the other, and then checked over for egg survival. Those that survived got the chance to drop again.

It’s a fun way to demonstrate the impact of a crash, said Massie, as projects dropped from above.

“Maybe one day one of these students will be designing ways to keep people safe in a car crash,” he said.


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Jessica Peters

About the Author: Jessica Peters

I began my career in 1999, covering communities across the Fraser Valley ever since.
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