Project 6 STEM 2 with Vernier and LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 6 - 1 String Tension Tester Figure 1: One example of a string tension tester In many engineering projects, it is critically important to know the strength of a material in a design. A material’s strength is a measure of its ability to withstand an applied tension, compression, or shear force (see Figure 2). Tension or tensile forces pull on a material. Compression pressive forces push on a material. Shear forces are two pushing forces that are offset from one another (like the forces used by a pair of scissors to cut paper). The ultimate strength of the material is the point at which it fails under one of these conditions. Tension, compression, and shear strengths can be quite different depending upon the material; for example, most metals are much stronger in tension than they are in shear. Concrete is stronger in compression than it is in tension. Figure 2: Types of applied forces In this project, your challenge is to build a robotic device to test the tension strength of string, fishing line, and/or sewing thread. Many of e rated by tensile strength , which is the weight (tensile force) they can support before breaking. Evaluation copy Project 6 6 - 2 STEM 2 with Vernier and LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT DESIGN REQUIREMENTS In this project, you will design and build a robotic device for testing the strengt
