Troubleshooting Earthquake Shake

Ask questions about projects relating to: aerodynamics or hydrodynamics, astronomy, chemistry, electricity, electronics, physics, or engineering

Moderators: AmyCowen, kgudger, bfinio, MadelineB, Moderators

Locked
Exasperated83
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2020 10:25 pm
Occupation: Parent

Troubleshooting Earthquake Shake

Post by Exasperated83 »

We are doing the earthquake experiment with the peanut butter and sugar cubes. We tried 3 different soils and none of the walls fell. I built a new building today and tried it with less marbles, a more sturdy game box lid, as well as a longer shake time and still nothing. What else can we do?
AmyCowen
Site Admin
Posts: 581
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2016 4:39 pm
Occupation: Administrator
Project Question: -
Project Due Date: -
Project Status: Not applicable

Re: Troubleshooting Earthquake Shake

Post by AmyCowen »

The problem may be that the houses are "too sturdy" for the experiment. Here are a few tips:

* Do not try to build the sturdiest houses you can make. If your test houses are so strong that none of them break, your data will not reveal which soil is the best to build a house on in an earthquake prone zone.
* Perform the testing within a day or two after you build the houses. This prevents the peanut butter from drying out and hardening.
* Do not use too much peanut butter. This can make the houses too sturdy, especially if the peanut butter is left to dry out.

Building taller and skinnier houses will also help with the experiment.

Amy
Science Buddies
Locked

Return to “Grades K-5: Physical Science”