Class Update

Today, Tuesday, is the last day for construction of the bridges.

We will test them on Friday, giving the glue plenty of time to dry and set up.

While we are letting the bridges dry, we have a new, fun, project to work on.

"The Pringles Challenge"

Your task is to design a package the will allow a single Pringles Potato Chip to be safely mailed through the US Postal Service to our partner school. Our partner school is Waipahu Intermediate School in Hawaii!

You may work individually or in small groups. You are responsible for finding the materials for making your package (I will have some materials). The package must adhere to US Postal Service Guidelines and will be mailed via First Class Mail (I will mail them). The rules and scoring info are listed below.

We will be scoring the ones sent to us by our partner school.

Be creative and work efficiently. Will will have some time this week in class to work on them also.

The packages are due this Friday before we test the bridges.

RULES

Objective:
Design and test a package to safely ship a single Pringles Potato Chip through the US Postal Service to another school. Upon arrival, the chips will be evaluated and scored according to the process on this page.

Goal:
Engineer the package to have the smallest mass and volume, while protecting the chip so it arrives at it's destination undamaged.

Rules (adapted from those first used by Charlie Lindgren, now used by Wondergy)

1. Students will use 1 (regular) Pringles Potato Chip.
2. No substance my be applied to the chip, or the chip altered in any way.
3. The chip must be recoverable and edible (but please don't eat it) when received by the partner school.
4. Students will work individually or in small groups to design and test the package.
5. No pre-made Pringles containers should be used (ex. specially designed Pringles containers for lunch boxes, Pringles cans, etc)
6. All packages must be sent via the US Postal Service - First Class Mail. (please be aware the there may be a surcharge for small packages if you stamp them yourself. It may be advisable to bring them to the post office for stamping!) Packages sent using any other carrier may be disqualified.
7. Also be advised that there is a 3" x 5" limit on the size of the package, and a fussy postman may reject a smaller package. However in the past many, many packages smaller that 3" x 5" have been delivered, so getting a small package through the mail is part of the challenge).
8. Package must be clearly labeled on the outside with the sending school and group. (If special unpacking instructions are needed they should also be included).
9. Each participating school will send, receive and evaluate packages.
10. Each package must be clearly labeled "Pringles Challenge" and addressed to the receiving school, in care of the particular teacher.
11. The sending school MAY write only "Fragile" or "Handle With Care" on the package.
12. It is the responsibility of individual teachers to assure that results are accurate, and that they are exchanged in a timely manner.

Three measurements must be collected in order to score a package for the Pringles Challenge.

1. Mass - measured in Kg to at least 3 significant figures
2. Volume - measured in cubic centimeters to at least 3 significant figures
3. Intactness score of the chip as determined by the evaluating school, according to the chart below

Perfectly Intact	Like it just left the factory	100 Points
Slightly Damaged	Cracked, but still in one piece	50 Points
Chipped Chip	Broken along the edges, but less than 5 pieces	10 Points
Split Chip	The chip is broken into two fairly equal pieces	10 Points
Significantly Damaged	Chipped and/or cracked into less than 20 pieces	5 Points
Pringle Dust	Too many pieces to count (more than 20)	1 Point

Overall Score
The overall score of the package will be used to compare packages. The formula for calculate the overall score will be as follows:

Overall Score = Intactness Score
(Mass in kg x Volume in cc)

Example:
a) A perfect chip = Intactness of 100
b) Mass = 256 grams or 0.256 kg
c) Volume = 250 cc (2.5 x 10^2)

Overall Score = (100/(.256 x 250)) = 100/64 = 1.56 (when rounded to 3 significant figures)