Scribd
Upload
725 views3 pages

The Spaghetti Bridge Rules

The document describes the goal, materials, dimensions, design, testing procedures, and scoring for a competition to build the strongest bridge made of spaghetti and glue that spans a 100 cm gap. Competitors aim to create a bridge that holds the most weight relative to its own mass. Bridges are tested by adding weights from the center U-bolt until failure, and scoring favors lighter bridges that support more weight. The winning bridge from a past competition supported a score of 8.7.

Uploaded by

Marius Radulescu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
725 views3 pages

The Spaghetti Bridge Rules

The document describes the goal, materials, dimensions, design, testing procedures, and scoring for a competition to build the strongest bridge made of spaghetti and glue that spans a 100 cm gap. Competitors aim to create a bridge that holds the most weight relative to its own mass. Bridges are tested by adding weights from the center U-bolt until failure, and scoring favors lighter bridges that support more weight. The winning bridge from a past competition supported a score of 8.7.

Uploaded by

Marius Radulescu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • The Spaghetti Bridge: Introduces the spaghetti bridge project detailing goals, materials, and dimensions required for the construction.
  • Testing and Scoring: Details the testing procedure for the spaghetti bridge, including scoring criteria based on weight held by the bridge.

The Spaghetti Bridge

Goal

 Make a bridge out of spaghetti that holds as much weight as possible.

Materials

 You may only use spaghetti (no tubular or flat pastas) and glue (any kind of glue is fine)
 The maximum allowable mass is 2000 g

Dimensions

 Your bridge must span a 100 cm gap between two tables of the same height.
 Maximum bridge height is 50 cm above the table height.
 Maximum bridge depth is 10 cm below the table height.
 Maximum bridge length is 110 cm.
 Maximum bridge width is 10 cm.

 Every bridge must have a solid deck (for cars, of course!) that passes between the two tables:

The deck may not rise or fall more than 5 cm.


No gaps or spaces larger than 0.5 cm are allowed in any part of the deck.
A test car (6 cm x 6 cm x 10 cm) must fit and pass freely across your entire bridge deck.

110 c m

50 c m test car

10 c m

10 c m

Bridge Design Resources


To test your design ideas before you start making your bridge, try out the great engineering
program West Point Bridge Designer—it’s free! [Link]
 Every bridge must have a U-bolt or hanging point installed in the centre (see diagram below).
Weights will be hung from this point during testing. The “platform” is the same size as the
bottom of the test car (6 cm x 10 cm) and is designed to stop the U-bolt from tearing through
your bridge deck when weight is added.
3.7 cm
platform

10 cm

 You may make a copy and and install your own platform, or come to the competition with
two holes drilled in the centre of your bridge, each 0.7 cm wide, and 3.7 cm apart, as shown
below:

deck
Testing

 The mass of your bridge will be recorded.


 The dimensions of your bridge will be checked.
 The deck will be inspected for gaps and the test car must pass freely across the entire deck.
 Weights will be hung from the centre of your bridge as follows:
1) one team member will add mass (minimum 100 g)
2) a judge will determine if the bridge is still stable
3) if the mass is held, it “counts” towards your score—you may go on
4) mass is added until your bridge is destroyed!

Scoring
Mass held by bridge (more is better)
Mass of bridge (lighter is better)

Example: A 1250 g bridge that holds 3200 g has a score of 3200  1250 = 2.56
A 650 g bridge that holds 1800 g has a score of 1800  750 = 2.77

Record: A David Thompson Secondary team scored 8.7 in JPEC 2005!

You might also like