Saturday, February 21, 2015

Shelter project : Geometric constraints



For this project we were given 30 toothpicks and dots to connect them all.
1. We chose triangles because triangles are well known for being a very sturdy shape. We used a hexagonal base with triangles within it meeting at the center. The walls were various pyramids all have one point meeting in the center as well and we have two toothpicks crossing eachother in the middle to keep the pyramids from moving around. We placed a textbook on top and it stayed together very well.
2. The angles we got were 60° equilateral triangles or 30°-60°-90° right triangles within our structure.
3. not including the base, the overall surface area of the exteriors was 28.25 square inches. It would require 28.25 square inches of wood as my material.
4. The overall surface area of the interior was around 44.49 square inches. If the gumdrops were the people, about 30 people would be able to fit inside. 
5. Our shelter size was limited due to the fact that we were only given 30 toothpicks and 12 gumdrops.
6. Our design was very strong and stable so that it supported our chemistry textbook.

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