Science Experiment : Straw Table

Straw table is an activity that gives students an understanding of the factors, which affect the stability of an object. Through the activity of constructing a table using straws the concept of stability can be learned. 

What you need:

10 paper clips

10 straws

Scissor

30 cm masking tape

Load

 

What to do:

1. Based on the diagram above answer the following questions.

1.1: Which table do you think is more stable?

1.2: Why do you think table A is more stable than table B?

1.3: Why do you think table B is less stable than table A?

1.4: What is the different between the two tables?

2.  Based on the diagram above, answer the following questions.

            2.1: Which table do you think is more stable? 

            2.2: Why do you think table A is more stable than table B? 

            2.3: Why do you think table B is less stable than table A?

            2.4: What is the different between the two tables?

     3.      Build a table using materials provided make sure it is stable enough to accommodate the load.

     4.      Place load on the table. Let’s observe the table while putting the load on it. We will see the most stable table does not collapse easily because of the load while the most unstable table will fall down easily.

         What’s Going On?

The stability of an object (table) depends on the base area and the height.

The bigger the base area, the more stable the object is.

A shorter object is more stable than a taller object if they have the same base area.