Bridge Lab Report

Brooke Barringer
Science Olympics
May 9, 2015

Background:
What is this experiment about? Creating a toothpick bridge, meeting the required standards,
and have the structure to hold the most.
Specific Terminology

Loading Block- the wooden peice that help the rope that
connected to the bucket.

Prerequisite knowledge

The stronger the bridge, the more it will hold.

Hypothesis:

If I complete my bridge with all the requirements filled and in the time alloted, my
bridge will hold the most weight.

Independent Variable
(Factor being manipulated)

The weight of the bridge and length.

Dependent Variable
(Factor being measured)

The weight the bridge could hold.

Constant(s)
(Controlled variables)

The distance of the tables.

If (Independent)

Then (Dependent)

Because (Theory)

The weight and length met

requirements...

the tables will be the same

distance for all trials...

when the requirements are

met and filled in the time
alloted, you will hold the most
weight.

Materials:

Toothpicks
Elmers Glue
Scissors

Nail Clippers
Sharpie
Parchement Paper

Procedure:

1. Create bidge design.

2. Trace onto parchment paper.
3. Clip all tips off of the toothpicks.
4. Align the toothpicks on the paper and glue together. *Make sure the length
exceeds 30cm.
5. Repeat this process until all lines are covered on the parchment paper.

6. Along the way, make sure the weight will reach to 30g and under 45g.
7. Once complete, repeat for all six sides of the bridge.
8. After all sides are dry and complete, glue all together.
9. The bridge is complete.
Results:

Results are stated in the data table below.

DATA TABLE:

i. Shown in the results above,

the highest weigth held was 107lbs. With both the weight and length
requirements filled, you get more points. The second highest weight held
was 46lbs.
Conclusion:
Restate your hypothesis

If I complete my bridge with all the

requirements filled and in the time alloted, my
bridge will hold the most weight.

Did your data support your hypothesis?

No it did not.

How or Why/Why not?

The hypothesis I created did not support the

data. The structure of the bridge decided
more on the weight it could hold compared to
the requirements.

What is your level of certainty in your data?

Are there errors or randomness?

The data collected can be off because it does

not include the weight of the loading block,
the rope, and the bucket.

Further Inquiry:
If you were to conduct this
experiment again, what would
you do differently to increase the
certainty of your results?

I would weigh the bucket, rope, and loading block I would

be using to add the the overall weight it held. This would
increase the certainty of the results.

Give a specific example of a field

or technology that could use this
information.

You could use the weight scale to get the correct weight of
the materials.

Give one new question or

problem that you could now
identify from what you learned in
this investigation.

The structure of the bridge depends on how much weight

it will hold. The more glue and compact, the more it can
hold.