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Researched by Josh P.
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The purpose of this experiment was to determine the mass different types of bridges could hold.
I became interested in this idea when I was crossing a bridge. I wondered how much the bridge could hold and also I wanted to know how many types of bridges there were and what they looked like.
The information gained from this experiment could help architects to build more stable bridges that could hold more mass.
My hypothesis was truss bridges would hold more mass.
I base my hypothesis on internet sites I was searching while gathering information.
The constants in this study were:
-balsa wood stick sizes
-Weight put on at a time
-How weight is put on
-Same glue brand
-Same amount of glue
-roadway the same span
The manipulated variable was could truss or suspension bridges hold
the most mass.
The responding variable was the weight the two bridges can hold.
To measure the responding variable I will weigh and keep track how many pounds I put on to each bridge at a time and stop when one breaks.
QUANTITY
ITEM DESCRIPTION
| 1 | Bucket |
| 1 | Triple Beam Balance |
| 1 | Roll of tape |
| 25 pound | Bag of sugar |
| 1 bottle | Elmer’s Wood Glue |
| Enough to build each bridge | Balsa Wood |
| 1 | Roll of String |
1. Gather materials
2. Follow directions to build the truss bridge
3. Set bridge on a firm surface
4. Make sure that only the ends of the actual roadway are not touching
the ground.
5. Cut a hole in a board
6 .Use wood glue to glue the bridge down to the board
7. Put the string through the hole and tie it to the middle of the
bridge
8. Tie the other end of the rope to the bucket’s handle
9. Label the bucket Truss
10. Pour the sugar in the bucket very slowly until it starts to crack
11. Measure the sugar’s mass on the triple-beam-balance
12. Record the data
13. Follow directions to build the Suspension bridge
14. Build the Suspension bridge
15. Repeat steps 3-8
16. Label the bucket Suspension
17. Weigh the bucket
18. Compare the two buckets weight
19. Record your observations in your experiment log
The original purpose of this experiment was to determine how much mass different types of bridges could hold.
The results of the experiment were the Truss bridge held 4,711 grams of sugar while the Suspension bridge only held 2,022 grams.
See the table and graph below.
Veiw my Data and Graphs
My hypothesis was that the truss bridge would hold more mass.
The results indicate that this hypothesis should be accepted.
Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if I should have used bridges that were more similar to each other instead of Truss and Suspension bridges.
If I were to conduct this project again I would make more than one bridge
of each kind so I wouldn’t have to do all three trials on one bridge.
Acknowledgements and Thanks
This science project could not have been completed with out the help and assistance of several people. I would like to thank each of them for their help.
I would like to thank my father for helping me drill, spill, and
heal. Without
them my experiment would have been a
sticky mess.
I would like to thank my mother for going out with me to certain craft stores, without her I wouldn’t have the bridges in my bridge project.
I would like to thank Chris on helping me with my display board.
I would like to thank Timothie for giving me hints on how to measure the substance.
I would like to thank Mrs. Helms for letting me use her calendar, and keeping me on task so I could finish my work.
I would like to thank Mr. Newkirk who gave me very useful tips.
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