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Science Launch G4 / Week 12 / Wednesday
3/6
Week 12 · Map Earth's Features

Wednesday

Investigation: Shake table
// Patterns on the planet and staying safe from hazards
⏱ about 15 min

Wednesday: Shake table

Rocket stacks blocks into a tall, skinny tower on a baking sheet. "The tallest tower ever!" he cheers.

Raven slides the baking sheet back and forth, gently. The tower wobbles and crashes down.

"Hmm," Rocket says, scratching his head. "We can improve it."

"What do you notice about where it broke?" Raven asks.

Nova scans the fallen blocks. "Would you like a hint?" she asks. "Try changing the base. Then shake it exactly the same way."

What you need

  • A baking sheet
  • Five round pencils or markers
  • Twenty building blocks or small boxes
  • Tape (optional)
  • A table or a hard floor
Safety first
Shake gently, back and forth only. No throwing.
Keep fingers out from under the baking sheet.
Build on the floor or a low table.

Steps

  1. Lay the pencils side by side on the table. Set the baking sheet on top. This is your shake table.
  2. Design A: build a tall, skinny tower with ten blocks.
  3. Slide the sheet back and forth five times, the same way each time. Count the blocks that fall.
  4. Design B: build a tower with ten blocks and a wide base.
  5. Shake it the same way. Count the blocks that fall.
  6. Design C: try your own idea, like taping blocks together. Test it the same way.
MAKE A PREDICTION
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which design will lose fewer blocks?
DesignWhat I builtBlocks that fell
Atall and skinny
Bwide base
Cmy idea
To keep the test fair, I shook every design the ____ way.
The criterion for success is the fewest blocks that ____.

Comparing designs

Look at your table. Which design lost the fewest blocks?

Engineers compare designs using the same test and the same criterion.

Then they keep the best ideas and test again.

ENGINEER THINKING
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
What was the criterion for success?
Why did each design use ten blocks?
StatementTrue or false?
The shake table models an earthquake.?
Engineers test a design only once.?
Shaking each design the same way keeps the test fair.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEFair, repeated tests help engineers find the best design.

You tested designs like an earthquake engineer! Tomorrow we dive to the bottom of the ocean.

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