Bridge Off!
This unit was all about bridges. We learned about the four basic types of bridges: the truss bridge, suspension bridge, arch bridge, and beam bridge. Each bridge has its own characteristics like the arch bridge being the oldest type of bridge and the beam bridge being the cheapest to build.
Not only did we learn about bridges but we also learned about the applied physics and math behind bridges. Have you ever wondered why a bridge doesn’t collapse as pedestrians, cars, bicycles and even heavy duty trucks go over it? It is thanks to terms and concepts we know such as tension, compression, gravity, and normal force. Design also makes up a big part of the bridge's ability to stay up, for example in a truss bridge the trusses (inner beams that most often are in the shape of a triangle) play a big role in keeping it from collapsing in itself. Since trusses are most often triangles we were able to apply math concepts such as law of sines and cosines which allowed us to play around with mathematics in order to find missing angles and sides of triangles. Last but not least we learned about Newton's three laws of motion. With these laws we learned how to calculate force, acceleration, mass, distance and using motion equations (when given at least 4 variables) we learned how to calculate missing variables.
Once we had acquired all these new skills it was time to put our knowledge to the test by building our own bridges. We were asked to keep SDG 11 in mind which aims to "make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable" our bridges would be built to meet target 11.2 which focuses on improving road safety. We were shown an example of a deficient overpass in our city and asked to design a bridge that could potentially fit and replace the deficient bridge, meaning we had to design our bridge that could function at an angle.
After finalizing our digital blueprint it was time to get building so we grabbed our 50 Popsicle sticks along with very handy glue gun and got to building. During our building process we faced various problems. One of the major problems we encountered in our bridge building process was figuring out our measurements and trying to get exact lengths on each side. Unfortunately we did not notice one of our sides was longer than the other making our bridge uneven but at that point we had already glued it down making it tedious and almost impossible to remove the sticky hot glue and try to even out the sides. Instead we made due with what we had and decided to focus on strengthening the truss supports so that the uneven part of our bridge would not affect our final result too much. After a lot of gluing and occasional hot glue gun burns we finished building our bridge. Once everyone else had finished building their bridge as well it was time to hold the 2022 GCE Lab School Junior Bridge off! We present to you our bridge along with the results of the 2022 Bridge Off in the following slideshow:
4 Basic Types of Bridges, 2022, AAG
Not only did we learn about bridges but we also learned about the applied physics and math behind bridges. Have you ever wondered why a bridge doesn’t collapse as pedestrians, cars, bicycles and even heavy duty trucks go over it? It is thanks to terms and concepts we know such as tension, compression, gravity, and normal force. Design also makes up a big part of the bridge's ability to stay up, for example in a truss bridge the trusses (inner beams that most often are in the shape of a triangle) play a big role in keeping it from collapsing in itself. Since trusses are most often triangles we were able to apply math concepts such as law of sines and cosines which allowed us to play around with mathematics in order to find missing angles and sides of triangles. Last but not least we learned about Newton's three laws of motion. With these laws we learned how to calculate force, acceleration, mass, distance and using motion equations (when given at least 4 variables) we learned how to calculate missing variables.
Once we had acquired all these new skills it was time to put our knowledge to the test by building our own bridges. We were asked to keep SDG 11 in mind which aims to "make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable" our bridges would be built to meet target 11.2 which focuses on improving road safety. We were shown an example of a deficient overpass in our city and asked to design a bridge that could potentially fit and replace the deficient bridge, meaning we had to design our bridge that could function at an angle.
Deficient Overpass, 2022, Google Maps
For this challenge we were allowed to have a partner to build the bridge with, it had to span one foot and be made entirely out of popsicle sticks. The real challenge came in when we were told we could only use 50 popsicle sticks and hot glue to hold them together. Once I found a partner to work with we got right to brainstorming.
As we brainstormed and looked for inspiration we decided to look at already existing truss bridges and see if there was a design we could extract ideas from. That is the moment we came across the Waddell “A” Truss Bridge in all its glory. Enthralled by its simplicity and aesthetic we decided it was our best bet at standing a chance in this fierce 11th grade bridge building competition. The name of this simple beauty “Waddell” inspired the name for our imaginary firm as well; after misreading it as Waddle various times the name stuck and we decided to name our imaginary firm Waddle & Co. Soon after we got to sketching and digitally drafting an idea on how we wanted our bridge to look like. Here are some of our sketches:
Waddell "A" Truss Bridges, 2022, Structurae.net
Drafting the Waddle Bridge, 2022, EM & AAG
After finalizing our digital blueprint it was time to get building so we grabbed our 50 Popsicle sticks along with very handy glue gun and got to building. During our building process we faced various problems. One of the major problems we encountered in our bridge building process was figuring out our measurements and trying to get exact lengths on each side. Unfortunately we did not notice one of our sides was longer than the other making our bridge uneven but at that point we had already glued it down making it tedious and almost impossible to remove the sticky hot glue and try to even out the sides. Instead we made due with what we had and decided to focus on strengthening the truss supports so that the uneven part of our bridge would not affect our final result too much. After a lot of gluing and occasional hot glue gun burns we finished building our bridge. Once everyone else had finished building their bridge as well it was time to hold the 2022 GCE Lab School Junior Bridge off! We present to you our bridge along with the results of the 2022 Bridge Off in the following slideshow:
Along with our Waddle Bridge comes mathematics! We used various math concepts such as the Pythagorean theorem, the potential and kinetic energy formulas, and the law of sines and cosines. The slideshow below will explain how we used these concepts.
In conclusion this action project was very engaging and going through the process of building our own bridge was very enjoyable. In the end Waddle & Co. was very satisfied with their final product and we hope to work on similar projects in the future. Thank you for reading!
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