Curated OER
Determining Beam Stress and Deflection with COSMOSXpress
Students analyze cantilever stress using COSMOSXpress. For this engineering lesson, students calculate the beam's maximum deflection. They investigate the effect changing beam dimensions.
Curated OER
Stressed and Strained
Students explore stress and strength in engineering design. For this engineering lesson, students become familiar with terminology associated with stress and strain on building material. They will have a class discuss about how their...
Curated OER
Stress and Strain
Students use working models to show the stress and strain in the movements in the earth's crust. In this stress lesson students complete a lab in which they construct a model.
Curated OER
Strong as the Weakest Link
Students recognize that compression and tension forces are important considerations in building structures. They construct their own building structure using marshmellows and spaghetti to see which structure can hold the most weight.
Teach Engineering
Fairly Fundamental Facts About Forces and Structures
Don't twist and turn looking for a resource. The first installment of a six-part series teaches young engineers about the five fundamental forces of compression, tension, shear, bending, and torsion. These forces help explain different...
Science Matters
Fault Formations
The San Andreas Fault moves about two inches a year, approximately the same rate fingernails grow—crazy! The third instructional activity in the series allows for hands-on exploration of various fault formations. Through the use of a...
Curated OER
Strong as the Weakest Link
Students discover the types of stress that materials undergo. They examine how bridges and skyscrapers are built to withhold the tension. They create their own structure out of marshmallows and spaghetti.
Curated OER
Forces and Balloons
Students investigate the forces of compression, tension and torque on common birthday balloons.
Science Matters
A Model of Plate Faults
The San Andreas fault is one of the longest fault zones in the world. In a series of 20 lessons, the fourth lesson has pupils use a paper model to recreate various types of plate faults. Each is held in position then drawn...
Curated OER
Earthquake
Students view a video and conduct a problem solving activity to explain the effect different waves have on the earth's structure and what effect they have on different structures.
Curated OER
Building Bridges
Students, in groups, design and test a scale bridge. They use the Internet to research three basic bridge designs -- beam, arch, and suspension -- and the forces that act upon them.
Curated OER
Model Storage Facility
Students design a storage facility that can withstand extreme wind loads. In this physics lesson, students decide how to build their facility considering budget constraints. They evaluate their design and present it to class.
Curated OER
Design & Technology: Materials Strength
Pupils investigate the function of a floor stretcher and some of the past designs. The goal is to improve the design durability and ease of use. Then they sketch their ideas and write a rationale for changes made to the structure.
Yale University
Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: The Physics of Bridges
Introduce learners to physics concepts that engineers use when building a bridge. This curriculum unit includes concepts such as Newton's Third Law, stress on a material, vibration, and resonance. Unit includes lectures, lab activities,...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Stressed and Strained
Students are introduced to the concepts of stress and strain with examples that illustrate the characteristics and importance of these forces in our everyday lives. They explore the factors that affect stress, why engineers need to know...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Strong as the Weakest Link
To introduce the two types of stress that materials undergo - compression and tension - students examine compressive and tensile forces and learn about bridges and skyscrapers. They construct their own building structure using...