changes

okay, so i haven't been regularly posting what i've been doing, my bad

but i've actually done a lot, considering... yeah...

there has been a change of method due to the restriction equipment as some of the equipment could not be found =="

so here's the method with changes made:

1. Cut the plywood into a square 30cm by 30cm and a piece 45cm by 45cm.
2. Drill 4 evenly spaced holes into half of the bigger piece of plywood
3. Attach the 4 7.5cm long compression springs to the smaller piece of plywood
4. Use screws or wood staples to do so.
5. Place the bigger piece of plywood on top of the springs
6. Pull wire through each spring and each hole in the plywood
7. Tie the wire around a bamboo skewer and twist the wire together and cover with duct tape for a firm hold

MORE equipment

so, i've posted two methods, it should make the whole thing work, right?

now, there's the equipment and materials i need for making the earthquake machine,

here's the list of things i need to collect to make the buildings:

1 pack of modelling clay

1 pack of toothpicks (100)

1 pack of uncooked pasta (maybe)

yeah, i think that's it...

THIS SHOULD BE FUN! :D

THIS OR THAT

To Construct the Buildings I have included:

Cube
5. Make a square with the toothpicks by connecting them with 2 cm diameter spheres of modeling clay.
6. Put a toothpick in the top of each ball. They should be forming a 90° angle with the toothpicks on the bottom row.
7. Repeat step 5. Then place this square on top of the toothpicks that are sticking up. This is now a cube.
Tall Rectangle
8. Repeat steps 5-7 two more times.
9. Make three more cubes using steps 5-7.
10. Now put toothpicks in the top of each clay ball on the four higher ones as done in step 6.
11. Now make squares and place them on top of these toothpicks.
Pyramid
12. Repeat step 5.
13. Put one toothpick in each clay ball so that they can be connected at the top with another clay ball.
14. Connect each toothpick at the top with a clay ball. Each side should be a triangle.
Dome
15. Make a hexagon with toothpicks and connect them with clay.
16. Make triangles coming up out of every other 2 clay balls.
17. Connect the top of the triangles so that they form another triangle on top.
18. Repeat steps15-17 twice.

ahh i forgot...

so how can you do an experiment with an aim, hypothesis, variable, constants, method but no equipment? here are the equipment as follow:

20 to 25 71/2 cm compression springs

Duct tape

Staples

Carpenter's stapler

Wire

25 screw eyes

Bamboo sticks

Pliers

Cutting shears

Plywood

Saw

HELLO SRP,

Long time no see...

Aiyah, why are you so annoying? (no offense)

Okay, so I haven't posted anything for like a month D:

I've been having lots of ideas and thoughts with this experiment, but i cant seem to find the words to put down into this blog. It's really stupid sometimes. And sometimes, do you ever get this brilliant idea, but forget it when you're about the write it down? Well, it happens to me, alot.

BUT ANYWAYS,

this is what i've got so far:

Aim: To determine which type of structural design and building would better withstand the effects of an earthquake.

Hypothesis: The structure design that has a base isolator will withstand the most pressure until extremely high levels of strain from the earthquake.

Independent variable: The structural designs of the different buildings being tested

Dependent variable: The time taken for the different model buildings to collapse

Constants: The motion the earthquake simulator creates, The material used to build the buildings and The placement of each building on the earthquake simulator

Method:

1. Collect all equipment, they can be purchased from local hardware store.
2. Cut the plywood into a square 61cm by 61cm and a piece 61cm by 120cm.
3. Drill 20-25 evenly spaced holes into half of the bigger piece of plywood
4. Attach 20-25 7.5cm long compression springs to the smaller piece of plywood
5. Use screws or wood staples to do so.
6. Place the bigger piece of plywood on top of the springs
7. Pull wire through each spring and each hole in the plywood
8. Tie the wire around a bamboo skewer and staple together to have firm hold
9. Twist the wire through the staples and cover with duct tape.

The earthquake simulator is built

Climate Graphs

This should have been up ages ago...

Okay so I know this was suppose to be up ages ago...

But here it is now:

Aim: To determine which type of structural design and building would better withstand the effects of an earthquake.

Hypothesis: The structure design that has a base isolator will withstand the most pressure until extremely high levels of strain from the earthquake.

Independent variable: The structural designs of the different buildings being tested

Dependent variable: The time taken for the different model buildings to collapse

Constants: The motion the earthquake simulator creates, The material used to build the buildings and The placement of each building on the earthquake simulator

I'm back!

Hi again!

I conducted some research measuring earthquakes, buildings and building designs and earthquake proof methods...

and here's what i gathered:

To determine the strength and location of an earthquake, scientists use a seismograph. A seismograph is a machine that has little sensors called seismometers. These detect the shakings of the ground that are sometimes very far away. They can detect movements as little as a billionth of a meter. Scientists called seismologists measure the ground movement in three directions: up-down, north-south, and east-west. The record of a wave is called a seismogram.

The intensity of an earthquake is usually measured on a 12-point scale called the Modified Mercalli Scale. The magnitude of an earthquake is measured on the Richter’s scale. This is a measure of the strength of its source, or focus. On this scale, every increase of one number means that the earthquake has 32 times more energy released by the quake.

