Experiment: To compare the shear and tensile strength of sponge rubber and soft wood

Aim: To compare the shear and tensile strength of sponge rubber and a softwood

Materials: wooden ice-cream sticks/match sticks, pieces of sponge rubber, force meter

Method

1. Twist the piece of ice cream sticks(poplar wood)
2. Twist the pieces of foam/sponge rubber
3.  Attach the rubber on one end to the wall using bulldog clips and pull it using a force meter until it breaks
4. Attach to the wall and pull the other end of  the wood with the same force

Observation and results

• The wood snaps when it is twisted (subjected to shear force)
• The sponge rubber remains intact when it is twisted (subjected to shear force)
• The sponge rubber breaks in the middle when enough tensile/pulling force is applied
• Wood does not break when the same tensile force is applied
• It is very difficult to break wood by pulling and it

Conclusion

• Wood is strong in tension and weak in shear
• Sponge rubber is strong in shear and weak in tension

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