MATHEMATICS 8

PA 3 1 and PA 3 2
Name:

Date:

Score: _______

_______

POPSICLE BRIDGE BUILDING

Triangle Congruence
INTRODUCTION
One of the moves of the City Council for economic development
is to connect a nearby island to the mainland with a bridge for
easy accessibility of the people. Those from the island can deliver
their produce and those from the mainland can enjoy the beautiful
scenery and beaches of the island.
As one of the engineers of the DPWH who is commissioned by
the Special Project Committee, you are tasked to present a
blueprint and popsicle model of a bridge to the City Council together with the City Engineers. Your
presentation will be evaluated according to its accuracy, practicality, stability and mathematical
reasoning.
TASKS
PA 3 1: RESEARCH WORK
The "Popsicle Bridge Building" project explores how engineering has impacted the development of
bridges over time, including innovative designs and the challenge of creating bridges that become
landmarks for a city. This project requires you to act like engineers and architects as you recall the
definition of congruent triangles, the congruence postulates and theorems, and proving congruence
of triangles. These concepts and skills will equip you to investigate, formulate, communicate,
analyze and solve real-life problems related to structure stability.
Furthermore, the knowledge of the different bridge types, as well as the most famous bridges
(under these types) in the world, will also help you in designing the best popsicle bridge model.
Submit a research paper highlighting this information. You may use the template shown on page 2.
Use your personal devices in researching.

Follow these formatting guidelines.

o Font style: Arial
o Font size: 12
o Spacing: 1.5
o Margin: 0.5 inch on all sides

Provide a cover page and print all pages. Submit on November 21, 2016, Monday.

Bridge Description
1. Arch bridge

Example (Picture)

Details
Name:
Location:
Description:

2. Beam bridge

Name:
Location:
Description:

3. Cable-stayed bridge

Name:
Location:
Description:

4. Cantilever bridge

Name:
Location:
Description:

5. Suspension bridge

Name:
Location:
Description:

6. Truss bridge

Name:
Location:
Description:

PA 3 2: POPSICLE BRIDGE BUILDING

Work in teams to design and build your own bridge out of up to 200 popsicle sticks and glue. Bridges
must have a span of at least 14 inches and be able to hold a twenty-pound weight. The bridge must
span at least 14 inches in length. But, it must be longer than 14 inches because when it has been
constructed, it will be placed between two chairs so it is at least one foot above the floor for a weight
bearing test.
In addition to meeting the structural and weight bearing requirements, the bridge will be judged on its
aesthetics as well, so be creative! And, you are encouraged to use the fewest number of popsicles
possible to achieve your goal.
Evaluate the effectiveness of your own bridge designs and those of other teams, and present your
findings to the class.
A. Planning Phase
Meet as a team and discuss the problem you need to solve. Then develop and agree on a design for
your bridge. You'll need to determine how many popsicle sticks you will use (up to 200) -- and the
steps you will take in the manufacturing process. Think about what patterns might be the strongest,
but you are also being judged on the aesthetics of your bridge! Draw your design in the box below,
and be sure to indicate the number of sticks you anticipate using. Present your design to the class.
You may choose to revise your teams' plan after you receive feedback from class.

Number of popsicle sticks you anticipate using: ______________________________________

B. Construction Phase
Build your bridge. During construction, you may decide you need additional sticks (up to 200) or that
your design needs to change. This is fine just make a new sketch and revise your materials list.
C. Aesthetic Vote
Each student will cast a vote about the look of each bridge. The scale is 1 5.
1: not at all appealing
4: somewhat appealing
2: not appealing
5: very appealing
3: neutral/average
This number is averaged to generate a score for each bridge. This score is not based on how well
the bridge might hold weight, but on how it looks.
Group
Number
1

Score

Comments

D. Testing Phase
Each team will test their bridge to see if it can withstand the required weight for at least one full
minute. Be sure to watch the tests of the other teams and observe how their different designs
worked.

E. Evaluation and Reflection Phase

Evaluate your teams' results, complete the evaluation worksheet, and present your findings to the
class.
Use this worksheet to evaluate your team's results:
1. Did you succeed in creating a bridge that held the required weight for a full minute? If not, why did
it fail?

2. Did you decide to revise your original design while in the construction phase? Why?

3. How many popsicle sticks did you end up using? Did this number differ from your plan? If so,
what changed?

4. What was the average aesthetic score for your bridge? How did this compare to the rest of the
class? What design elements of other bridges did you like the best?

5. Do you think that engineers have to adapt their original plans during the construction of systems or
products? Why might they?

6. If you had to do it all over again, how would your planned design change? Why?

7. What designs or methods did you see other teams try that you thought worked well?

8. Do you think you would have been able to complete this project easier if you were working alone?
Explain.

9. What sort of trade-offs do you think engineers make between functionality, safety, and aesthetics
when building a real bridge?

10. How did your knowledge of triangle congruence help you in designing your bridge? Why are
triangles the most commonly used polygon in building bridges?
SCORING GUIDE
PA 3 1 RESEARCH WORK
Evidence of
Critical Thinking
Evidence of
Creativity
Evidence of
Communication
and
Collaboration

PA 3 2 BRIDGE BUILDING
Evidence of
Critical Thinking
Evidence of
Creativity
Evidence of
Communication
and
Collaboration