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Content Supports
Earthquake Shaking-Building Contest and Shake Table Testing Activity
Discipline
Science
Grades
11, 12
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Professional Commentary

Students explore earthquake hazards and damage to buildings by constructing model buildings and subjecting the buildings to ground vibration (shaking similar to earthquake vibrations) on a small shake table.  The buildings are constructed by two- or three-person teams of students.  After construction, the buildings are tested by subjecting them to earthquake shaking to see which designs and constructions are successful.  Comparison of the results of the building contest with photographs of earthquake damage is used to reinforce the concepts of building design and earthquake risk. (author/ts)


Ohio Science Academic Content Standards (2002)
Earth and Space Sciences
Benchmarks (11–12)
B.
Describe how Earth is made up of a series of interconnected systems and how a change in one system affects other systems.
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 11)
8.
Describe the normal adjustments of Earth, which may be hazardous for humans. Recognize that humans live at the interface between the atmosphere driven by solar energy and the upper mantle where convection creates changes in Earth's solid crust. Realize that as societies have grown, become stable and come to value aspects of the environment, vulnerability to natural processes of change has increased.
National Science Education Standards
Science and Technology
Abilities of technological design (Grades 9 - 12)
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
Natural and human-induced hazards (Grades 9 - 12)