Assignment 3.4 Explain The Construction Challenge

Construction Challenge #4
Explain what the challenge was… The challenge was to make, with your team, a 30 inch cantilever beam with 16 plastic straw, 5 of the straw wrappers, and 15 centimeters of tape. Each team was allowed to use scissors and a hole punch to put together the straws. Then, Mr. Milhous placed the beam 24 inches off the table 6 inches on the table. After that, he moved a marshmallow on the cantilever beam until the beam could no longer support the marshmallow. The team points were determined by measuring the distance of the marshmallow off the table minus the deflection of the straws.

Was your team successful or not? EXPLAIN WHY!! Give your data results in your answer! My team was the most successful in this challenge out of the two classes (Republic and Empire) because we used the wrappers to make the straws flex up, making the shape of an archery bow. The arc shape was the main reason that we were successful because it held the straws from deflecting a whole lot, therefore giving the straws more strength and less bend (deflection). Iit also provided us with a winning amount of points. We had the marshmallow suspended 22 inches out from the table with 6.5 inches of deflection. This gave us 15.5 points because the points formula was distance minus deflection.

We did not choose to use triangles, although I know that using triangles makes a structure sturdy. For example, the Golden Gate Bridge has supports stretching across the bay made of triangles that have been put together in an organized and strong fashion. If I were to try doing this activity again, I would use triangles because triangles can be stronger than arcs because they don’t bend or break quite as easily.
Sizemore