Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. For planning, you will need large-sized 1/8-inch graph paper, a pencil and eraser, and a ruler. You can organize the cards by movement and pos, Structures + Bridges Building Balsa wood bridges, Structures and Bridges, Balsa wood bridges, worksheets, STEM 32 pages, Balsa Wood Bridges - Collection of 786 Pictures, 3D Balsa Bridge Design Project Interactive Guided Notebook, Bridge Efficiency Tracking for a full class (Interactive), Exploring Forces and Shapes - Structural Design Research Activity, Electric Motors: Toothpick Motor Assembly Tutorial, Electric Motors: Paperclip Motor Assembly Tutorial in PDF Format, Beanstalks to Castles! http://www.specializedbalsa.com/products/tools.php, https://sites.google.com/a/wyckoffschools.org/stem-grade-8/2-types-of-bridges, http://www.historyofbridges.com/facts-about-bridges/types-of-bridges/, http://www.explainthatstuff.com/bridges.html, http://www.garrettsbridges.com/design/lateral-bracing/. To assemble your balsa bridge, youll need sewing pins, a large piece of foam board, a wood cutter. The video shows a Balsa wood bridge built for a statics project. Before you can do this you will need to practice making a simple truss using Illustrator to get familiar with it's drawing tools and process. Make sure to account for all the pieces youll need: truss pieces, lateral bracing, and the roadway. Each card has the artists name, portrait, years lived, associated art movement(s), and a sample of their artwork in the background.These cards can be used in a number of different ways.1. That puts its efficiency at 1630. Using the ctrl c and ctrl v will allow you to copy required support beams rather than have to make them. You may need to convert some measurements, so knowing that 1" equal to 25.4 mm, will allow you to calculate the conversion. Yes, this is one of the coolest bridges I have ever seen. The first illustration shows one beam, but the second one shows three member supports, therefor spreading the load even more. When the bridge does break under load, the final load weight that it was able to withstand will be indicated in the LCD readout. Some important points to keep in mind: When a load is placed in the middle of a beam, it tries to compress on the top creating what is called compression and the bottom tries to pull apart which is known as tension. It also provides cl, These worksheets follow STEMtopics lesson Structures + Bridges. Don't bend it too much, or it could suddenly snap in half and send wood particles flying. Cross them over the wood to secure it. The document also allows room for photos of the bridge. Ensure you have had instruction on all resources prior to using them: Images below show some of the resources we will be using. From researching the methods of building a bridge and the physics of wave resonance and frequencies, students design and develop their own suspension bridges, made primarily of balsa wood, to hold (by dangling) as large amount of weight as possible. In 2001, they won the State finals in this event. All steps of the SPICE process are important, but this step is very important in order to prepare you before your build. To strengthen even more, instead of straight member supports, using triangles such as in illustration 3, the bridge is even stronger. var part1 = "Michael.Franzen"; For more tips, including how to draw a good blueprint for your balsa wood bridge, keep reading! This thirty-two page unit contains eighteen reproducible worksheets for classroom use, six pages of flash cards/word cards which focus on ELD vocabulary, language, speaking, reading, listening development, phonemic awareness, phonics, role-playing a story, and retelling key story. X If you are unsure of a rule, ask! I only have about forty pounds of. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. Make sure after the students build their bridges they are tested with different amounts of weight to see how much they can hold. With lots of ideas and information, then deciding on the best idea to use, and then test the final idea i.e. Make two piles for your sides, separate your lateral bracing pieces, and set aside your roadway. You will find included in your template the following angled support beams both at 75 mm and 65 mm width's; 67.5, 60, 45, 30, 22.5 degree angles. I use this as an intro activity before students design balsa wood towers or bridges. After that, remove it from your foam board template, and repeat the process for the other side of the bridge. Try to utilize various joint types that are stronger then others for maximum support. For this reason we will need to go through three major steps/goals with the first one being "What is a truss bridge?" By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. var part3 = "e-mail Mr. Franzen - right click, select Copy e-mail address"; The best places to buy the wire and the magnets in Ebay, Walmart, and Amazon are indicated with pictures and links. 