Aim: How do we evaluate the efficiency of a truss bridge design?
Although at the end of this project we will be testing the balsa wood bridges to determine how much weight they hold, we will learn that holding the most amount of weight does not necessarily mean that the bridge is designed efficiently. In order to judge a bridge we need to take into account such characteristics as efficiency and design elements:
- amount of weight the bridge can hold before structural failure
- how much the bridge itself weighs
- the dimensions of the bridge
- architectural design elements (such as symmetry or asymmetry)
How else would you evaluate a successful bridge design?
Please see below for the general bridge building rubric that was handed out in class:
[gview file=”https://www.whsad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Bridge-Building-Rubric.pdf”]
