THE CHALLENGE!?!?!?!?!?

In order for a tall structure to stand upright, you must consider many factors. In class, we built our towers with only 5 sheets of newspaper. The main challenge about the structure was how to keep it balanced while giving it the maximum height possible. My group (7) first rolled all our newspapers up into thin skewer like rolls. During our planning, we considered doing a tripod base with 2 newspapers going straight up. However the maximum height you can get from this is 3nh (nh = newspaper height). Then, we decided to do a quad base consisting of 2 bent newspaper rolls to form 4 legs and 3 newspapers going straight up. With this plan, we can get a minimum of 3nh. The base of 4 legs was really stable because it distributed the weight to all 4 of its legs. However, the main reason why our structure was not stable was because of the tall tower part. We mistakenly put the stronger rolls on top and we did not properly secure each role together. Because of these mistakes, the top parts of the tower bent and it toppled over.

The center of gravity, the red sign, changes depending on different people 

A tall structure can be made stable through many methods. In order for a tall structure to remain standing, the foundation must first be made secure. The foundation must be very sturdy and must support the weight of the rest of the tower above it. Some methods to keep the foundation solid are to make it larger and heavier, therefore weighing the tall structure down. A tall structure also requires appropriate materials to keep it sturdy, if a skyscraper was made of Styrofoam, then the whole thing would rip apart from the wind, or collapse from its own weight. On the other hand, if a skyscraper was made of concrete walls with beams made from steel girders as a structure, it would be very sturdy. An even better method of stability would be to have connecting steel girders or beams run through the entire building, therefore the stability of the ground would support the stability of the taller parts.

No they're not stretching, they're actually changing their center of gravity 

The center of gravity is basically the centre location of the whole structure that is affected by a gravitational force. In other terms, it is where the total weight of the object is concentrated at. The center of gravity changes depending on the gravity acting on the object, the weight of the object at different points and its size. The center of gravity is important because it helps us understand how buildings can become more stable.