Balsa Wood Tower Research Paper

My team’s second prototype balsa wood tower performed significantly better than our first tower. The first tower held 27.5 lbs. while the second held 90 lbs. The main differences in the towers come from the increased thickness of load-bearing wood. We made the four corner pieces three sticks thick instead of only one stick. We also decreased the amount of cross pieces to make sure we were under weight. The both towers ended up crushing because the weight was unevenly distributed on the bottom. On the first tower, the cross pieces were opposite on either side, but on the second tower, the cross pieces mirrored on either side. Even though the second tower’s weight bearing strength was higher, it buckled under. Our competition tower will be very
similar to the second tower, because it held more weight. We will also add the successful aspects of the first tower, like the cross pieces being opposite rather than mirroring. Another element we will add is using lighter pieces of wood in places that don’t bear weight. This way, we can optimize our stronger pieces for the most important, weight bearing places. We will also be more careful in our building techniques to ensure the glue connects the largest possible surface areas. This will make sure that even if small flaws make the glue not hold, there will be other places that can bear the weight. Ultimately, each tower satisfied the short term goals presented, and we believe our final tower will hold even more weight than its predecessors.