Group Members: ____________________________________________

Date: ____________________________

THE MISSION
Your mission is to design and build a freestanding bridge that meets specific size and capacity
criteria as well as material, time, and design constraints.

Criteria Time & Design constraints Material constraints

The bridge must be o Your team will have 30 minutes o 10 pipe cleaners
o as long as possible to build your bridge o 30 small popsicle sticks
o at least 1-inch wide o o scissors
o at least 1 inch above the o 50 Q-tips
building surface o 1 measuring tape
o be able to support weight o assorted base-ten blocks
o spaces on the surface of o 1 penny
the bridge must not be
wider than a penny

ASK QUESTIONS
Phase 1

IMAGINE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

Phase 2
Ask yourselfIs this possible?

Write a hypothesis.
Complete the following statement: When we begin to place base-ten blocks on our teams
bridge, the bridge will:

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 PLAN OUT A DESIGN
Phase 3
Remember to label the materials in your design.

 CREATE YOUR DESIGN
Phases 4

Follow the initial plan (You can make changes later)

Use the sketches from the planning phase.

Final Design Specifications What materials did you use in your

Length: ______________
Width: _____________
Height above surface: ____________
design?
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EXPERIMENT & TEST THE MODEL

Phase 5
HOW CAN I IMPROVE THIS?

Record your observations. Describe what happened when you placed the base-ten
blocks on your bridge? What base-ten blocks did you use? How many?

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 EXPERIMENT & TEST THE MODEL
Phase 5
HOW CAN I IMPROVE THIS?

Was your bridge unstable before you placed the base-ten block upon it? Yes No

Did the bridge collapse after you placed the base-ten block upon it? Yes No

If you answered yes to either question above, explain how your team could improve
the design to make sure these errors would not happen again.

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Please note any new understandings or ideas that could help your team work better.

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