Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Nikki who loved to play with her toys. One day, she was playing with her dollhouse when she noticed that the roof was starting to sag. She asked her father, “Papa, why is the roof sagging?” Her father explained that it was because of pressure.
“Pressure is the force that is pushing down on something. The more pressure that is applied, the more the material will bend or deform. In the case of your dollhouse, the weight of the roof was putting pressure on the walls, which caused them to bend.”
Nikki’s father also told her about stress and tension. “Stress is the force that is pulling on something. The more stress that is applied, the more the material will stretch or break. In the case of your dollhouse, the weight of the roof was putting stress on the walls, which caused them to stretch.”
Nikki was amazed to learn about pressure, stress and tension. She realized that these forces are all around us, and they can affect the way that materials behave. She also learned that different materials can withstand different amounts of pressure and stress. For example, a metal roof would be more likely to withstand the weight of snow than a wooden roof.
Nikki was so excited about what she had learned that she decided to build her own dollhouse. She used a strong metal frame and a lightweight plastic roof. She also made sure to put supports under the roof to help distribute the weight.
When Nikki was finished, her dollhouse was strong and sturdy, and it would not sag or collapse, even under a lot of pressure.
Short stories for kids 