How Can You Protect These Three Nests?

NGSS Phenomena: A birds nest with three eggs in it.

Carol VanHook, Flickr.com

Outside a nearby school, there are 3 birds nests that have eggs in them. Sadly, as students have been walking to school, they’ve seen 2 eggs get knocked down and shatter on the sidewalk. Concerned that more baby birds may perish, your teacher challenges the class to come up with a design to stop the eggs from breaking, if they get knocked out of the nest. All 3 nests are four meters (12 ft) above the ground.

NGSS Phenomena: A tree with a label that it's 4 meters from the ground to the branch where the nest is.

Your teacher warns you that birds will abandon their eggs and nest if they smell a human has touched the eggs or the nest. There are also a lot of students walking by on their way to and from school, so you want to make sure it’s safe and doesn’t get into the way of people walking by. Your teachers tells you that these eggs will likely hatch in less than 2 weeks, so you only have one day to build something using the materials you have in the classroom: string, paper, tape, popsicle sticks, glue sticks, staples, pencils, and scissors!

1. The object that a force is being exerted upon is , the force that’s accelerating this object is , and the 2nd object that’s exerting a force to cause a collision is .

2. Your teacher tells you that the average robin egg weighs 2.74 grams. With this estimate, what information are you able to gather for your design?

We can use the equation f=ma to see how much force will push back on the egg when it hits the ground.
We can use the equation f=ma to calculate the force that the wind will have on the egg that could lead to the egg falling out of the nest.
We can use the equation f=ma to make sure we understand the forces needed to keep the egg balanced in the nest, so that it doesn’t fall.
We can use the concept of inertia to look at the force it will take to accelerate the egg from rest.

3. Which statement correctly identifies the criteria and constraints that are given for the solution?

Criteria: must be completed today, cannot touch the nest.
Constraints:can only use materials in the classroom, needs to stop the egg from cracking
Criteria: needs to stop the egg from cracking, can only use materials in the classroom.
Constraints: needs to be safe for people walking by, cannot touch the nest.
Criteria: needs to stop the egg from cracking, needs to be safe for people walking by.
Constraints: can only use materials in the classroom, cannot touch the nest.
Criteria: can only use materials in the classroom, cannot touch the nest.
Constraints: needs to stop the egg from cracking, needs to be safe for people walking by

4. What are the components in the system that are involved in the collision?

5. Are the given criteria appropriate to solve the given problem? Explain why or why not.

6. In the space below, sketch a design solution that might help to solve the problem, fulfill the criteria, and and stay within the constraints.

Color

Width

7. In the box below, explain how your design solution works.

8. Using your knowledge of Newton’s 3rd law, explain how your design solution will meet the criteria and constraints.

9. How valuable will your device be for society?

10. How would your design be impacted if you could use materials in your classroom? What other technologies or materials would you have wanted to use?

11. How did the constraints of the problem impact your design?

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This fill in question aligns to the following standards

PS2.A: Forces and Motion
Systems and System Models
MS-PS2-1

This multiple choice question aligns to the following standards

MS-PS2-1
PS2.A: Forces and Motion
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

This multiple choice question aligns to the following standards

MS-PS2-1
PS2.A: Forces and Motion
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions