Tall Tower Challenge

Materials (per team)

• 1 Golf Ball or similar size/weight ball

Process

Test the strength of each structure by placing the ball on the tower at a point no more than 20% below the upper height of the tower.

Great Towers of The World

Burj Khalifa: Great Towers of The World

Design Challenge

You are part of a team of engineers given the challenge of building the tallest tower possible that will support the weight of a golf ball for 2 minutes.

Criteria

• Tower must support the weight of a golf ball for 2-minutes.
• The weight of the golf ball must be supported near the top of the tower, with the bottom of the ball no more than 20% below the upper height of the tower.

Constraints

• Can only use 50 straws, 50 pipe cleaners, and 25 paper clips for the design.
• Tape can not be used to connect the materials.
• Design a solution in the time given.

1. Break class into teams of 2-4.
2. Hand out the Tall Tower – Applying Technology to Solve Problems worksheet, as well as some sheets of paper for sketching designs.
3. Discuss the topics in the Background Concepts Section.
4. Review the Engineering Design Process, Design Challenge, Criteria, Constraints and Materials. If time allows, review “Real World Applications” prior to conducting the design challenge.
5. Before instructing students to start brainstorming and sketching their designs, ask them to consider the following:
   ● What are the different ways you can bend or change the shape of your materials?
   ● What is the strongest shape?
   ● How might you reinforce the materials to make them stronger?
   ● How will you connect your materials without tape?
6. Provide each team with their materials.
7. Explain that students must develop a tower from everyday items, and that the tower must support the weight of a golf ball for 2-minutes. The weight of the golf ball must be supported near the top of the tower, with the bottom of the ball no more than 20% below the upper height of the tower.
8. Announce the amount of time they have to design and build (1 hour recommended).
9. Use a timer or an on-line stopwatch (count down feature) to ensure you keep on time. (www.online-stopwatch.com/full-screen-stopwatch). Give students regular “time checks” so they stay on task. If they are struggling, ask questions that will lead them to a solution quicker.
10. Students meet and develop a plan for their tower. They agree on materials they will need, write/draw their plan, and present their plan to the class. Teams may trade unlimited materials with other teams to develop their ideal parts list.
11. Teams build their designs.
12. Test the tower designs by placing a golf ball near the top of the tower, with the bottom of the ball no more than 20% below the upper height of the tower.
13. Teams should document the height of their tower and how many materials they used to build their tower.
14. As a class, discuss the student reflection questions.
15. For more content on the topic, see the “Real World Applications” and “Digging Deeper” sections.

Student Reflection (engineering notebook)

1. Describe the shape or construction of the tower that was the tallest and won the challenge? How was this tower different from yours, if yours did not win?
2. If you had a chance to do this project again, what would your team have done differently?
3. Do you think that this activity was more rewarding to do as a team, or would you have preferred to work alone on it? Why?
4. If you could have used one additional material (tape, glue, wood sticks, foil — as examples) which would you choose and why?
5. Do you think that once a building is designed and approved for construction that many aspects are changed during the building process? Why or why not?
6. How long do you think it will take before a building is constructed that surpasses the
   height of the Burj Khalifa? Where do you think it will be built? Why?

The lesson can be done in as little as 1 class period for older students. However, to help students from feeling rushed and to ensure student success (especially for younger students), split the lesson into two periods giving students more time to brainstorm, test ideas and finalize their design. Conduct the testing and debrief in the next class period.

• Engineers: Inventors and problem-solvers of the world. Twenty-five major specialties are recognized in engineering (see infographic).
• Engineering Habits of Mind (EHM): Six unique ways that engineers think.
• Engineering Design Process (EDP): Process engineers use to solve problems.
• Criteria: Conditions that the design must satisfy like its overall size, etc.
• Constraints: Limitations with material, time, size of team, etc.
• Prototype: A working model of the solution to be tested.
• Iteration: Test & redesign is one iteration. Repeat (multiple iterations).
• Weight: The force exerted on the object by gravity. (Units: lbs/Newtons).
• Percentage: Part of a whole expressed in hundreds (½ = 50%).

Internet Connections

• Burj Khalifa Great Towers
• Tower Design and Construction
• CN Tower

Recommended Reading

• How Tall Is Tall?: Comparing Buildings (ISBN: 978-1432939557)
• Reinforced Concrete Design of Tall Buildings (ISBN: 978-1439804803)
• Construction Technology For Tall Buildings (ISBN: 978-9812818614)

Writing Activity

Write an essay or a paragraph about how engineering advances led to the explosive growth of vertical buildings at the turn of the 20th century.

