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Last fall a YouTube channel titled Lifes Biggest Questions took on the question of “how tall can a LEGO tower get?” The video discusses the math that was used by researchers at The Open University to figure how high a LEGO tower would get before the blocks collapsed under their own weight. Of course, the mathematical response presumes that the tower would not fall over prior to reaching its optimal height. You then have to consider the total stability of the structure instead of simply weight-bearing ability of the structure. View the video for more information, its quite enjoyable..

Applications for Education.
Before showing students the video or the short article mentioned above, I d have them make guesses as to the response then write out lists of the variables that they can think of that would influence how high the tower could get. After they watch the video I d have a little class contest to see who can construct the tallest tower with the LEGOs readily available in my classroom.

While getting captured up on my reading in Feedly this morning I came throughout a.
new brand-new from The Oatmeal. The comic is based on a 2012 BBC short article titled.
How Tall Can a LEGO Tower Get? The comic and the article triggered me to turn to YouTube for videos about constructing giant LEGO towers. YouTube did not dissatisfy me in my look for videos that discuss the mathematics and physics highlighted in the BBCs short article and The Oatmeals comic..

The comic and the short article prompted me to turn to YouTube for videos about constructing giant LEGO towers. The video describes the math that was utilized by scientists at The Open University to figure how high a LEGO tower would get before the blocks collapsed under their own weight. Prior to revealing trainees the post or the video pointed out above, I d have them make guesses as to the answer then compose out lists of the variables that they can believe of that would influence how tall the tower could get. After they enjoy the video I d have a little class contest to see who can develop the tallest tower with the LEGOs available in my classroom.