1. Dream it, build it, test it!
Building BIG
Dream it, build it, test it!
A unit on bridge construction….and destruction!

2. Lesson 1: Bridge Basics
There are more than half a million bridges in the United States, and you rely on them everyday to cross obstacles like rivers, streams, valleys, lakes, and even railroad tracks.
But do you know how they work?
Why do they look different from place to place?

3. Civil Engineering
To start our journey into building, we must first begin to think like civil engineers.
Check out The United States Department of Labor to learn more about Civil Engineering.
While exploring this website record the all the Verbs and Nouns Civil Engineers
Verbs- What they do
Nouns-
Repair/ construct/plan/ build
Metal/ tractor/ tools/ blueprints

4. Forces at Work

5. BONUS! Compression Force: Egg Experiment
How much compression force can a chicken egg withstand?

6. Lesson 2: Civil Engineering
To start our journey into building, we must first begin to think like civil engineers.
Civil engineers are people who create structures like bridges, buildings, and roads.
They use a thinking process called the ENGINEERING PROCESS

7. Engineering Process Ask—What is your task? What are the requirements?
Brainstorm—Brainstorm separately first to gather your own individual thoughts. Come together as a group and discuss everyone’s ideas.
Design—Pick out the details from your brainstorming session that the group feels are most valuable in getting the information across clearly to an audience. Sketch out your rough draft and decide roles and responsibilities.
Create—Execute your design plan.
Evaluate & Refine—Decide if any changes need to be made.

8. What is the problem? What are my requirements or limitations?
Engineering Process
Ask
Brainstorm
Design
Create
Evaluate & Refine
What is the problem? What are my requirements or limitations?
How did it work? Do you need to change anything?
Share ideas
Value opinions
Build your bridges
Work as a team
Sketch

9. Engineering Process at Work Gum Drop Challenge
Your Challenge:
The bridge needs to be able to support 300 grams (120 pennies)
As an engineering TEAM work through the engineering PROCESS
Problem: A bridge is needed that can span a 6 inch gorge
Brainstorm: Work with your partner to discuss the various shapes your gumdrop bridge will use.
Design: Sketch out preliminary designs
Create: Create your gumdrop bridge! You are allowed to make
alterations to your original design.
Materials: 40 gumdrops – 100 toothpicks

10. Lesson 3: Engineering Process at Work
Evaluate: We will test your bridges next time we meet. The strength of your bridge will be tested by placing as many penny (cars) on top of your bridge that it can hold when spanning the 6 inch gorge.
An efficiency rating will be determined as well. The weight of your bridge (the amount of materials used) will be a factor. How does this relate to bridge proposals in real life? Do the strongest bridges that use the most materials with the highest cost get built?

11. Data Analysis
Evaluate: The strength of your bridge will be tested by placing as many penny (cars) on top of your bridge that it can hold when spanning the 6 inch gorge. Record your results.
Analyze the data. Find the mean (average), median, and mode

12. Engineering Process at Work
Refine:
Analyze your bridges. What shape do you see over and over again in the bridges that were able to hold the goal weight?
Work through the refining process by thinking about the questions on your Gum Drop Challenge pages
What is the problem?
What are my requirements or limitations?
How did it work?
Do I need to change anything?

13. Lesson 4: Beam and Arch Bridges

14. Examples of Beam Bridges

15. Beam Bridge
The most basic type of bridge. It has the most simple design with a horizontal beam, also called the bridge deck, is supported at each end by piers. The weight of the beam pushes straight down on the piers. The farther apart its piers, the weaker the beam becomes. This is why beam bridges rarely span more than 250 feet between piers.

16. Arch Bridge
It has great natural strength. Thousands of years ago Romans built arches out of stone. Today, most arch bridges are made of steel or concrete. They can span up to 800 feet!