3-4 Expanding/Bridging, VegetablesSingular/Plural NounsRead AloudStone SoupGr 1-3 Expanding/Bridging, 10 Visible Thinking Routine Graphic Organizers, Artist Cards: Modern Art Movement (Art Posters), Teach Art with Mrs. Nguyen's Elementary Art Bundle (Art Posters & Activites). The glue will dry in about half an hour. You can post a card on the board when you're doing a lesson based around that particular artist.2. There are six sets of drawings in pdf format. q H=_QzY1Hp$2NQFgPn]raP(uxkiMeMp0wmVyLhsdZlq7U. document.write(''); This is also included in the Bridge Design Interactive notebook that can be purchased on TPT through this store. Each group will present based on a random draw. Cut your largest outside pieces first, then place the pieces on the appropriate location. The bridge ended up with an efficiency score of 514. Youll need balsa wood for your structure. Marks will be earned for your researched information, your presentation and your 4 sketched bridge designs. This bundle contains 6 PDF files containing 200 modern artist information cards (including a few bonus contemporary artists). Views you will be able to draw are the front, top, side, bottom-road bed, and bottom sub-structure. does the idea you used solve the problem. Finalizing and selecting your end design is very important. Add any notes you feel relevant to each of your designs. You want your drawing to be the actual size that you want your balsa bridge to be, not a scaled-down drawing. Different types of bridges carry loads differently. Use pieces of masking tape to tack down the drawing of the side of your bridge. Wear safety glasses when cutting your balsa. Teachers Pay Teachers is an online marketplace where teachers buy and sell original educational materials. This balsa bridge was built by some students of mine for a Science Olympiad competition. The materials cost about $30, and they are good for 40 students to build their own motors. This will save you a lot of time if you can do this when possible. Look closely in the third sample and note how the floor bed has been created on top of beams: Ensure you fill out your Bridge Evaluation report properly. After youve completely laid out one side, remove the pins one joint at a time, and glue the strips of wood together with wood glue. They includes a wide variety of trusses, columns, and designs. Great for use in balsa wood / popsicle stick bridge building units. Find your theoretical (technical guess) efficiency by taking the weight your bridge will support prior to breaking and dividing that by the weight of your bridge (keep the units the same, that is why we multiply the pounds of weight your bridge can hold by 454 to get the total grams). To build a balsa wood bridge, start by drawing the blueprints for your bridge to scale on a sheet of graph paper, using either a truss or arch design. document.write(part3 + ''); Take a handful of sewing pins and line them along the edge of your foam board. Oils and grease from your skin can ruin your glue joints. This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff. In groups of two you are to research, present, and then independently design 4 different truss style bridge designs with a goal of maximizing the efficiency of the bridge. Here are some sample images of different bridge models, note triangulation used on all samples. Civil Engineers - skills, knowledge, education, Building the the Most Efficient Wooden Truss Bridge, Both super-structure, road bed and sub-structure may be used, Triangles are much stronger than four sided figures, Bridge span must have ten mm gap from support system, Template shows maximum length, width, and height, Bridge width must be full width to fit test block, Ten mm maximum above road bed surface (top of bridge support system), Review peer Power Point presentations for more ideas, Open Illustrator and select New File with the following settings, Advanced and pick 72 dpi for raster effects, Edit > Preferences > Guide and Grids, set grid to 5 mm, Press Shift F8 (for object information box), Select Rectangle tool (m) and left click on art board, put in 200mm for width and 5 mm for height, Select the selection tool (v) and select beam on art board, then ctrl C to copy, then ctrl F to paste on top, then click and drag beam down so there are two parallel to each other, Select Rectangle tool (m) and left click on art board, put in 5mm for width and 50 mm for height to make a support member, Use Selection tool (v) to move the support member in between both beams in the center, select and move bottom beam so that it touches bottom of support member, Use Selection tool (v) and select the middle support member and ctrl C to copy, ctrl F to paste on top, In the object information box, select 45 degrees in the rotate box, then select middle anchor top and pull to top beam, do the same for the bottom, Zoom in rolling the middle mouse button and pressing the alt button at the same time to view the top intersection of 45 degree support member and top beam, Click and hold the pen tool fly out, select add anchor, then add an anchor point where the beam intersects the support member, Click and hold the pen tool fly out, select subtract anchor, then delete anchor point(s) above beam line, Do the same for the bottom of the support beam, then move 45 degree support member to the left, select both the straight original support beam and the 45 degree beam, ctrl C, ctrl V, then move copy beside on the right, Using the selection tool (v) right click on a 45 degree beam, select Transform > Reflect, In the Reflect window, select vertical, select preview, then copy, Finish by adjusting the length of the top and bottom beams, using the selection tool (V), click and drag middle anchor of beams, Alt roll centre mouse button to live zoom, Space bar and left click to pan your work, You can only undo your last mistake once ctrl z, Use the direct selection icon tool to move individual points of a shape, Use View > Outline to view just the line, view > preview to view regular view, When moving a shape, after starting to move, press shift, and it will lock on the x or y axis as you move the shape, Most importantly,right click on several components, use Transform >Reflect whenever possible to copy symmetrical bridge components. You should be working off of your usb flash memory stick. If