AP Physics 1 students at Arlington High School test their boomilevers to see how much weight they can hold. These boomilevers are built of pine skewers, dowels, toothpicks and are only bound with Elmer’s Glue. The goal of the project is to employ Newton’s Laws in the design to maximize the efficiency of the structure while trying to hold the most weight. Many groups were overjoyed with their results while others were disappointed by the Achilles Heels that arose. So, while this was a project about Newton’s Laws it was also an exercise in the scientific method as well as dealing with success and failure.
