Science Goals for Building Structures

After explorations, students will be able to understand:

• Forces need to be balanced for a building to stay up.

• Gravity will pull a structure down unless it is stable.

• Stable structures can be repeated over time.

• Different building materials have different properties.

What Are Forces?

Forces are one of the basic features of physics. There are different types of forces, but in general:

• Forces can make objects move.

• Forces can hold objects together, like a gravitational force.

• Forces can change the speed, direction, or shape of an object.

Forces Acting on Structures

• Gravity: The attraction that objects exert on one another, such as the strong force between the Earth and objects on it.

• Tension: the “pull-apart” force

• Compression: the “push-together” force

The Science of Design and Stability

• Larger buildings have larger forces acting upon them.

• Buildings must balance these forces in order to be stable.