Done!
HERE’S HOW
When you bend the
top of the arch in
step 5, what
happens?
Tension
WHAT’S HAPPENING
The five 5-hole rods splay outward. They get farther
apart from one another. In this way, you can see how the
outer surface of the arch is being pulled apart — it is
under tension. But the inside of the arch is being pushed
together. It is under compression.
By the way, this classic semicircular arch shape is known
as a Roman arch. It’s semicircular shape makes it very
strong. It was widely used in ancient Roman architecture.
Now that you’ve built
many of the basic
structural elements of
architecture, let’s move on
to build some larger and
more challenging models
of buildings that use the
principles and elements
you have just explored,
starting with this iconic
tower!
1
2 3 4
5 6
x
x
ROMAN ARCH
1 3
10 11
13 14
19
16x
2x
4x
5x
4x 4x
6x
Let’s build one more
arch shape to
investigate tension
and compression.
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