Tower Building Contest in Physics
by Erica Rottinghaus
August 31, 2010
Last week the physics students enjoyed battling it out in the paper tower building contest. They got to compete for two days. On the first day each student was given one sheet of paper, scissors, and about six inches of tape. Their goal was to make the highest tower possible that would stand for at least 15 seconds. The winner of the first day was Taylor Kuckelman, sr., with a height of 76 cm. She designed her tower with cylinders stacked on top of each other.
The next class period, the students were paired up and tried again using the same amount of material. The winners of the second day were Jordan Meyer, sr., and Austin Wessel, sr. Their structure was 133 cm tall and stood on a three legged base. From this activity the students learned that structures that have a base with three legs are the sturdiest structures to use. They also learned that when the top of the tower is smaller and lighter it is more likely to stand.
