Collapsible Building: Tall Walls vs Short Walls

[Eagle's Wings]

Homework Statement

which type of building is more likely to collapse, a building with tall walls or short walls.

Homework Equations

not sure,

The Attempt at a Solution

I know that this is a static equilibrium equation and common sense tells me that the taller the walls are, the more likely the building is to collapse but how do I show this using equations?

 

[berkeman]

which type of building is more likely to collapse, a building with tall walls or short walls. i know that this is a static equilibrium equation and common sense tells me that the taller the walls are, the more likely the building is to collapse but how do i show this using equations?

Hint -- write the equations for tipping over equal mass rectangular boxes with different heights (taller box means less surface area on the ground). Does that help?

 

[Eagle's Wings]

is that the center gravity equation?

 

[Eagle's Wings]

okay, that makes sense. thanks so much