Curated OER
Simple Tensile Testing of Polymeric Films and Sheeting
Chemistry classes pretend to be consultants to a grocery story trying to decide what polymer to use for therir new non-paper bags. They prepare tensile bars and use them to test plastic film samples for strength and stretchability. Both...
Curated OER
Elastomers: The Best Bungee Cord
Students examine elastomeric polymers in a lab activity in which they design a bungee cord. Students must determine the tensile strength, percent elongation, and plot stress versus strain graphs for their experiments on rubber bands...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Project Ideas: Pounding Papyrus: Ancient Egyptians Made Paper
In this materials science fair project, students will make a sheet of papyrus paper, and compare its tensile strength to that of common pulp paper. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract,...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Bone Crusher
Students use a tension-compression machine or an alternative bone-breaking setup to see how different bones fracture differently and with different amounts of force, depending on their body locations. Teams determine bone mass and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Forced to Fracture
Students learn how forces affect the human skeletal system through fractures, and why certain bones are more likely to break than others depending on their design and use in the body. They learn how engineers and doctors collaborate to...
Other
Grant Design: Glossary of Materials Attributes Breakdown
This resource contains a lengthy list of definitions of a variety of material properties related to solid strength and elasticity. The definitions are accompanied by equations and metric unit information.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Concrete
Wikipedia provides an encyclopedia entry about concrete that features pictures, diagrams, history and other information, as well as links to related topics.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Collagen
Wikipedia provides this encyclopedia article about collagen and its purpose in the human body.
Other
Granta Design Limited: Glossary of Materials Attributes
From the Cambridge Engineering Selector web site. Contains a lengthy list of definitions of a variety of material properties related to solid strength and elasticity (and more). Definitions are accompanied by equations and metric unit...
Fact Monster
Fact Monster: Tensile Strength
Presents a simple definition of the phrase "tensile strength."