To design structures that can withstand earthquakes, engineers must understand the stresses caused by shaking. Building designs are very important and designers need to understand how to "fool proof" the city in case of an earthquake. It is vital to protect buildings and work towards a building design that is almost earthquake 'proof'. Two extremely important principles exist when constructing a building; flexibility of the buildings and the ductility of them.

The building must not be too rigid or it will collapse during an earthquake. It must also be durable enough to cope with earthquake pressures. That is why concrete, which is brittle, is embedded with steel bars.

Architects and engineers have also developed several building types. They include base isolation, cross bracing, shear core and shear wall buildings. A base isolator is put at the base of a building between the foundation and the actual building. The base isolator is made from layers of steel and synthetic rubber. The base isolator absorbs some of the vibrations. Cross bracing has braces in each side and on each level, which forms a cross. This reinforces the walls of a building. Shear core buildings have a square core in the middle that runs from top to bottom. Shear walls are made out of concrete with steel beams through them. This helps to resist the rocking that an earthquake has.

Flexible framework also helps the building to sway. Flexible framework is better than stiff framework because it will just bend in the shaking of an earthquake. If the building has stiff framework then it would break and the building would collapse.

okay, so i have completed my full research, now i start building! Yay!

Research

hmm... so i've been doing some research on earthquakes

And here are some information i've gathered:

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves.

Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquakes

There are two types of seismic waves, body waves and surface waves. There are two types of Body waves; Primary (compressional) and Secondary (shear) waves. P waves shake the buildings by compressing and expanding, which rips the buildings apart. S waves shake buildings instead of pulling them apart. The two kinds of surface waves are Love waves and Rayleigh waves. Love waves have a side-to-side movement. Rayleigh waves roll like the waves of an ocean.

Plate tectonics is a scientific theory which describes the large scale's slow but constant movement of Earth's lithosphere. Plate tectonics occurs when two plates slide past each other grinding past one another or pushing into one another. Over time, some plates will subduct or the larger plate will slide into the magma and the lighter plate slides over the larger one. Or, some will slide past each other building up pressure and just one slippage could cause a huge amount of energy to be released culminating in major destruction.

Faults are places where the ruptures occur. These deep ruptures occur due to plate tectonics. The faults can move up, down, sideways or horizontal past each other. Faults are usually located underground. There are 3 types of faults;

1. dip-slip fault,

2. strike-slip fault

3. oblique-slip fault

Now to research more about buildings and building designs and earthquake proof methods...

...change of plan

WOMG!!! i just found the most awesomest (is that right?) site about how to set up the equipment for the earthquake one. its got pictures and explanation, like omg yay! gotta love google!

okay so im gonna do which building design withstands earthquakes best now. i am so proud of myself (Y) and i've decided if i have time i might do the other one as well. this is soooo cool! not that i have finally considered, time to start buying the equipment...

...oh here's the picture of how im going to set it up, like shown on the website

...i dunno how long it will take me to get it all gathered, but hopefully it will turn out right. from this idead, another one just popped into my head, bridge designs, yeah? i might try and link it together. it will be a challenge, but i am willing to take it.

To do or not to do... decided

okay so i couldn't find much help on how i should set up my experiment on 'which building design withstands earthquakes best?' i need some serious suggestions. If not, then i shall start with Does an egg float or sink in water? What if we change the density of the water by adding a substance? E.g. Salt, Sugar.

i read veronica's blog and her first choice was similar to mine, i hope mine's not easy, ms zhang xD well i don't think it is i really wanna do something on eggs hehe or with acids and food colouring

yes, i know, i havent thought much about it but here's what i've got with the egg float one:

Aim: To investigate and compare how much sugar or salt it takes to make normal tap water dense enough for an egg to float in and if more sugar is needed than salt or vice versa.

Hypothesis: More sugar will be required to make the egg float than the salt as it is more soluble. At least 5 teaspoons of salt and 10 teaspoons of sugar would make the eggs float.

Dependant Variable: Amount of salt/sugar required to make the eggs float

Independent Variable: Type of substance added to the water in order to increase the water density.

THIS IS HARD !!!

So I was flipping through my science stuff the other day and I realised that I've totally forgotten about my blog D: and checking the Project sheet I read that the first blog entry is due on Thursday and i havent quite started. so here I am, still thinking of ideas on what to do =="

i've got two ideas on what to do, which building design withstands earthquakes best? or Does an egg float or sink in water? What if we change the density of the water by adding a substance? E.g. Salt, Sugar.

hmm so i dunno, someone help me decide xD

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOO WORLD (:

HELLO WORLD,

SO HERE I AM, CLUELESS AS I AM, AND I'M BLOGGING.FOR SCIENCE. O.o FIRST POST, FIRST TIME BLOGGING ;)

IF IT WASNT FOR A STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECT, I'LL PROBS BE..... DOING SOMETHING OTHER THAN BLOGGING XD BUT HERE I AM, NO IDEA OF WHATSOEVER AS TO WHAT I'M, GOING TO DO FOR THE PROJECT =="

JUST GOOGLE SOME XD HEHE NEED INSPIRATION (:MAYBE I SHOULD START WATCHING MYTHBUSTERS TOO :)