Class activities week 1 BLOCK TOWER -1.1 Preparation: Materials: one container of even size MDF blocks Requirement: use as less material as possible to build the block tower to as high as we can. The activities is to understanding and learning how compression and loads works Ways of tower builtďźš 1.stack
bond
Advantage: strong, stable and safe Disadvantage: use more blocks Withdraw one from the tower would affect others.
2.stretcher bond
Advantage: use little less material Disadvantage: Advantage: use the least blocks, the pressure can be evenly spread out down to bottom Disadvantage: easy to deformation because one block is more away out than the one down the bottom.
3.
force
compression
FINAL SHAPES OF TOWER:
sense
As high as we can
Door for the dinosaur
originally, we were planed to build an pyramid(pic from :www.dragoat.com) reason: the shape of pyramid is stable and strong, at the same time we can build on the height
Block tower-1.2 PROCESS:
1ST Step: Determined the diameter of the circle from 4 directions and started to build the border And the same time left the door for the dinosaur to go through. **I found that the diameter of the circle was to wide. As our tower was using the most space out of others but not the highest tower at last. The problems causing by the width: as we build the higher of our tower, the blocks start tilt inwards the middle, it made hard for us to adjust the shape, and scared of it will fall. 2: We gave up our plan to make all sides with block, instead, we focusing on building one side taller to make up the height. Because we ran out of blocks. ****We can see that there is uneven points on the wall. These were because we trying to make the wall ROUND, therefore the direction of placing blocks may be uneven,
3.
As the less the blocks we had, we were more focusing on the height, therefore we started change the way to place the block to get more height. BUT! This causing the tower to be unbalanced and lead to the falling. Because the pressure can not be evenly spread out
Lastly for the height, we placing the block straight up, instead of flat down, although it was dangerous and easy to fall but we gave it a go.