Download The Pringles® Challenge Objective

The Pringles® Challenge
Objective
The purpose of this mini-project is to give students experience with applying the impulse-momentum theorem to a
situation beyond the walls of Strongsville High School. Students will design and test a container for shipping a single
Pringles® potato chip, via the US Postal Service. This mini-project should assist students in the design and
construction of the Egg-Drop Capstone Project.
Goal
The goal of this project is to engineer a package which will safely transport a single Pringles® potato chip to your
teacher at Strongsville High School. A score will be determined based upon the intactness of the chip, mass of the
sealed package (including the chip) and volume of the sealed package. A smaller, lighter package will earn more
points.
Rules
All rules must be followed for this project. Students will earn points for having the proper type of chip (Pringles), the
package delivered correctly (due to proper labeling), and the chip arriving fully intact. The final points will be earned
through a shipping efficiency ratio (see rubric below) that is based on the mass, size of the package, and condition of
chip. Extra credit is worked into the rubric.
1. Students will use 1 (regular) Pringles® potato chip.
2. No substance may be applied to the chip. The chip cannot be altered in any way.
3. The chip must be recoverable and edible when received in class.
4. Students may work individually or in groups of no more than 3 students on the design, building and testing of the
package.
5. All packages must be sent via the US Postal Service - First Class Mail! Mail your package to:
Put your actual teacher's
actual name! 
Put in your actual class
period.
Teacher's Name – Class Period PRINGLES® CHALLENGE
Strongsville High School
20025 Lunn Road
Strongsville, Ohio 44149
6. All packages must include the names of the students in the group and the return address of one of the students in
7. No packages smaller than 3"x5" will be delivered by the post office. Therefore, you do have a "small" size limit packages must be 3"x5"x what-ever thickness (or bigger).
8. Aside from the return address and the recipient address, you may write "FRAGILE" or "HANDLE WITH CARE" on
your package. You may not write anything else on your package or mark it any other way. No Stickers. No Glue. You
may tape the seal of the envelop or package.
9. Pringles must be postmarked by Monday January 26th! It is your responsibility to provide a receipt that it was in
the mail no later than Monday January 26th! This receipt will cover you in the event that the post office “loses” your
package. All chips will then arrive by the Friday January 30th – we will check them all in that week. Chips not
postmarked by January 26th will not receive any extra credit!
* The groups are the group members for the egg drop project. If you do not work well as a group on the Pringles
challenge then maybe you should disband as a group for the actual egg drop – this is your trial run.
* If you are working with students from another class period – the class period to which it is mailed will be the period
it is opened.
Scoring Guide
The overall score for your package will be determined using the following equation:
Score =
Chip Condition Score
(mass)(volume)
Chip Condition Score
Mass
Volume
This is how the chip arrives when it is removed from the package.
Measured in kg
Measured in cm3
When your package
arrives we will determine
its mass in class using
the "official physics
scale."
When your package
arrives we will
determine its volume
by measuring the
physical dimensions
of the package. We
will not use a water
displacement method
for obvious reasons

Perfectly Intact
400
like it just left the factory
Slightly Damaged
200
cracked but still in one piece
Chipped Chip
80
chipped along the edges in less
than 5 pieces
Split Chip
40
broken into 2 (fairly equal) pieces
Serious Damage
chipped or cracked in 5 or more
places OR
broken into more than 2 pieces.
or
Potato Dust
20
0
too many to count - more than 20
pieces
If there is any debate on the condition of the chip, the teacher will consult another teacher as a tie-breaker. The vote of
the tie-breaker will be the deciding factor in the condition of the chip.
Scoring example:
Efficiency Ratio =
Chip Condition Score
Chip Condition Score = 400
(mass)(volume)
Mass = 0.220-kg
=
400
= 3.03 = 2 points
Volume = 11cm x 15cm x 4cm = 660cm3
(.22)(660)
The Packaging Details
The Chip
Description
Points
Efficiency Score
Description
Package is address properly and
writing is clear
4
Pringles chip used
Not a Pringles chip
Package address has minor
mistakes but writing is clear
3
Package is properly addressed but
writing is unreadable
2
The chip is in
perfect shape
Writing is clear but package is not
properly addressed
1
Package address is not properly
addressed and writing is unclear
0
The chip is slightly
damaged (cracked
but not broke)
Points
3
0
Description
Points
3
2
The chip is broken
1
It’s Pringle dust
0
Shipping
Efficiency Score
31 - greater =
26- 30.00=
21- 25.99
16- 20.99 =
14 – 15.99 =
12-13.99=
10-11.99
8-9.99=
6-7.99
4-5.99
2-3.99
1 -1.99
0.50- 0.99
0.1 - 0.55
Less then 0.1
Points
7 pts
6.5
6
5.5
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0