Alignment to Curriculum Frameworks

Note: Lesson plans in this series are aligned to one or more of the following sets of standards:

• S. Science Education Standards (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=4962)
• S. Next Generation Science Standards (http://www.nextgenscience.org/)
• International Technology Education Association’s Standards for Technological Literacy (http://www.iteea.org/TAA/PDFs/xstnd.pdf)
• S. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (http://www.nctm.org/standards/content.aspx?id=16909)
• S. Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (http://www.corestandards.org/Math)
• Computer Science Teachers Association K-12 Computer Science Standards (http://csta.acm.org/Curriculum/sub/K12Standards.html)

National Science Education Standards Grades K-4 (ages 4-9)

CONTENT STANDARD A: Science as Inquiry

As a result of activities, all students should develop

• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understanding about scientific inquiry

CONTENT STANDARD B: Physical Science

As a result of the activities, all students should develop an understanding of

• Properties of objects and materials

CONTENT STANDARD E: Science and Technology 

As a result of activities, all students should develop

• Abilities of technological design
• Understanding about science and technology

CONTENT STANDARD F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of

• Characteristics and changes in populations
• Science and technology in local challenges

CONTENT STANDARD G: History and Nature of Science

As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of

• Science as a human endeavor

National Science Education Standards Grades 5-8 (ages 10-14)

CONTENT STANDARD A: Science as Inquiry

As a result of activities, all students should develop

• Understandings about scientific inquiry

CONTENT STANDARD B: Physical Science

As a result of their activities, all students should develop an understanding of  Motions and forces

CONTENT STANDARD E: Science and Technology

As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop

• Abilities of technological design

CONTENT STANDARD F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of

• Populations, resources, and environments
• Risks and benefits
• Science and technology in society

National Science Education Standards Grades 5-8 (ages 10-14) CONTENT STANDARD G: History and Nature of Science

As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of History of science

National Science Education Standards Grades 9-12 (ages 14-18)

CONTENT STANDARD A: Science as Inquiry

As a result of activities, all students should develop

• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry

CONTENT STANDARD B: Physical Science 

As a result of their activities, all students should develop understanding of Motions and forces

CONTENT STANDARD E: Science and Technology

As a result of activities, all students should develop

• Abilities of technological design
• Understandings about science and technology

CONTENT STANDARD F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of

• Personal and community health
• Population growth
• Environmental quality
• Science and technology in local, national, and global challenges

Next Generation Science Standards Grades 2-5 (Ages 7-11)

Matter and its Interactions

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

• 2-PS1-2. Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose.

Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

• 3-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.

Engineering Design 

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

• 3-5-ETS1-1.Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
• 3-5-ETS1-2.Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
• 3-5-ETS1-3. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.

Next Generation Science Standards Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-14)

Engineering Design 

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

• MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.

Next Generation Science Standards Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-14)

Engineering Design 

• MS-ETS1-2 Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

Standards for Technological Literacy – All Ages

The Nature of Technology

• Standard 1: Students will develop an understanding of the characteristics and scope of technology.

Technology and Society

• Standard 4: Students will develop an understanding of the cultural, social, economic, and political effects of technology.
• Standard 5: Students will develop an understanding of the effects of technology on the environment.
• Standard 6: Students will develop an understanding of the role of society in the development and use of technology.
• Standard 7: Students will develop an understanding of the influence of technology on history.

Design

• Standard 8: Students will develop an understanding of the attributes of design.
• Standard 9: Students will develop an understanding of engineering design.
• Standard 10: Students will develop an understanding of the role of troubleshooting, research and development, invention and innovation, and experimentation in problem solving.

Abilities for a Technological World

• Standard 11: Students will develop abilities to apply the design process.

The Designed World

• Standard 20: Students will develop an understanding of and be able to select and use construction technologies.

Engineering Teamwork and Planning

You are part of a team of engineers given the challenge of building the tallest tower you can build using only 50 straws, 50 pipe cleaners, and 25 paperclips.

You do not need to use all the materials, but your tower must support the weight of a golf ball for two minutes.  The golf ball must be supported near the top of the tower, with the bottom of the ball no more than 20% below the upper height of the tower.

Planning and Design Phase

Think about the different ways you can bend or change the shape of straws, pipe cleaners, and paper clips.  You may cut these items, but cannot use tape or other materials to connect them together. In the box below, draw your plan for the tower.

Construction Phase

Build your tower and test it to see if it can support the golf ball.  Then, answer the questions below:

1. How similar was your design to the actual tower you built?

2. If you found you needed to make changes during the construction phase, describe why your team decided to make revisions.

3. Did you use all the parts provided to you? Were any of the parts used only to increase the height of the tower?

Presentation and Measurement

Present your tower to the class and have your teacher measure the height of the tower.  Bear in mind that the golf ball must be supported near the top of the tower, with the bottom of the ball no more than 20% below the upper height of the tower.  If the ball is lower that 10% from the top, your tower will be disqualified.  Complete the box below for your tower:

Evaluation

Complete the evaluation questions below:

1. Describe the shape or construction of the tower that was the tallest and won the challenge? How was this tower different from yours, if yours did not win?

2. If you had a chance to do this project again, what would your team have done differently?

3. Do you think that this activity was more rewarding to do as a team, or would you have preferred to work alone on it? Why?

4. If you could have used one additional material (tape, glue, wood sticks, foil — as examples) which would you choose and why?

5. Do you think that once a building is designed and approved for construction that many aspects are changed during the building process? Why or why not?

6. How long do you think it will take before a building is constructed that surpasses the height of the Burj Khalifa? Where do you think it will be built? Why?

• Swahili