Inspect one step
Advance one sample to see the ground motion and relative roof sway.
Earthquake Shake Table
Sample a simplified oscillating structure and compare bracing and damping.
Grades 3–5 · Physics
Your goal
Test a 2 story model for 60 steps at driving frequency 1. Keep the sampled sway at or below 5.6 model units by changing bracing and damping.
Reduced motion is on. The controls still update the scene.
Step 0 of 60. Driving frequency 1 and model natural frequency 3. Sampled sway relative to the table 0.0 model units against a goal limit of 5.6. Advance to collect samples.
A single mode steady sinusoidal oscillator measuring roof sway relative to the table, with assumed natural frequency and damping. Samples show the response over two model time units, without transient motion, real materials or ground records. The limit is a game target, not a damage threshold. No real earthquake or building safety prediction is made. The full numerical peak remains visible when the trace clips.
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Learn with Earthquake Shake Table
Earthquake Shake Table lets elementary students compare structural responses to a repeating ground motion. They choose a model height, add bracing, adjust damping, and advance the experiment one step or run a fixed sixty step test. A building snapshot and two plotted traces show ground movement and roof response. Each goal fixes the height and driving motion so students can compare design changes fairly. The activity introduces resonance and damping through an idealized single mode oscillator, with explicit limits that prevent interpreting the result as a prediction of real earthquake damage.
What to look for
Change one design choice
Keep height and driving motion fixed while comparing damping or bracing.
Watch resonance
A driving frequency close to the assumed natural frequency can produce larger sway.
For teachers and curious learners
Investigate how model structural settings affect a driven oscillation. Ask students to predict what will happen, change one setting, and explain what they observe. Learn gives a starting point. Practice and Challenge offer new goals with the same scene.
Steady sinusoidal base excitation with one assumed mode and roof sway measured relative to the table; no real earthquake or damage prediction.