Curated OER
Put Your Truss in Building Bridges
Students apply abstract concepts, such as stress, fulcrums, the law of gravity, and the strength of different geometric shapes. Groups of student contractors operate simulated architectural firms to create strong, economical bridges.
Teach Engineering
Cost Comparisons
Our final proposal for the cost of the bridge requested is ... In the last segment in a series of 10, pairs work together to develop a proposal for a city bridge design. The class completes a cost comparison between concrete and steel to...
Curated OER
Spaghetti Bridges: Student Worksheet
Here is a wonderful activity that allows young engineers to try their hand at designing a bridge out of spaghetti! The worksheet explains the activity and also provides a graph for keeping track of the results. Very good!
DiscoverE
Build a Bridge
Cost overruns are unacceptable—in the real world and in an engaging activity. Groups of pupils get together to build a bridge out of straws, paper cups, and tape. They keep track of costs ($1,000 for each material) and must stay within a...
Curated OER
Intro to Building Bridges
Students participate in groups to complete the best bridge. In this bridge building lesson, students are assigned a role in building the bridge. Students will have to keep to their budgets. After the bridges are built, parents will be...
Curated OER
The Math in the Design and Building of Bridges
Research various types of bridge designs. Your class will be asked to consider what it would be like without bridges while learning about how they work. They will construct a model bridge based on given parameters. They then calculate...
Teach Engineering
Load It Up!
See how a marshmallow can hold up a bridge load. Teams take a closer look at the design of bridge piers. They determine the types of loads that might affect a bridge, and, using that information, they calculate the needed cross-sectional...
Curated OER
Construction Technologies: Construct the Strongest Bridge
Students investigate how engineers use different types of bridges for different places. In small groups they design and construct bridges for three different scenarios, and answer a series of investigating questions applied to the...
Curated OER
Spaghetti Bridges: Student Worksheet
In this math worksheet, students will create a "bridge" out of spaghetti and test it's strength with pennies. Students will record their results on a table and then graph the results.
Curated OER
Spaghetti Bridge
Students work together to build their own spaghetti bridge. They test the bridge to see how much weight it can hold before breaking. They discover how engineers use this type of information to design bridges.
Curated OER
Many Kinds of Bridges
Young scholars examine how there are many elements that need to be considered before building a bridge. Groups are given materials and they are to make a structure that can hold an object in suspension.
Teach Engineering
Show Me the Money
Class members learn how to estimate the total costs involved to design and build a bridge by including design, material, equipment, and labor costs. The activity includes a discussion about the trade-off between cost and aesthetics.
Curated OER
Pasta Bridges
Students design a bridge using pasta. They explore the elements of architecture involved in bridge building. They practice problem solving in a hands-on cooperative group effort.
Teach Engineering
Protecting Our City with Levees
Teams use the design process to design, build, and test a model levee to protect the town from a wall of water. A handout provides a price list for the materials learners can use to build their levee within a budget.
Mathematics Vision Project
Module 1: Getting Ready Module
This fabulous resource is a must-have for any algebra teacher's arsenal of lessons. Developing the idea of equations and use of variables from basic physical scenarios, learners gain valuable intuition in the structure and meaning of...
Curated OER
Spaghetti Bridges
Eighth graders experiment with building bridges of spaghetti, pennies, and a cup to determine how varying the number of spagetti pieces affects the strength of the bridge. They graph their results and interpret the data.
Curated OER
Bridges: Local, National and Global Connections
Fifth graders examine the role of bridges in commerce and transportation. They create a schedule for building a bridge and how much money it would take to build one.
Curated OER
Spaghetti Bridges: Student Worksheet
Pairs of learners work together in order to simulate how engineers test materials for strength and safety in the real world. They use paper cups and pieces of spaghetti to run strength tests. This excellent worksheet should lead to...
Achieve
Task: Storage Sheds
Bridge the gap between mathematics and Career Technical Education. Pupils research the cost associated with building storage sheds and analyze possible profit. They build scale models and determine if building and selling the sheds is a...
Curated OER
Reinforced Concrete Bridges
Pupils analyze bridge designs and functions. For this reinforced bridge lesson students brainstorm bridge ideas, divide into teams and give an oral presentation to the class to show them their bridge design.
Curated OER
Toothpick Bridges
Students study the techniques of building a bridge. They explore different type of bridges and then plan and build a bridge to specified instructions. Students draw plans, keep a budget, and prepare balance sheets during their bridge...
Curated OER
"Ex-SPAN-D" Your Math by Traveling Over the Chesapeake Bay
In this math lesson, students calculate the cost of bridge construction and time of completion. They solve and write short answers to 5 questions using mathematical operations.
Curated OER
Spaghetti Bridges
Students thread a piece of spaghetti through the holes in the cup. One person suspend the cup by placing each index finger approximately one inch in from the ends of the spaghetti.
Mathalicious
The Fall of Javert
Falling off a bridge might not sound like your idea of a good math problem, but incorporating the final scene of Les Misérables is sure to spark interest. The goal is to use the time Javert fell off the bridge to determine how high he...