During Science term 4, we were asked to research, design and build a prototype of a earthquake resistant building using spaghetti and blue tack. I was in a group with Ally and Aisha and we had to use our collaboration skills to make a final product that withstood the simulation earthquake. We did our stile questions separately and made our own individual design for the tower. Then we mixed our ideas together until we had a final plan that we thought would work.
When researching, I found that the cross bracing technique was used frequently among engineers when making earthquake proof buildings as well as the doubling up on poles (spaghetti).
When we were building the tower, we all had our own individual tasks to make the building process run smoother. Ally’s job was making the crosses for the cross bracing, Aisha’s job was to hold everything together while we were assembling and I put everything else together.
Our building was a success (except for the height) as it stayed up for all three tests. It was wobbling slightly during the surface waves test but I did not fall.
This project relates to the real world as more and more of these buildings are becoming necessary. In dense populations like Japan and Chile, most of the buildings need to be high to fit everyone in. This makes them vulnerable to earthquakes as it easier for them to fall.
Some changes that we made was doubling the spaghetti pieces in order to make it more sturdy and stay up. This was successful and it help create a stronger exterior.
The changes I would make in the future is make the base larger to we can build up the height and meet the criteria. I would also use les blue tack towards the top to try to make it even lighter so it doesn’t weigh down.