STEM Statics

Statics for secondary school

Why is a triangle so important in the world of statics? Where do we encounter it everywhere in everyday life? These and other static principles are explored simply and comprehensibly with fischertechnik STEM Statics using practical model examples. Topics such as compressive and tensile forces as well as forces in the equilibrium of bodies at rest are addressed. The results of the practical experiments can be measured and checked using the included spring balance. The pupils internalize physical ways of thinking and working with a lot of fun and a spirit of discovery and consolidate what they have learned in the long term.

Number of students
2-4 per kit
Learning objectives
Understanding the basic principles of statics in a fun and interactive way
Time required
Each task contains detailed time information for lesson structuring
Grade level
Secondary level

Topics and learning objectives

  

Further information

 

Introduction to the topic

The term statics is derived from the Greek word statikos, which translates into German as "to bring to a standstill", to pause and rest. Today, statics is the study of the equilibrium of forces. Statics plays a fundamental role in physics, engineering, civil engineering and electrical engineering.
The classification of statics as a branch of physics (mechanics) can be illustrated by the classification according to the type of description of the movement:

  1. Kinematics: (geometric) description of motion without consideration of forces.
  2. Dynamics: Description of motion and its change under acting forces.
  3. Kinetics: Description of the forces during a movement.
  4. Statics: Description of the forces in a stationary system (or uniform motion)

Statics is therefore used wherever technical constructions are exposed to the effects of forces. Such forces are, for example, weight forces, natural forces (water, earthquakes, wind), mechanical forces (steam force, risk of explosion) and muscle forces. In addition to these external forces, there are also so-called internal forces. The statics of a structure result from the relationship between the internal forces. These always occur in pairs, e.g. as tensile or compressive forces in the components of a suspended structure.
It therefore needs no further explanation that houses, bridges, towers, cranes, masts or other structures must be built in such a way that they do not collapse under their own load or under external loads (live load). In all construction projects, all conceivable forces that could ever occur on a structure must therefore be considered. While statics, as the theory of the balance of internal and external forces, endeavors to represent material-independent laws, the designer can use strength theory to assess whether the components or building materials used will be able to withstand the intended load. [1]
The term statics is used ambiguously and often refers to the theoretical-mathematical-physical side (statics as a branch of engineering mechanics), while structural analysis aims to apply these statics in the construction industry. Structural analysis or the statics of building structures is the study of the safety and reliability of supporting structures in the building industry. In structural analysis, the forces and their mutual effects in a structure and in each associated component are calculated. [2]

History

The complex history of structural analysis is closely linked to the research and publications of so many scholars and scientists that only authors who directly relate to the thematic content and technical terms of the structural analysis learning kits are listed here.

  • Archimedes (287-212 BC) Law of the lever
  • Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) First illustrative considerations on the effect of vaults and beam bending, qualitative statements on load-bearing capacity
  • Simon Stevin (1548-1620) Flemish mathematician, physicist and engineer. Parallelogram of forces, statics of solid bodies and liquids; introduction of decimals
  • Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) Principles of mechanics, strength of materials and laws of gravity
  • Edme Mariotte (1620-1684) - stress distribution - "axis of equilibrium"
  • Robert Hooke (1635-1703) Law of proportionality
  • Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) Founder of classical theoretical physics and thus of the exact natural sciences, mathematical foundations of the natural sciences, formulation of the three laws of motion, balance of forces, infinitesimal calculus
  • Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) - moments of resistance, infinitesimal calculus
  • Jakob I Bernoulli (1655-1705) Curvature of the elastic beam, relationship between load and bending; keeping cross-sections flat
  • Pierre de Varignon (1654-1722) French mathematician. Composition of forces, law of the parallelogram of forces (Varignon parallelogram), concept of moment of force, rope polygon
  • Antoine Parent (1666-1716) - Triangular distribution of tensile stress
  • Jakob Leupold (1674-1727) - Deflection and load-bearing capacity
  • Pierre Couplet Rigid body theory of the vault 1730
  • Thomas Le Seur (1703-1770), French mathematician and physicist; first surviving static expertise in 1742 (for the dome of St. Peter's Basilica), with François Jacquier (1711-1788) and Rugjer Josip Bošković (1711-1787)
  • Louis Poinsot (1777-1859) pair of forces 1803
  • Claude Henri Navier (1785-1836) Theory of the suspension bridge 1823; first comprehensive structural analysis, technical theory of bending 1826; investigation of statically indeterminate
  • Karl Culmann (1821-1881) Truss theory 1851; graphic statics 1866
  • August Ritter (1826-1908) Ritter's cutting method for statically determinate trusses 1861
  • Luigi Cremona (1830-1903) Drawing-based determination of member forces in statically determinate trusses ("Cremona plan")

Since unstable buildings can pose many dangers, structural analysis has also been the subject of legislation and jurisdiction for several thousand years. Even in the early cultures of Mesopotamia, there were special penalties for builders whose buildings collapsed and killed people, for example in the Codex Hammurapi, a collection of laws compiled by King Hammurapi of Babylon (* 1810 BC; † 1750 BC).
Statutory regulations in the narrower sense, which specify a certain quality, are historically more recent. In 27 AD, for example, a cheaply built wooden amphitheater in Fidenae north of Rome collapsed, causing thousands of deaths according to the description of the Roman historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus (* around 58 AD; † around 120). [3] As a result, the Senate of Rome issued static regulations.

Curriculum requirements

The Statics Class Set for primary school and STEM Statics for secondary school can only be understood as an introduction to selected static issues. The level of difficulty is deliberately aligned with the current curriculum requirements of the respective target group and the task sheets are formulated in a competence-oriented manner. The aim is to control, reflect on and evaluate one's own thinking when solving problems and thus build up new knowledge. Students build simple and more sophisticated models independently or in teams. Process-related skills are promoted by solving problems, in-depth research and suggestions for creative changes to the models.
The primary learning objective at primary level is static-constructive building and to sharpen the children's awareness of the surrounding static and constructive issues.
Other topics and learning objectives at primary level covered by Class SET Statics include

  • Stability and strength in technical constructions
  • Discovering the relationships between load-bearing capacity and the connection of structural elements
  • Constructing buildings and supporting structures experimentally
  • Functional characteristics of supporting structures
  • Trusses
  • Get to know the beam and column system
  • Recognize the skeleton construction method in various buildings in their environment
  • Understand compressive and tensile forces, the system of triangular bracing
  • Transfer characteristics of a stable structure to a movable one
  • Stability/balance
  • Two-sided lever arm
  • Learning technical terms

At secondary level, STEM Statics not only deals with the implementation of static principles using the example of models, but also, among other things

  • the application of physical ways of thinking and working
  • Basic laws of statics
  • the two-dimensional determination of tensile and compressive forces
  • Forces in the equilibrium of bodies at rest
  • Hooke's law
  • Force components, inclined plane, equilibrium, torque, lever law, center of gravity, types of equilibrium
  • Learning technical terms

The fun of constructing and tinkering are just as important elements as the playful development of relevant technical terms using a variety of tasks and their solution examples.

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