Column Strength Challenge
Engineering | 10-15 minutes
In this activity, students will experiment and decide which type of column they think supports the most weight.
Materials Needed
Per person:
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Three pieces of copy paper
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About 3 ft of scotch or masking tape (No duct tape)
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A small stack of paperback books or other similarly weighted items
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Worksheet and pencil to record results
Steps:
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Fold one piece of paper in half hamburger style (width-wise), and then fold each of those halves again in the same direction as the first fold. You should have created a square column that is 8 ½ inches long.
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Use ONE strip of tape to secure the edge of the paper so that the column stays secure.
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Fold the second piece of paper in thirds, creating a triangular shaped column, also 8 ½ inches long. Use ONE strip of tape to secure the edge of the paper so that the column stays secure.
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Tape the edges of the third piece of paper to create an 8 ½ inch circular column.
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Look at the three columns. Which do you think will hold the most weight? Write down your prediction on the worksheet.
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Stand the square column up. Slowly stack paperback books on the end of the column until the column crushes. Write the number of books on your worksheet.
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Do the same for both the triangular column and the circular column.
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Examine your data. Which shape provides the strongest column? Did the other students get the same results?
Explanation:
Which of your cylinders supported the most weight? Probably the cylinder? Well, the cylinder should support the most weight because it doesn’t have any edges. That means that all of the weight can’t be put on one single area. All of the weight is evenly shared by the circle.
The square and triangle columns try to support all the weight on their edges and corners. That doesn’t work too well, and soon the walls fold in on themselves and collapse.