Student Information Booklet Mind the Gap! Year 9

Bridge Building Challenge Scenario Bridge Building Challenge The Clifton Suspension Bridge was designed by Isombard Kingdom Brunel and was built in 1864. The bridge was designed in a time when there were fewer people, no cars or lorries and it was not used as much as it was today. To help alleviate congestion in Bristol and take pressure off the suspension bridge, the council would like a new bridge. The bridge needs to be much stronger to allow more cars across and be able to handle lorries, something that the suspension bridge cannot do. In this exciting group work activity, teams will compete to build and test a bridge to destruction. The brief is to design and build a scale model of a footbridge designed to span 100m. Teams must test their bridge by hanging/placing weights from the centre of the span. The objective is to build a bridge that can support the greatest weight with the least use materials and the lowest cost. Presenting Your Work Testing and Judging Every team will present to the whole group! The presentation can take any form you want… PowerPoint, Keynote, video, posters, talk… etc. The presentation should last no more than 4 minutes. Everyone should take part… in some way It should include…. Your team details, a logo and slogan. Evidence of your design work Photographs/pictures/drawings of the finished bridge Evidence of testing and how it was measured. Your findings from the research activity. Your Bridges The aim of the testing process is to test your structures to destruction. We are going to test the bridges by adding increasing numbers of weights to the middle of the span. Your bridges will be tested according to three criteria: Maximum weight supported before collapse. Strength to weight ratio. Strength to cost ratio. Clevedon School – Valley Road – Clevedon – N. Somerset www.clevedonschool.org.uk

Research Activity Where do I start? Your Team Got a Mobile Device? Choose one of these areas to research and add into your presentation: What famous bridges are there in the UK ? What types of bridges are there? What is structural failure, how can this be measured? What bridges did Brunel Design? What forces are bridges subjected to? Something of your own choice… but it must be negotiated with a mentor/teacher. Key Points What type of bridge? What materials do you have at my disposal? How will you build the bridge? How will you organise your team? When you have a design for your bridge will you form your own production line in order to construct all the elements necessary for the bridge? Who in the team is going to assemble the final structure? Your Team Got a Mobile Device? To successfully complete the challenge you will need to work as a team. You will need to organise …. Give yourselves an identity…. Team name Logo Slogan or strapline. Clevedon School – Valley Road – Clevedon – N. Somerset www.clevedonschool.org.uk

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Material COST Lollipop sticks cost £200 each Artstraws cost £50 each Masking tape cost £100 per m Dowel connectors £200 each Clevedon School – Valley Road – Clevedon – N. Somerset www.clevedonschool.org.uk

Collecting & Presenting the Data How will you collect and present the data? We will test to see how much weight your work will take. We will work out how strong your bridge is compared to its own weight. We will work out the cost and a strength to cost ratio. How will you collect the data of not just your group but all the groups? How will you present the results? Raw data or a more visual method? Don’t forget to take photos of the testing!!!! Clevedon School – Valley Road – Clevedon – N. Somerset www.clevedonschool.org.uk

Making Tips A good way to join two straws. A place the two straws next to each other B loop a 20mm piece of masking tape around the two pieces. C with another small piece of tape loop it around the straw as show. D This should provide a string join. *You may need to trim the width of the tape if it is too wide. Clevedon School – Valley Road – Clevedon – N. Somerset www.clevedonschool.org.uk

Making Tips How to use your connectors Plan out your design on paper first. Make sure your measurements are accurate! Don’t just make the first thing you think of. Take care when making your bridge – it will make it stronger. The dowel connector is used to expand the length of a straw . If you are finding it difficult to fit into the two straws try trimming the edges with a pencil sharpener. Clevedon School – Valley Road – Clevedon – N. Somerset www.clevedonschool.org.uk