Lab Report

Problem: To construct a seismic-safe structure that will stay intact during a simulated earthquake.

Hypothesis: I think my seismic-safe structure will stay intact during the simulated earthquake.

Research: We used flexible straws because we read that flexible beams could bend and hold in the earthquake. We also used clay as a shock absorber because if your structure absorbs all the force then it might break. We knew that if we had a wide base, it would hold the structure up and keep it from falling. We also found out that supporting center beams could hold the structure together , and triangles are very hard to break when they are in a structure.

Experiment: Materials: a stick of clay, 15 popsicle sticks, 7 wooden skewers, 5 flexible straws, 12 inches of masking tape

1)First, we attached two popsicle sticks with clay and put it flat on the desk for a base. We put clay on the other two ends. Our first two beams were skewers coming out of the clay. We slid straws a few inches over the skewers and secured them together with clay and tape.

2)We put a stabilizing straw connecting the two poles through the middle into the clay. We then put a supporting skewer up the center of the two tall beams.

3)We put 3 popsicle sticks around the bottom of the poles in the shape of a triangle to stabilize the two poles.

4)We extended the base to make a rectangle out of popsicle sticks so the base would be wider and more stable.

5)We bent the flexible straws to work like flexible beams and put a skewer through the top of the two straws so the tops of the straws were connected.

6) We put some finishing touches on our structure and we were ready to test!

7)We tested our structure and it stayed upright!!

Analyze: During the simulated earthquake our structure was swaying at the top a little but because we had a strong base, it held together. I think our structure stayed up for a lot of reasons

1) We had good supporting beams through the middle of our structure

2) We had a strong base so when the top started swaying the bottom held it.

3)We used clay at the joints to absorb the impact of the simulated earthquake.

4)We used the flexible part of the straws to act as flexible beams so they would bend instead of breaking.

5)We used a triangle of popsicle sticks to stabilize to two main poles.

Conclusion: My hypothesis was correct and our structure did say upright. During this experiment I learned that if you have enough support on the bottom your top will most likely go the way your bottom goes. I also learned that flexible straws are used in real life because they bend and don't break and they use clay to absorb some of the damage of an earthquake. This experiment really helped me understand how thy make building seismic-safe.