The restless Earth
Which building shape survives the shaking?
Does a wider base make a tower more likely to survive an earthquake?
Watch first
An English teaching video on this topic from iNewittAll. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.
What you need
Tick each one as you find it — 0 of 5 ready.
Plan the fair test
- Change: Width of the tower's base
- Measure: Whether the tower collapses (out of three runs)
- Keep the same: Tower height, number of shakes, how hard and fast you shake
Objectives this evidences
- Understand tectonic processes and hazards, including earthquakes and volcanic activity
- Understand how geographical processes interact to create distinctive human and physical landscapes that change over time
Do it, one step at a time
Step 1 of 5
- Step 1. Put the tea towel on a table and stand the baking tray on it: this is your shake table.
- Step 2. Build a tower ten blocks high with a base one block wide. Measure its height.
- Step 3. Slide the tray sharply side to side ten times at a steady speed, and record whether the tower fell.
- Step 4. Rebuild to the same height with a base two blocks wide, then three, and repeat the same shaking each time.
- Step 5. Do three runs for each base width and record how many collapsed.
What should happen
Wider bases survive more often. Spreading the load lowers the centre of mass, which is why real buildings in hazard zones use deep, wide foundations and cross-bracing.
Think about: Your shaking is never identical twice. Name one thing you did to keep it fair, and one thing you could not control.
Write up your result
A sentence or two is enough to save it.
The lessons behind this practical
Each one opens with the same short film, and the film has a written transcript underneath if reading is easier than watching.
Now the quiz for this topic
Questions come from the lessons behind this practical, so nothing is asked that has not been taught.
Quiz
The restless Earth quiz
4 questions from the lessons in this stage. No timer, and you can try again as many times as you like.