LDC

Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

Student Writers Notebook:

Building Bridges

Physics
John Ehret High School
S. Banks, Teacher

Student Name_________________________
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LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

The Task:
After researching forces on the structure and function of bridges,
developing a hypothesis, and conducting an experiment examining
live load forces on bridge stability, write a laboratory report that
explains your procedures and results and confirms or rejects your
hypothesis. What conclusions can you draw?

Task I: Task Engagement

Generate a list of things that you already know about forces. Include what you know about bridges
and the weight they support.

LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

Task Analysis
1.

What are you going to write about?

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2.

How are you going to get the information?

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3.

What is the final product that you will turn in to your teacher? (an essay? A poem? A list?)

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4.

What do you want to ask your teacher about the task?

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5.

Re-write the prompt in your own words.

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6.

What will your teacher need to teach you before you can work on this task? Be specific!

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LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

Web Quest: To be completed before beginning your lab

Directions: Go to the websites. Answer the questions that follow.
SITE I: http://www.pghbridges.com/basics.htm

Site II: http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering /civil/bridge.htm

For each type of bridge, list the following information:

Main characteristics (use your own words)

2 examples of each type of bridge including the name of the bridge, the location, and the span

Beam and Girder types

Main Characteristics:
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Example 1:

Name:_____________________________________

Location:___________________________________

Span:______________________________________

Example 2:
Name:_____________________________________
Location:___________________________________

Span:______________________________________

LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

Arch Types

Main Characteristics:
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Example 1:

Name:_____________________________________

Location:___________________________________

Span:______________________________________
Example 2:

Name:_____________________________________

Location:___________________________________

Span:______________________________________

LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

Truss Types

Main Characteristics:
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Example 1:

Name:_____________________________________

Location:___________________________________

Span:______________________________________

Example 2:
Name:_____________________________________

Location:___________________________________

Span:______________________________________

LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

Suspension types

Main Characteristics:
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Example 1:
Name:_____________________________________

Location:___________________________________

Span:______________________________________

Example 2:

Name:_____________________________________

Location:___________________________________

Span:______________________________________

LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

SITE III: Go to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/forces.html.

Define the following terms in your own words:

Compression

Tension

Bending

Shear

LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

Torsion

Loads
There are seven different types of loads that can affect a bridge. Name
and briefly describe each type of load.

Weight of Structure Definition:

Weight of Objects Definition:

How to reinforce a bridge to support more weight:

LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

Soft Soil Definition:

How to reinforce a bridge to account for soft soil:

Temperature Definition:

to reinforce a bridge to account for temp. changes:

How

Earthquake Definition:

How to reinforce a bridge for earthquake protection:

Wind Definition:

How to reinforce a bridge to account for strong winds:

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LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

Vibration Definition:

How to reinforce a bridge to account for vibration:

Journal Reading: Coupled Safety Assessment of Cable
Stay Bridges
Get together with your literacy partner.
Skim through the article.
Thoroughly read the abstract, introduction, and conclusion. Notice what each part contains.
Navigate to the class webpage (physicsehretbanks.wikispaces.com) and go to the major projects
section. Scroll down and complete the Google questionnaire.
Be sure to hit submit after answering all questions.
Your responses will appear on a spreadsheet that the teacher can access. We will discuss the
responses as a class.

Vocabulary from the article
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LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

The vocabulary words generated from reading the article need to be defined. Your teacher will
assign 5 words for you and your partner to define.
(Why not just define the words that you submitted? Good Question! I want to broaden your
horizons and expose you to as many words as possible.)
The words and definitions will be compiled into one document. You will be quizzed on these
words.
Your Five Words:
1._______________________________________________________________________________
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2._______________________________________________________________________________
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3._______________________________________________________________________________
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4._______________________________________________________________________________
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5._______________________________________________________________________________
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LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

Video: Modern Marvals-The Golden Gate

Bridge
Watch the video and answer the following questions:
1. What was the purpose of building the bridge?

