Rather than hunting for eggs in the grass, students in Orcutt Academy’s Introduction to Engineering class launched the fragile, shelled shapes into the sky March 25 as part of a mathematical experiment.
Equipped with tissue and wrapping paper, the students were told to design and construct hot air balloons capable of lifting an egg. Each team was responsible for computing projected volume (lift) to weight ratios when designing their balloons.
“I always try to connect a decent amount of math into this class,” said Josh Mason, who also teaches math classes at the school.
Mason said the teams applied formulas they learned in geometry class to make sure their eggs would be able to take flight. Geometrical shapes were also used in the design process.
“There’s one [design] that has a bunch of hexagons and squares, so it kind of forms a soccer ball when it’s inflated,” he said, adding that the hot air balloon project enables his class to apply academic knowledge to a real-world experiment.
And how did the teams do?
In an e-mail to the Sun, Mason said “all of the balloons did in fact lift their eggs into the air. Three of the balloons were very successful, reaching heights of 90 feet and above. Three of them took off but quickly returned to the ground—they just didn’t have the necessary volume-to-surface-area ratio. The wind played a definite role as the morning progressed, making it difficult to fill some of the balloons and carrying several of them to the border of our field. … All in all, a big success.”
This article appears in Apr 1-8, 2010.