In the egg drop contest, what did fifth graders drop from the Wells Fargo bank building?

• A. Eggs
• B. Books
• C. Flowers
• D. Coins

Answer: (A)

In an egg drop contest, the main idea is to design a way to protect a fragile object from breaking when it hits the ground. Here, fifth graders dropped an egg from a tall building—the Wells Fargo bank building—so the challenge is to create packaging or cushioning that slows the fall and spreads out the impact force enough to keep the shell intact. Eggs are used because their thin shells are easily cracked, which makes the result a clear indicator of how well the protection works. Other items like books, flowers, or coins wouldn’t demonstrate the same risk of breakage or the same engineering challenge, since they’re not fragile in the same way and wouldn’t prove whether the cushioning effectively absorbs the impact.