17. Examples of Arch Bridges

18. How does an arch bridge work?

19. How does an arch bridge work?

20. Forces at Work

21. Lesson 5: Truss and Suspension Bridges

22. Truss Bridge
Consists of an assembly of triangles. Truss bridges are commonly made from a series of straight, steel bars. Rigid arms extend from both sides of two piers. Diagonal steel tubes project from the top and bottom of each pier. They help to support the central span.
Span up to 1,200 feet

23. How does a truss bridge work?

24. Suspension Bridge
They can span 2,000 to 7,000 feet! That is much farther than any other type of bridge! Most suspension bridges have a truss system beneath the roadway to resist bending and twisting.

25. How does a suspension bridge work?
Suspension Tension and Compression Explanation

26. Forces Lab
Explore the Forces Lab to learn more about the different factors to consider in designing bridges.
Complete the Edmodo Exit Ticket to assess what you’ve learned.

27. Lesson 6: BRIDGE CHALLENGE #2
The STRAW BRIDGE!

28. Engineering Process at Work
Problem:
Work as a engineering TEAM and work through the engineering PROCESS to
build a straw bridge that can
span a 10 inch gorge!
Materials: straws & a roll of tape
Challenge:
Your bridge must have a place to securely hold a small cup in the center of the span. When we test your bridge, the cup will be filled with pennies until the bridge collapses. That amount of pennies and its cup will be weighed.

29. Engineering Process at Work
Brainstorm: Work with your partner to discuss the various shapes your straw bridge will use.
Design: Sketch out preliminary designs
This step is very important this time!
While you can cut your straws to any length you want, you will not be given any additional (or replacement) straws even if you accidentally cut them to lengths you don't want. So, think, sketch and measure before you cut. Another point to make: A bundle of straws taped together does not satisfy the "spirit" of this bridge-building activity. However, it is not necessary to have bridges look as if small cars could go over them.
Create: Create your straw bridge! You shouldn’t make too many alterations to your original design this time.

30. Design Tips Square construction example:
Pros? Cons?
Triangle construction examples:

31. Analyze Designs

32. Analyze Designs Continued…

33. Engineering Process- Blue=Today
Ask
Brainstorm
Design
Create
Evaluate & Refine
What is the problem? What are my requirements or limitations?
How did it work? Do you need to change anything?
Share ideas
Value opinions
Build your bridges
Work as a team
Sketch

34. Evaluation Day!
Evaluate: The strength of your bridge will be tested by placing as many penny (cars) on top of your bridge that it can hold when spanning the 10 inch gorge. Record your results.
Analyze the data. Find the mean (average), median, and mode
Refine:
Analyze your bridges. What shape do you see over and over again in the bridges that were able to hold the goal weight?
Work through the refining process by thinking about the questions on your Straw Bridge Challenge page.

35. Lesson 7: Craggy Rock Bridge Challenge
Now that you’ve mastered the bridge basics, test your bridge building skills in the Bridge Challenge!
Craggy Rock is a quickly growing community that needs four new bridges. The community members are very picky about what they want!
Test your engineering skills and try to match the right bridge to the right location. You can only use each bridge type once.
Craggy Rock Challenge

36. Bridge Game Bridge Game
Build a bridge using the components and the budget available. Once it is done, click "Test your bridge" to see if it will sustain the weight of the workers and the cargo. Your workers will use it to get items located at the other side of valley, and bring them back to the shop. Your goal is to collect all items in each level. Use what you’ve learned to test your engineering skills!
Bridge Game

37. Bridge Designs Bridge Designs
Check out this resource to learn more about different bridge designs. Get inspired! You’ll be creating your own bridges soon!

38. Lesson 8: Become an Engineer
Creating bridges is utilizing both art and science!
Bridges are beautiful structures that serve a purpose.
If the bridge is pleasing to the eye but is too costly to make, then the bridge won’t ever be built.
If the bridge is structurally sound, but causes other issues in the surrounding area with the environment, wildlife, or flow of people, then the bridge won’t be built either.
Before you begin building your bridge, you need to fully understand the meaning of some very important terms so that you can become a successful engineer.

