The Perfect Pringle Packing Contest – 2012-2013

Objective:  The goal for this activity is to mail a single Pringle’s brand potato chip through the U.S. Postal Service and have it arrive to the school in one whole piece.

The Pringle potato chip was chosen because of its uniform shape and thickness. It must be a standard size Original FlavorunalteredPringle potato chip. Finally, to receive any credit, the student mailing the chip must demonstrate that it has been unaltered by eating the chip after it has been judged. You must use a whole, unbroken chip to start with!

Contest Guidelines:

1. The package must berectangularin shape so that its volume can be easily calculated by using the volume of a rectangular box. Do NOT use mailing envelopes(padded or unpadded) or mailing tubes. They will result in a 50 point grade deduction, or possible disqualification.

2. Maximum mass of package plus chip is 112 grams. The postal service uses English units. 112 grams is equal to about 4 ounces. When you take your package to the post office, it cannot weigh more than 4 ounces or you will have to change your package. Any package weighing more than 4 ounces (112 grams) will receive a 20 point grade deduction. 

(NOTE: The postal service gives a wide variance on what they call 4 ounces, so beware!) If you desire, you may use a lab balance at school to mass package material beforehand.

3. The packaging material may NOT be of the commercial variety. Packing peanuts, bubble sheets, styrofoam pellets, etc., will be grounds for disqualification and a grade of zero. The packaging material must be from commonly available household materials. Pre-made boxes may be used.

4. The mailing dateto the schoolmust be on or before Friday, December 28, 2012. To ensure credibility, the student must provide an original receipt from the post office showing the mailing date, etc. Write yournameon the receipt and give it to the teacher soon after mailing. Failure to provide a receipt will cause a deduction of 5 points and will make the package ineligible for extra credit. Late mailings will receive a 20 point grade deduction and no bonus. Note: packages mailed from the Angola post office will receive an automatic 10 point grade deduction and no bonus.

5. The package must be mailed through the United States Postal Service usingregularFirst Class mail (not insured – not priority)!! No other mailing service (such as UPS) can be used!

6.The package is to be addressed to:

 959 Beach Road

Angola, NY 14006. 

The return address should be to the student and clearly labeled on the package.

7. On Judgment Day, (Friday, January 4, 2013) the package will be opened by the student (after the package mass and volume have been determined). The chip must be completely removed from the packageunbroken. After judging, the studentmustEAT the potato chip. Failure to eat the chip will result in a 50 point grade deduction.

Grading:

The contest is worth 100 points. A package meeting the specifications outlined above with a perfectly whole unbroken chip will receive a grade of 100 points. A cracked orslightlybroken chip will be worth 90 points. A chip broken into a few pieces is worth 80 points. A pulverized or “soggy” chip is worth 70 points. Failure to provide a receipt will cause a deduction of 5 points and will make the package ineligible for bonus points. If your chip did not survive and was broken in some way, you may do an optional lab report to improve your grade. You must follow the report guidelines listed at the bottom of this page.

Bonus Points:

(Note: student must be present on judgment day to be eligible for bonus points!)

Theleast massivesuccessful (unbroken chip) package is worth 5 bonus points, second place 3 bonus points. 

The successful package with thesmallest volumeis worth 5 bonus points, second place 3 bonus points. 

The successful package mailed from thegreatest distancewill be worth 5 bonus points, second place 3 bonus points. If the package is mailed to a relative/friend and then returned to the school, all mailing receipts must be provided. If the package is mailed one way from a distant location, receipt from that location is required. Remember, the final mailingto the schoolmust be on or before December 28, 2012. The greatest distance traveled will be calculated from receipts and postmarks. 

Anextra 5 bonus pointswill be awarded to any student’s package that breaks any current all-time records for smallest mass, smallest volume, or greatest distance. 

The current all-time records are:

           Smallest Mass:         17 g    (Ryan Smith, 2010)                         

           Smallest Volume:     104 cm³(Alex Govenettio, 2010)                         

           Greatest Distance:  2590 miles: San Diego, CA (June Longbine, 2010)                               

Lab Report Guidelines:

1. Must be turned in Monday, January 7.

2. Must be neatly typed, double-spaced, one to two full pages in length.

3. Must be based on what you were trying to do and why did it fail.

4. Finally, you MUST relate aspects of this activity to things we have studied and learned in class. The more ways you relate it to class, the better. (This part is important!)

5. No calculations are required. Furthermore, you do NOT need to follow formal lab report guidelines.

6. Should be written in paragraph format using complete sentences and proper grammar and spelling.

7. Understand that simply doing a lab report does not guarantee an “A”. It must bewell doneto get the most points.