MY EARTHQUAKE PROJECT IS NOT WORKING

[donnacano]

I am doing the project "Set Your Table for a Sweet and Sticky Earthquake Shake". I watched the online video and have done everything it has said but the houses walls are not collapsing in the cornstarch and water (sand). I have tried everything from using less or more marbles, to using less or more water and it is not working. Online she says that at home the walls collapsed at 14 seconds and online the same thing but mine is not collapsing....PLEASE HELP!!! MY PROJECT IS DUE AND EVERYTHING IS DONE JUST CAN'T GET IT TO WORK PROPERLY

[ivyh]

Hi,
Are the walls collapsing on any of the other "soil types" you used in the experiment?

[donnacano]

A wall has fallen on the gravel but we could not keep it on a thin piece of newspaper to transfer the house to the tray, it is directly on the gravel (grapenut cereal).

[ivyh]

Well, if you are placing the houses directly on the soil for one type, you would have to place all of the houses directly on the soil, it is very important that you keep all factors constant throughout the experiments except for the soil type, otherwise you may have some errors.
That being said, sometimes experiments do not go as planned. If you absolutely cannot get it to work as you want, Don't force it. You can point out anything that you believe did not work out in your lab report and try to explain any possible errors or inconsistencies.