We're knee-deep into our investigation of plate tectonics and how seismic activity can be a powerful force in changing the landscape of our planet. Our discoveries naturally led to an earthquake engineering challenge where students were presented with an opportunity to design, create, and test a variety of structures that could potentially withstand an earthquake. We utilized real-life structural design strategies that would help minimize the effects of an earthquake, including cross-bracing, tapered geometry, and base isolation. This experience led to many interesting discoveries about structural engineering challenges in fault zones. Students were later asked to analyze their data from the test phase of the challenge and drew conclusions about which materials and structural techniques offered the most successful outcomes. Look out world - we've got some future civil engineers ready to roll up their sleeves and relocate to the San Andreas fault zone. This week's guest bloggers share their engineering experiences. Enjoy.
For me, the structure that was most stable was the marshmallow and stick structure using cross-bracing. It was the most stable because the cross-bracing gave it good support. When my partner and I tried using tapered geometry in our design structure, it looked like it was going to withstand the earthquake at first, but then the roof fell off. Using base isolation also made our structure collapse right away. Cross-bracing definitely worked the best. - @sunflower
Out of the there structures that we built and tested, the structure made from marshmallows and sticks was the most stable. You might be thinking, that's crazy, but when my partner and I constructed the building, we used base isolation in our design by putting marshmallows on the bottom as a substitute for rubber to help absorb the movement and withstand the earthquake. I don't think anyone came up with a hypothesis to support that! - @FireDragon5
Out of the three structures we built and tested, the most stable structure was the wood and foam structure. My partner and I used tapered geometry when we built our structure and it definitely helped it to withstand the earthquake. - @puppyonline
The structure that was the most earthquake-resistant was the one made from marshmallows and toothpicks using cross-bracing in the structural design. It did move a little during the earthquake, but it was able to withstand the movement and did not collapse or break apart. Our other structures were... well, not so stable. The structure that we made with wood and foam using base isolation fell apart immediately during the earthquake. I think it needed to have something between the wood blocks to make it stick. - @LightningDragon
Out of the structures that we built (which were only two), the marshmallow and stick structure was the most strong and most stable. There are many reasons why this was the most stable. To start, you could actually connect marshmallows and sticks together. We couldn't do that with the wood and foam. Second, we used cross-bracing and tapered geometry with the marshmallows and sticks for more stability. Cross-bracing is when you use Xs and triangles for supporting structures because when you push down on a triangle, it doesn't slide to the side like a square would do. Tapered geometry is when a structure gets more narrow as it gets taller. Skyscrapers, like some of the ones in Boston, sometimes have tapered geometry. I really liked this experience. It was very fun. - @writingmachine
The most earthquake-resistant structure was the marshmallow and toothpick structure because we used the cross-bracing technique to support it. It was also just the right height (not too tall) which also helped make it stable. - @PotatoMonitor
The most earthquake-resistant structure that we discovered was the LEGO structure using tapered geometry. It was successful because LEGOS are heavy and if the material is heavy there is less of a chance of it falling over. It was also a wide structure with legs, which means that it had a wide base and extra leg support. - @softballpiggy
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