you cant find it in your local hobby store, order it online. Draw both the sides of your bridge with the trusses included to scale and the overhead view of your bridge. var part2 = "tdsb.on.ca?subject=E-mail to Mr. Franzen"; One single weak joint can cause a chain reaction in your whole bridge collapsing, even if all your other joints are super strong. This bridge is from the 2003 GA State Tournament, the same tournament, For this balsa wood bridge, I used a K-Truss design with seven vertical members and 6 K-Trusses per side. Their imagination is the limit.Another great product in TpT is the Balsa Wood Bridge Tu, Using one Google Slideshow, you can track all of your student work. The more work you put in this step will pay off in dividends with your final product. This one document can be shared with your entire class. Then, use your final drawing to trace the different pieces you'll need onto the balsa wood. Use the wood glue sparingly. The first three groups that volunteer to go first will get a bonus 3,2,& 1. Learn about forces and how they effect shapes in this fun, student paced WebQuest Activity! Physics students will learn how to build a real electric motor that works. We are a group of students who have looked at and practiced how sketching and the design process work in a technological field and are ready to apply this knowledge and experience to the task of designing and building the most "efficient" bridge. Remember to save your work often and back-up to your H drive on your computer. Note the Sample Final B and C shows the reflected red outline of bridge components that were reflected. For more tips, including how to draw a good blueprint for your balsa wood bridge, keep reading! [1] By drawing your designs in full scale orthographic views, will allow you to use those views as your printed blueprint drawing for making your bridge components. Here are some support links explaining more about Illustrator: Both you and your partner are to select your final bridge designs and draw them accurately in Illustrator using supplied template found in the school pick-up folder. In our case it is to build the most efficient load bearing model bridge with the given materials. Students can edit this document live to make predictions and analyze the results after each bridge has been tested. Your students will engage in the three-dimensional learning by analyzing data, discussing with other students, designing experiments, and computing multiple-step calculations.Students Will:- Write A Research Paper On Their Bridge- Make A Blue Print of Their Bridge- T, STRUCTURES + BRIDGESThis lesson is designed to enhance bridge building activities. I like this video because it is very systematic and well documented. They will know what to do in every step of their work. Just before this point, you should take a damp rag, and wipe off any excess glue. There are many bridges that are quite strong and have attractive designs. Use your woodcutter in conjunction with a straight edge. Each presentation should be shared in operating slides and discussing points on each slide. If this step is not done thoroughly, you will end up with a poor or bad finished product. Always double check that you have completed all components for full marks. Research source Make sure you take the time to build a quality bridge as the bridge is only as strong as it's weakest point. Push your sides against the roadway. Many times, students look forward to this project all marking period. Add highlights, virtual manipulatives, and more. Beanstalks to Castles! If you need to, you can use clothespins as tiny clamps. This bridge won the 2004 GA State Science Olympiad Bridge Building competition. A few other bridges used too much or too little balsa wood, have poor designs, or do not look look. You might need to build a model bridge for the Science Olympiad or for an engineering or physics course, and balsa is a great construction material. For the power supply, students can use a D-size batter, English Rocks! This bridges uses a combination of end and lap joints. By putting a diagonal brace in the middle, corner to corner, you get two triangles, which are the strongest possible shape. This unique product is a collection of 786 high quality pictures of more than 100 balsa wood bridges. Use the push-pins as shown below. Suggest you put your information directly into Power Point Your major points should accompany points written down in the notes section of each slide so that you can verbally expand on your major points. More videos to come. If you have the time, its best to leave this side to dry for an additional day or two. It reviews the six most common types of bridges. The materials cost about $30, and they are good for 40 students to build their own motors. Have your teacher check your work once you are done, then copy to the respective hand-in folder in the school student share for later print. Rules below were written up based on using 1/8" * 1/8" strips and is in imperial measurements, so a little adjustment to the sizes will be tolerated. There are several types of bridge construction. Knowledge about bridge design, types of trusses, history of bridges, how to get the best efficiency, wooden build techniques, and wood joints are all important when finalizing your bridge design. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. The higher the bridge efficiency the higher your mark will be, as your mark will be based on the average of all group bridge efficiencies tested. Finishing the final drawing in illustrator has given groups two final bridge design solutions. If you want to, you can dilute it slightly with water.