Summer Research Program for Science Teachers
Park West H.S., Manhattan
2000
Egg Drop
New York Times
Thursday, August 7, 2000
Egg Accidents on the Rise, Scientists Fear
Epidemic
By R. Yolk
San Francisco, CA—Yesterday,
at 2:20pm, 2,009 eggs perished in a disastrous collision on the
West Coast highway. It’s the latest in a gruesome
series of egg catastrophes dating back to the evolution of the
chicken. The southbound delivery truck carrying the eggs
collided with a station wagon full of tourists as both drivers
turned to look at the Golden Gate Bridge. Although no
persons were injured, 12 eggs in the station wagon and 1,997 eggs
in the truck were crushed.
Police officers and
emergency technicians were unable to put any of the eggs back
together again. Witnesses say that the injuries were so
horrific, and the asphalt so hot, that most of the eggs were
unidentifiable…“a veritable scramble,” said one
bystander.
The public outcry over
this issue has finally reached Capitol Hill, as senate majority
leader, E. Poached prepares to bring forth the Egg Protection
Bill.
This bill calls for
preserving aisles in grocery stores just for eggs—no cheese,
yogurt, or egg substitutes will be allowed within 5 feet. An
advisory committee also recommended that any egg traveling in a
motor vehicle be restrained with shoulder and lap belts. The
Senate is expected to vote on the bill prior to eggnog season.
Meanwhile, the carnage
continues. Last week, a clumsy stock boy destroyed three
dozen of our very best eggs—Jumbo, Grade AAA. He has
since been fired. A month ago, an impatient housewife
dropped a dozen as she was getting the groceries out of her van.
Her family, heartbroken, was unavailable for comment.
One of the young
witnesses to the San Francisco Scramble voiced the question on
the lips of many across our great nation, “Who will save the
eggs?”
Lesson Plan
1.
The class will read and discuss the article. Inform the
students that most scientific experimentation begins with a need
to solve a problem that affects our society.
2.
As a class, come up with the “Problem” to be tested.
Ex: “How do we protect an egg in a 6 foot fall?” This
will be the beginning of the research paper.
3.
Provide the students with a ‘catalog’ of available
materials. These could include popsicle sticks, glue,
masking tape, paper towels, string, etc.
4.
Organize the students into groups of four. At any phase of
this lesson try to give each student his own role to ensure each
individual’s participation.
5.
In their groups, the students will: A) choose a university
to represent
B) brainstorm a design for their “egg protector.”
This will serve as a
hypothesis. C) write a short “grant proposal” to
the Eggcellent Egg
Corporation requesting funding for their project. In the
proposal, they
must include:
a)
why we should save the eggs (this could be included in the
introduction
to their research paper),
b)
how they are going to save them (including the design of the egg
protector)
c)
how much funding they would need.
6.
Return the proposals to the students—approved—and give
them their “money” (use Monopoly money). At this
point regardless of how much the students asked for, give every
group the same amount of money. This would also be a good
time to discuss how scientists get funding for their projects.
7.
The students can order the items they need from the catalog.
Do not control what items they buy, leave the decision up to each
group. Eggs would also have to be purchased. This
would involve a good deal of planning on the part of the
students.
8.
Students should be given as much time as possible to design,
build, and test their egg protection systems. At this stage
the students will write the materials, methods, and data section
of their report.
9.
Finally, all groups will demonstrate their designs. For a
bit of fun, tell the students to wear the colors of their
universities on that day. Here the students will write the
conclusion and amend the problem if necessary.
10.
If you have time, choose the best design and ask all the groups
to reproduce it using the materials and methods section of that
group’s paper. This will show the students the
importance of writing a detailed procedure. Test the new
protectors.
11.
Have a class-wide debriefing session in which you discuss the
process of beginning a scientific experiment in the real world.