Background Reasearch:

My 4 Key words are:

1. Structure
2. Beam
3. Arch
4. Suspension

Environmental Impact of Bridges 

• Making materials for bridges uses a lot of energy and produces carbon dioxide. 
• Building bridges can greatly impact the environment by using materials such as recycled steel and concrete.This can impact the environment because less materials are used and less trees are cut down during the construction. Using recycled materials can reduce waste in landfills and is good for resources.
• Construction of bridges makes a bunch of noise, and dust that can contribute to global climate change. Before construction to build a bridge you have to cut down trees, which leads to destroying animal habitats. During construction leaving materials can harm animals and the environment leaving behind a carbon footprint.
• Proper design can reduce the environmental impact of bridges by using materials that require less energy. In previous years builders did not consider this and now these bridges have to be destroyed and be build again, which is a burden to the environment.
• Bridge’s can use green energy to help the environment. For example, using recycled materials and solar energy. This can reduce costs and construction time.
• Green planning includes planting green plants to help with oxygen and to eliminate pollution.
• You can design bridges to blend in with the environment.

 What is a Structure?

A structure is something of many pieces/parts that are put together like a bridge. If you build a house out of lego bricks that is a structure. 

What is a Beam?

Beam bridges are the simplest types of bridges. The simplest one is a log bridge which is a log across a small water trail but this isn't the safest idea. However a beam bridge is a horizontal beam that is supported at each end by piers. Beam bridges are using over highway overpasses and railways. Here is an example:

What is an Arch?

An arch is a usually curved part of a structure. These are found on doorways and sometimes they have small curved windows depending on the style of the door and are made of brick or stone.

Benefits of using an Arch Bridge:

The benefits of using an arch bridge is that they have fixed arches, 2 or 3 hinged arches, and you can span a greater distance where you are going. 

It is almost possible to make an arch bridge out of any material and arch bridges adapt to almost all local communities. Arch bridges are the most popular type of bridge we see, also the arch bridge design gets stronger as it ages.

 Arch bridges are stronger than beam bridges because the beam bridge has a weak spot in the middle, while the arch bridge spreads its weight outwards across the bridge.

What is an Suspension Bridge?

The suspension bridge has cables supporting the deck were cars go on, also the bridge has vertical suspenders. In the early 1800s there was the swing bridge however this is not the most ideal bridge because it could snap and brake so engineers decided to make a suspension bridge because it has ropes and is made out of metal. Suspension bridges are best used when a bridge is needed over a long waterway. For example, the Golden Gate Bridge

Benefits of using a suspension bridge include:

1. Economic Advantage: can cover a long distance using less materials.
2. Height Advantage: can be built high above water.
3. Construction Advantage: the design of the bridge will not affect waterways below it or roads above it.
4. Easier to maintain: entire bridge will not be shut down to repair.

Procedure:

Using popsicle sticks, glue and string, construct three different types of bridges. It is important to use the same materials in each of your bridges so that you are testing the strength of the bridge design and not the strength of the bridge materials. 

1. Get two bridge supports, we used two shoe racks of the same size. 
2. Get your beam bridge and put it in between the two shelves but make sure you make a gap and the two shelves are not touching.
3. Tie 10cm of rope on the hanging hook and attach the rope to the bridge by tying a knot.
4. Now get a variety of weights and get the smallest one and put the weight on the hanging hook. Now make sure you increase the weight heaviness until the bridge collapses and record each weight.
5. When your done recording each weight, see which bridge held more weight.
6. Make sure the bridges are the same size and the shelves are the same length apart.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 but for arch and suspension bridges.  

Materials:

• 1 hanging hook
• 1 roll of string
• 1 container of white glue
• Hot glue and glue gun
• Weights
• Popsicle sticks 
• Scissors
• Placemat 
• 2 shoe racks
• Tape
• Towel
• Pillows

Beam:

Arch:

Suspension:

Observations - Arch Bridge

I noticed that on the arch bridge, when we were testing it,it seemed to have bent in the middle of the bridge slowly as we put weights on the wooden platform. I also noticed that the bridge slowly bent on the top middle section. We also secured the bridge using tape so that way the bridge would not sway around on the platform.

The bridge held 49 pounds of weight before it collapsed. 

Observations - Beam Bridge

I noticed that on the beam bridge when we were testing it, it started to crack on one of the sides and it  bent down and broke off two parts of the bridge. One of the parts had 11 popsicle sticks the other part had 3 popsicle sticks but you can put the bridge back together. When the changes started to happen it was holding 50 pounds of weight before it collapsed.

Observations - Suspension Bridge

I noticed that on the suspension bridge when we were testing it, it curved and bent down the middle. The two ropes  on one side of the bridge stayed and  the other two ropes did not. I also noticed that the column snapped on one of the sides of the popsicle sticks.You can also put the bridge back together.

Analysis of Result

My graph shows that the beam bridge held more weight and that the suspension held the least amount of weight.

I learned that my hypothesis was incorrect because the suspension bridge was the weakest. The arch bridge and beam bridge almost held the same amount of weight.

Conclusion:

My hypothesis was incorrect because the arch bridge held 49 pounds of weight. While the beam bridge held 50 pounds of weight. But the suspension bridge held  9.5  pounds of weight before it collapsed. 

When I was building the bridges I was going to change my hypothesis because I noticed that the beam bridge had more support than the suspension bridge itself.

Summary:

In summary the suspension bridge was the weakest, it broke at 9.5 pounds of weight. The strongest was the beam bridge, it broke at 50 pounds of weight, while the arch bridge broke at 49 pounds.

Real World Application

• These results will be helpful for anyone who builds bridges because bridges need to be safe for anyone who crosses them. These results will help make bridges safer because different designs have different weak spots that will help people know what type of bridge to build.
• These results will be helpful to anyone who is an engineer and builds bridges because they need to know how much weight a bridge can hold. For example, during the experiment the suspension bridge was the weakest because of its design. 
• My results are important because they will tell you what a good strong bridge design is. We care about a good strong bridge design because a strong bridge design can hold more weight, save money in the building/maintenance process, and move more people safely. 
• The beam bridge has less environmental impact because they use fewer materials and use sustainable materials.
• Using steel materials to build a bridge is good because steel is a popular choice for bridges because it is affordable and it has good strength. It is also lightweight, that means you can use light machinery or no machinery for building. Big machinery needs for you to take down the trees and taking down trees means less oxygen. You only need to cut down the trees for the machinery and for the bridge and nothing else also there is nothing in the field.
• Beam bridges are the cheapest to build because they are versatile, multiple types of material can be used, inexpensive, simple and quick to build. This way cities can save money.

Sources of Error

1. Some bridges had more glue than others which could make them stronger 
2. I used gift wrapping ribbon instead of twine and it was the ribbon that broke

Next Steps:

My next steps are using different materials to build model bridges.  I'm curious to see if using hard plastic with hot glue will affect how strong a bridge is because hard plastic can be melted and formed into shapes.

Looking at other materials can show if they are stronger than popsicle sticks and hot glue. 

Using different materials could be beneficial by using cheaper costs. Different materials can also be more sustainable for the environment.

Bibliography:

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