Project 3: A Bridge Too Far
Description of the Problem
Bridges are a crucial part of any citys infrastructure.
In Boston alone there are at least 25 major bridges
including the Zakim, Tobin, and Longfellow bridges.
Bridges enable people to travel in three dimensions,
instead of being confined to flat roads and allowing
traffic to become worse and worse.
In addition to enabling us to free cities from chronic
congestion, bridges enable us to travel to otherwise
unreachable areas. Without bridges, Manhattan (a
major section of New York City) would be unreachable
because it is located on an island. Without bridges,
travel between Boston and Cambridge/Somerville
would be impossible by car alone because of the
Charles River.
However, because bridges must be elevated above the
ground, this presents new challenges. This presents so
many challenges, in fact, that there is an entire sector
of engineering devoted to the study and construction
of bridges and other structures that build vertically:
Structural Engineering.
Your challenge for this unit is to use the principles of
structural engineering to build a bridge out of a limited
amount of spaghetti and glue that supports a mass of
at least 3 kg . Spaghetti is an extremely brittle and
weak substance, so you will only be successful if you
are able to constructively apply sound engineering
principles to your bridge design.
Materials/Constraints
1. The bridge can only be built using two materials:
a. Spaghetti
b. Epoxy (a certain type of glue)
2. The bridge must be free-standing (not attached to
anything) and span a gap between two level surfaces
of .5 m
a. Additionally, the edges of the surfaces may not
be used for support, but only the top of the
surfaces
3. The bridge must include a decking of spaghetti as a
road surface that is no less than 5 cm wide.
Additionally, the road must meet the following
criteria:
a. Gaps between the spaghetti in the road may not
be greater than 2 mm wide
b. A block of wood (10 cm x 5 cm x 5 cm)
representing a car must be able to move
unobstructed from end-to-end along the road
c. The deck of the bridge must not be more than 5
cm above the ends of the bridge at any point
4. In order to test the bridge, you must incorporate a
loading platform
a. The platform is a piece of plywood (5 cm x 10
cm)
b. There will be a U-bolt attached to the plywood
from which the load will be suspended
i. Two small holes will be drilled in the
plywood
5. The maximum vertical height of the bridge will be no
more than 25 cm at any point
6. The maximum weight of the bridge, INCLUDING THE
LOADING DOCK, must be no more than 260 grams
Group member names:
_____________________________________
DUE DATE:
____________________________ ____________________________
____________________________
ASK
Understanding of
the challenge
presented
Research
Quality of
background
research
Brainstorm
Generation of
ideas and
possible design
solutions
0No Effort
No summary
written
Summary shows
little or no effort
No notes taken
Notes unrelated
to materials or
design features
No list of ideas
present in notes
Prototyping
Design and
construction of
models capable
of testing
No physical
prototype/s
accounted for
1Not Yet
Summary indicates
partial
understanding of the
challenge
Summary only
accounts for one of
either constraints OR
explanation of
problem
Some notes taken
Poorly organized, no
headings
Notes describe only
one of either forces
OR bridge styles and
features
1-2 design ideas
presented
Ideas presented are
generic with no
description of
possible
implementation
No drawings
included
At least one
prototype is partially
assembled
_____________________________ _____________________________
2Developing
Summary indicates
understanding of the
problem
Summary accounts for
constraints AND
explanation of problem,
but briefly
Notes are somewhat
organized
Notes describe both
forces AND bridge
styles and features
At least 3 design ideas
presented
Ideas presented have
some detail (drawings
included)
Ideas present only
minor changes, not
significantly separate
ideas
At least one prototype is
fully assembled
3Mastery
Summary indicates thorough
understanding of the problem
Summary includes a thorough
description of BOTH constraints
AND an explanation of the
problem
Summary includes possible
obstacles to success not
accounted for by constraints
Notes are clearly organized into
two-column format
Notes are clearly labeled with
useful, appropriate headings
At least 3 design ideas presented
Ideas presented include clearly
detailed descriptions
Each idea presents clearly
distinctive approaches to the
challenge presented
At least two prototypes of two
distinct designs are fully
assembled.
Solution
Presentation and
demonstration of
final product
Report
Communication
of results
Final product
unfinished
Final product
unavailable for
testing by due
date.
No results
recorded
Final product is
finished on time
EITHER is under 260
g OR holds the
minimum required
mass
Results are present
but cannot be clearly
related to testing
situations
Final product holds the
minimum required mass
AND is itself under 260
g
Final product is aesthetically
pleasing (joints are clean, little to
no epoxy showing, each side of
the bridge is the same, bridge is
symmetrical, etc.)
Results clearly related to testing
of prototypes
Results are presented in an
organized, aesthetically pleasing
manner
Results are clearly
related to testing of
prototypes
Results are organized
Total (Average of all sections)______/3 X Participation _________ = Final Score ________/3
