Test your design skills
Your task is to construct a paper structure that will support a standard hard cover textbook at least 12 inches above a flat, sturdy surface for a minimum of 30 seconds. What the structure looks like and how it’s put together are entirely up to you. Use your imagination: make it square, or in a tri-pod, or circular. The choice is yours! The best design will meet the challenge at the lowest cost.
Materials
- 10 sheets of paper (8.5 inches x 11 inches)
- 10 inches of ½-inch-wide masking tape
- 12-inch ruler
- scissors
Instructions
- Make your structure using only the amount of paper and masking tape allowed. Often, engineering projects only allow engineers to use certain amounts or kinds of materials. Also, many materials come in standard sizes from the store, and engineers must adapt their design to make use of these materials.
- Complete your design and construction within 30 minutes. Engineers, too, have to meet deadlines.
- Pretend that each sheet of paper used during your construction costs $1,000, and each 1/4 inch piece of tape costs $100. Remember that construction materials are not free!
- There is a cost for all materials used or damaged in construction, even the materials you throw in the garbage, so add up the cost of everything you used.
- Don’t test your structure before it’s complete. You can weigh the book as much as you like, though. Engineers often test the weight of the biggest loads their structure will support, but they obviously can’t test the structure itself until it is done.
- Once your structure is complete, test it by gently placing the book on it. Remember that your structure must support the book at least 12 inches off the ground, and for at least 30 seconds.
(Source: Discover Engineering Web site www.discoverengineering.org)
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