Preview · the opening missionRead this to the class:
Engineers who design cars face a strange problem. A car that is too stiff stops instantly in a crash, and everyone inside gets a huge jolt. So the front of a modern car is built to crumple on purpose. Your team's job: design a crumple zone that lets an egg passenger survive a head-on crash into a wall.
Teams of three, with rotating jobs: Engineer (leads the build), Tester (runs the crash and measures), Recorder (records data and design changes).
Look inside the PDF
Sample pages, stamped “preview”. The download is the clean, full lesson.
In the full lesson PDF
- Predict (5–10 min)
- Hunt (20 min)
- Reveal (10–15 min)
- Act (10 min)
- Background for the teacher
- Assessment
- Student sheet
On the student sheet
- My idea
- Our tests
- Class dot plot
- CER for a car engineer
- Exit ticket
US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white. The student sheet is on its own page, ready to photocopy.
Free with an account (any 3 lessons), or US$19 / C$25 for all 4 lessons in this unit.
What students show by the end
- Works to criteria and constraints
- Tests and improves
- Explains with force and time
From the lesson’s rubric, which scores each one as not yet, getting there or got it.
Questions teachers ask
How long does “Can you design a crumple zone?” take?
Two periods of 45–60 min (or one 75–90 min block). Group size: teams of 3.
How much prep does it need?
20 minutes: build one crash cart per two teams (see materials) and one test ramp per two teams, about 1 m (3 ft) long, ending 50 cm (20 in) from a wall or a heavy box of books. Set out the materials store with prices. Before class, crash one unprotected egg from 20 cm (8 in): if it doesn't crack, raise the ramp until it does, and use that as the test height.
What materials do I need?
Crash cart; full can of soup or similar, about 400 g (14 oz), taped in the cart for mass; raw eggs; zip-top sandwich bags; store items; ramp board and books; and 2 more. Cost: about $15 for a class of 30 (mostly eggs), using the toy cars and ramps from earlier lessons.
Which curriculum standards does it cover?
NGSS (US): MS-PS2-1, MS-ETS1-1 and MS-ETS1-2.
What’s in the lesson PDF?
A teacher guide that walks you through predict, hunt, reveal, act, background for the teacher and assessment, then a student sheet (“My idea”, “Our tests”, “Class dot plot”, “CER for a car engineer” and “Exit ticket”) on its own page, ready to photocopy. It’s US Letter and prints cleanly in black and white.
Can I try it for free?
Yes. A free account includes any 3 full lessons of your choice, and this can be one of them. After that, this unit is US$19 (C$25) for all 4 lessons, yours to keep, or every lesson is US$79 (C$109) a year.