39. Terms to Know Compression: Squeezing Tension: Stretching Bending:
Squeezes materials together
Tension: Stretching
It stretches materials apart
Bending:
One side squeezes and the other side stretches
Shear:
Causes material to slide past one another in opposite directions
Torsion: Twisting
An action that twists a material

40. Shearing ~ Bending ~ Torsion ~ Compression ~ Tension
Examples
Word Bank
Shearing ~ Bending ~ Torsion ~ Compression ~ Tension
compression
tension
bending
torsion
shearing

41. Engineering Process Identify the problem Determine the limitations
Material, size, cost, time-frame

42. Lesson 9: Congratulations!
Your civil engineering firm has been hired to design a bridge for the city of Innovation. Innovation’s main bridge through the city has been determined structurally deficient, and it will to be too costly to bring the bridge up to code.
You have to design the bridge and build a model using Popsicle Sticks, toothpicks, and glue, to present before the community leaders for approval. It must not cost more than the specified amount and can’t exceed the material allotment for the project. Once the design is approved by the president of the firm, you will be given materials (according to the type of bridge the firm choose) to build the model.

43. Your Task Your bridge design must meet to following requirements:
•Span across the 30 cm wide Ingenuity River
•Cannot exceed 45 cm due to other infrastructure already built in the area
•Must hold 4 lanes of traffic therefore it needs to be at 7cm ≥ 10 cm wide
•Allow for a continuous traffic passage with a height clearance of 5 cm.

44. Your Task Continued…
You have been given a budget for building materials of $300,000.
Each popsicle stick will cost your firm $1000.
Each toothpick will cost your firm $500.
The initial cost of glue will cost your firm $5000 per bottle, but you may return unused glue at the end of your project for partial refund.
The model cannot use more than:
100 Popsicle Sticks
200 Toothpicks

45. Your Task Continued…
Your bridge’s strength will be measured using a 5cm x 5 cm x 2 cm block. There will be a chain hanging from the block to hold weight. Make sure there is an opening for this chain to hang through that is 2 cm x 2 cm.
Your firm must have a completed blue print before you will be allowed to purchase your building materials. You must also complete a daily construction report outline your goals, materials used, and a reflection.

46. Your Task Continued
Take individual span blueprints and tape them to stiff cardboard. Cover the blueprint with wax paper and tape it lightly to the cardboard. Make sure you write your company name on the design
You can actually glue toothpicks directly to the wax paper.
Overlap toothpicks and make good connections between toothpicks.
The success of their bridge will be a mixture of design and attention to detail during construction.
Remember:
Write down the materials you bought in your construction logs
If you make modifications to your original design, you must make note of it in your construction log
Mrs. Burdette, the job site superintendent, must sign off on your logs DAILY!

47. Your Task Continued…
Once the model is built, the strength and efficiency will be tested compared to the other model bridges presented to the community leaders. The civil engineering firm with the most efficient bridge will be hired to build the new community bridge. Best of luck!

48. Please Note
Whenever there is a structural change in the bridge design, the group has to update or draw a new blueprint of the bridge. All of this work should be kept in a portfolio under the group or company name. Daily construction logs must be kept for each engineering firm. Logs include materials bought, used, and modifications made.
Any company that does not turn in their construction logs will not have their design considered for the new community bridge.

49. Rubric 5 Points Design Model
Drawing of models are neat and legible
Includes the actual distances of the spans and major trusses( in cm)
Three views are drawn to scale, labeled. Side/Top/End view
Visuals include diagrams of the compression and tension forces
Model
Bridge span is at least 30 cm long
Bridge width (roadway) is at least 10 cm
The bridge had a proper opening the allowed for the testing block to be held
Entire cost of bridge did not exceed ____ dollars
Model did not exceed:
____ popsicle sticks, _____ toothpicks, and _____ wire twists
Construction logs were written in daily, included modifications made to the original design, and included a complete tally of all materials bought

50. Sample Bridge Drawings

51. Sample Bridge Drawings

52. Sample Bridge Drawings

53. Sample Bridge Drawings