Truss Bridge: 4/1/2021

Activity: This week my classmates and I were able to construct a bridge made of popsicle sticks. Our goal was to build the lightest bridge possible, while maintaining a strong structure that could hold weight. To accomplish this I decided to model my bridge after the warren which is pictured below. 

 Construction : I began by creating both of the side frames which consisted of 26 sticks for each side, which ended up being 52 total. I then built the base and the top which only took 18 sticks total. I found that adding vertical supports made the bridge more stable, so I added an additional 2 sticks to each side. Once completed I ended up using 72 sticks total. I glued each piece together with hot glue, and upon completion I went back and added Elmer's glue to the joints of the bridge to insure stability. In the end my bridge weighed 82 grams.

Results: My bridge ended up holding 67 pounds which was suspended from the bottom as seen in the pictures below. The weight alone did not break my bridge, so I added pressure to the rod in order to break it successfully. The pictures below show the breaking of my bridge.