How difficult is it to build a maple seed model that doesn't rotate? This series of models was built by a group of high school students attending Indiana University's Summer Science Institute. They were the "gadfly" members of groups asked to build maple seed models. While everyone else on the team tried to build rotating seeds, these students were asked to build a model that definitely would not rotate.
The students, working independently, produced five unique non-rotating seed models. From left to right:
- A tapered cone
- A bowl, which falls with the inside of the bowl facing up like a parachute in reverse
- A wingless maple seed
- A crumpled wing with all weight at one end
- A tightly crumpled ball, like a maple seed without either wing or rib
This group's models show the importance of taking the opposite point of view when trying to solve a problem or create a new design. Asking yourself to build a model that is guaranteed not to work can often help identify the properties needed to build a model that does. Four of the five models correspond to maple seeds with parts removed:
- The tapered cone = rib
- Wingless maple seed = seed + rib
- Crumpled wing = seed + wing
- Crumpled ball = seed
How could you diagram these results in a matrix? What entries are missing from the matrix? What other designs do the entries in the matrix suggest? Which of them rotate? Which don't? You might also look for seeds from other plants that match matrix entries. Another challenge is to look into the evolution of maple tree and see if there is a path through the matrix that leads to the maple seed we know today.
