Tension and Compression Tension is the amount of pull on an object such as a rubber band. When you pull on that rubber band it stretches causing tension. Compression is when a structure becomes shorter it is in compression. For example as you sit on a chair you will be putting it under compression. The structure is under compression because there will be weights on top of the structure. We used triangles in our structure because when we interviewed people we found that triangles are one of the best shapes to work with.	Interview Questions Our group came together and made a list of questions to ask professional engineers or construction worker and here they are...  1. Is there a certain shape that holds up better than others? 2 What kind of structure best holds up to earthquakes? What about high winds? 3 Do you use certain shapes more than others such as a circle or a square? 4 What causes buildings to collapse most? 5 In general what is the best building material to strengthen buildings from natural disasters? 6 How many beams are used in building? 7 What kind of base would be better like smaller and thicker or taller and skinnier? 8 How many buildings have you made? 9 How do you account for extra weight on the top of the building?
Reflections Our structure held up the required weight limit which was forty-five pounds and exceeded it by holding three hundred and fifteen pounds. Also the height limit was nine inches and our structure stood at eleven and a half inches so we held up to the criteria. Some of our design benefits were the corrugation and that helped the structure hold up to the compression and so did our mini triangles in the middle of our structure and they helped fill in some space in the center so it would help hold it together. Our design weaknesses were that the mini-triangles were irregular so they didn't fit in some spots and the structure collapsed on those sides. We should have measured the mini-triangle's sides so that they would fit better and then our structure probably wouldn't have collapsed so fast. I think that we should maybe try cylinders instead of mini-triangles because cylinders are good too and we could have fit them in better.		Interview information I interviewed two people the first was Duane Lindamin. His job was district engineer and he worked for Bloomington Normal Water Reclamation District. This is the information that he gave me in my interview. A sphere or geodesic domes are the best shapes that hold better compared to others. The Epcot building is an example of a geodesic dome. A reinforced concrete building is the best structure for earthquakes and a spherical building for high winds. Reinforced concrete is concrete with steel bars in it. Triangles are the most used shape used in a building. The squares are made up of triangles because the builders can put a beam from on corner to an opposite corner. Dynamite and purposeful explosions cause buildings to collapse most. Reinforced concrete is the best building material to strengthen buildings. The amount of beams that are used in a building depends on design and loading of the building like you would have more beams in a skyscraper than in a house. A smaller and thicker base is better than a tall and skinny structure if you're putting weight on top of it. To account for the extra weight on the top of the building by increasing the size of columns supporting the structure.
	Bibliography http://stu/53693/journalist.htm http://stu/55979/Reflections.htm http://stu/57836/Research.htm Google maps search structural engineer for Bloomington Illinois Duane Lindamin district engineer for Bloomington and Normal Water Reclamation District. Ryan Holmes vice president of mechanical engineering for Midwest Engineering	Interview information Ryan Holmes and he's vice president of mechanical engineering for Midwest Engineering Spheres, cylinders, and circles hold up better than others. Steel structures hold up better in earthquakes than most others and some structures actually sit on springs so the building doesn't wobble so much. If the wood in a structure breaks then the building will collapse or if bolts beak then the structure will at least become in danger of collapsing which means that part failure causes collapsing buildings. Steel in general is the best building material to strengthen buildings from natural disasters. It depends on the size of building for how many beams are put in the structure. A smaller and thicker base is better than a tall and skinny one for this kind of project. He helped make three hundred buildings. To account for the extra weight on top of a building you put bigger pieces in and if they had two beams then they’ll add more beams to strengthen it.