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Breaking the Mold ActivityBreaking the Mold Activity
Publisher
Teach Engineering
Resource Details
Curator Rating
Educator Rating
Not yet Rated
Grade
6th - 8th
Subjects
STEM
1 more...
Resource Types
Activities & Projects
3 more...
Audience
For Teacher Use
Duration
1 hr
Instructional Strategies
Collaborative Learning
1 more...
Technology
Scientific Equipment
Year
2006
Usage Permissions
Fine Print: Educational Use
Activity

Breaking the Mold

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet
This Breaking the Mold activity also includes:
  • Materials Data Sheet (PDF)
  • Materials Data Sheet (Doc)
  • Materials Data Sheet Answer Example (PDF)
  • Materials Data Sheet Answer Example (Doc)
  • Vocabulary
  • Graphic & Image
  • Join to access all included materials

A little too much strain could cause a lot of stress. Groups conduct a strength test on clay. Using books as weights, pupils measure the compression of clay columns and calculate the associated strain and stress. Teams record their data on the stress versus strain graph and compare the results to those of concrete and steel.

19 Views 13 Downloads
CCSS: Designed

Concepts

bridge design, bridges, compression, elasticity, force, steel, weight, building materials, clay, technology resources

Instructional Ideas

  • Use different consistencies of clay

Classroom Considerations

  • The class needs to understand compressive and tensile forces and their actions on different types of bridges
  • Form the pillars from the clay before the activity and wrap to keep them from drying out
  • The eighth activity in a unit of 10

Pros

  • The answer sheet has example solutions to give you an idea of how it should look with your own data
  • The activity plan comes with troubleshooting tips to help you with setup and anticipate possible errors

Cons

  • None

Common Core

6.NS.B.3 6.EE.C.9 7.RP.A.2.a 8.SP.A.1 8.SP.A.3

View 3,628 other resources for 6th - 8th Grade STEM

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