2. What were the safety concerns while the bridge was under construction?

3. What is done to keep the bridge updated and up to safety regulations?

4. What structural changes have been made to the bridge?

5. Why is the bridge painted? How was the color chosen?

6. What information from the video will assist you in building your bridge?

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LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

Engineering Activity
************First, attend to the PowerPoint presented by your teacher.**************
Instructions for the engineering activity:
Work with your team- 3 min to plan, 15 min to build
Design and construct a structure that will support the force of as many text books as possible
1.5 inches from the surface
Only use the materials provided

10 sheets of paper

20 paper clips

20 drinking straws

Tape

Scissors

You only have 15 minutes to build your structure. Within that time, you need to test the
structure for strength. Stack only one book at a time on top of it.
Observe what caused the structure to collapse or tumble and record that information below:

How does this activity relate to your template task? Record your response below:

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LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

Whats Going to work? TEAMWORK!!

At this point in the module, you need to collaborate with you team and delegate tasks. Consider the
following:
o What roles will each of you play in constructing the bridge?
o Who will record the steps taken as you build? Who will take pictures?
o Who will be present for bridge force testing?
o Who will ensure that you are collecting enough information to write your formal lab report?
o Who will type the report?
o Who will proofread the report?
o Who will submit the report? (MUST be submitted by email or share on google drive or presented
to teacher on flash drive)
o Who will revise the report upon receiving feedback from the teacher?
Use the space below to write your collaboration notes and answer the questions above:

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LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

The Lab Report

In this experiment your will have an opportunity to apply what you have learned about bridges
and forces. The objective of this experiment is to build the strongest bridge possible given a
set of predetermined constraints. Each group will present their design to the class and then
test the maximum weight that the bridge can hold.
Constraints:
Bridges have to be between 25 cm and 30 cm long and width must be between 5 cm
and 7 cm wide. The bridges must be less than 10 cm high.
The only materials you will have are a knife, working surfaces, ruler, wood, and glue.

TITLE
Consult with your group and decide on a title for your report. Write the title in the space
below:

Purpose
Consult with your group and decide on the purpose of this activity. Write the purpose in the
space below:

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LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

Hypothesis
I.
II.

III.

What information will you need before you can formulate a hypothesis? How will
you find this information?

II. Write the hypothesis for your inquisition in the space below. The hypothesis must include
the type of bridge you are building and the relevant terms that you learned from doing the
web quest. An example of a hypothesis would be After researching the types of bridges and
the forces that they can support, a truss type bridge will support the most weight given the
dimensional constraints of construction provided by the teacher. (do not copy this
hypothesis as it is written)

Hypothesis

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LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

Experimental Procedure
How are you going to test your hypothesis? Write out the step-by- step procedure that you
will use. Make sure that someone would be able to replicate your procedure using only your
directions.
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LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

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Materials
What materials will you use for your experiment? List them in the space below:

Data
Construct a data table. You and your group need to decide on what data to record and in what
units.

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LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

Conclusion
This is arguably the most important part of your lab report. The conclusion should sum up your
experiment and explain how the data was used in determining whether or not the hypothesis
was supported or refuted by the data. You must touch upon the hypothesis in the conclusion.
Also, include an explanation of what you could have done differently to get more desirable
results.

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LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

The Abstract
An abstract should briefly:
(Re)-establish the topic of the research project.
Give the research problem and/or main objective of the project (this usually comes
first).
Indicate the methodology used.
Present the main findings.
Present the main conclusions
Word limit: An abstract must be no more than 500 words.
Refer back to the abstract in the article Coupled Safety Assessment of Cable Stay Bridges.
Write your abstract below.

Abstract
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LDC Building Bridges Module

S. Banks

Physics

__________________________________________________________________________________________
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You are not done!! All of this information must be compiled into a formal lab report in APA format. A template
has been provided for you on your class webpage. The template contains all of the necessary parts and a
description of what each component must contain. The report must be typed and submitted electronically to
Mrs. Banks. Choose one of the options below:
Email to: Shelia.banks@jppss.k12.la.us
Share on google docs to sheliadarjean@yahoo.com
Submit on flash drive

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