Testing Model Structures: Jell-O Earthquake in the Classroom
Students make sense of the design challenges engineers face that arise from earthquake phenomena. Students work as engineering teams to explore concepts of how engineers design and construct buildings to withstand earthquake damage by applying elements of the engineering design process by building their own model structures using toothpicks and marshmallows. The groups design, build, and test their model buildings and then determine how earthquake-proof their designs are by testing them on an earthquake simulator pan of Jell-O®.
Students model an earthquake-proof structureCopyright http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/US_Navy_110315-N-2653B-107_An_upended_house_is_among_debris_in_Ofunato,_Japan,_following_a_9.0_magnitude_earthquake_and_subsequent_tsunami.jpg
Because earthquakes can cause walls to crack, foundations to move and even entire buildings to crumple, engineers incorporate into their structural designs techniques that withstand damage from earthquake forces, for example, cross bracing, large bases and tapered geometry. Earthquake-proof buildings are intended to bend and sway with the motion of earthquakes, or are isolated from the movement by sliders. Engineers use the engineering design process to come up with an idea, test it, and then re-engineer the structure based on its performance.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Identify some of the factors that make buildings earthquake-proof, including cross bracing, large "footprints," and tapered geometry.
- Model an earthquake-proof structure using simple materials.
- Compare a model structure with what it represents.
- Understand why engineers need to learn about earthquakes.
- Learn what causes earthquakes and how engineers use this knowledge to design more 'earthquake-proof' structures.