Your Challenge…   Build the tallest tower you can that can support a textbook!

Your Materials…   50 straws   3 ft of masking tape

The catch… Each material has a value and your tower cannot cost more than $10,000 dollars to build! 1 straw is worth $200 1 inch of tape is worth $100

Things to consider…   Rigidity of Forms- What shape is the strongest?   Squares?   Rectangles ? Triangles?   What should the shape of my tower be?   Big base? Small base?

The Big Idea Tension Tension: Think of it as “Stretching,” like a string being pulled. Compression Compression: Think of it as “Squishing,” like pushing on a wall trusses When members are arranged like this they are called trusses. Can you name a type of truss you’ve seen in your everyday life? Stability Stability of our straw structures depends on the balance between straws that are in tension and ones that are in compression Two kinds of forces: Tension and Compression

Trusses in Everyday Life Eiffel Tower Bicycles Houses and Roofs Bridges