toothpick tower
DESCRIPTION
Toothpick Tower. Why Triangles?. Most successful towers have many triangles as part of the design. Triangles help make the tower rigid and strong. Triangles are the ONLY polygon that cannot be 'squished' without changing the length of one or more sides - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Toothpick Tower
Why Triangles?Most successful towers have many triangles
as part of the design. Triangles help make the tower rigid and strong.
Triangles are the ONLY polygon that cannot be 'squished' without changing the length of one or more sides
In the real world, triangular construction means that the beams themselves have to be stretched or compressed before the structure will experience any movement, which means that the structure can handle huge loads before failure.
Rectangles and squares easily deform under pressure. This does NOT make a strong and well-constructed tower
The more triangles, the stronger the tower. This is true for both vertical and
horizontal parts of the tower.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN8wE8_3Sn0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCP_Lcx_08Q
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/shapes.html
http://wimedialab.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/phy03.sci.phys.mfe.zgumdrop/triangles-testing-the-strength-of-a-gumdrop-dome/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuS951q3lf8
Building Supplies
CardboardWax PaperTapeFingernail Clippers orDiagonal Cutters
The Requirements Design and draw a picture of what your
toothpick tower will look likeTower must be between 8- 10 inches tall and
1-2 toothpicks wideStudents will work in assigned groupsTowers will be tested to see how much
weight they can hold