The Tallest Structure

Today in class we had a competition to build the tallest structure using 6 sheets of newspaper and a long strip of tape. My group decided to create a tripod as a base and use the rest of the newspaper to create a long and thin body. While we didn't win, we get some important insights. In order to create a tall structure one must first have a strong base. A solid shape like a triangle is required and it must be somewhat heavy to balance the structure. If a force where to act against one side of the triangle, there would be a leg to support it against the force. For height it's best to have it thin, with it gradually becoming thinner as the structure gets taller so the top won't be too heavy for the bottom to support. The winning group had a structure that was similar to a cone. It was large at the bottom and thin at the top. They used a long strip of paper at the end instead of a rolled up cone to lower the weight.

The center of gravity is the average location of the weight of the object. In a square-based pyramid for example, the center of gravity would be halfway up a line from the center of the square to the tip of the pyramid.