The Elephant on the Bridge

This resource may not be final.

Oh my Nelly...

Lesson idea. A brief explanation of an investigation in to the load carrying capabilities of bridges of varying length and cross sectional area, each built from a piece of A4 paper.

Teaching approach. An interactive way of exploring this activity might be to have the children in small groups^(ta) building a rope/string bridge and using a model elephant to stand on it. The children could either observe what happens and then discuss it or could film it and watch in time lapse to see exactly where the movement occurs in the bridge/elephant system. The latter would assist them in considering the direction of the forces acting as they would be able to see the direction of movements very clearly.

Resource details
Title	Building paper bridges from a piece of A4 paper
Topic
Teaching approach
Learning Objectives	to gain understanding of the nature of force and the way in which force acts on objects, in the context of paper bridges bearing weights to gather data and draw conclusions
Format / structure
Subject
Age of students / grade
Table of contents
Additional Resources/material needed	http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/shapes.html
Useful information
Related ORBIT Wiki Resources
Other (e.g. time frame)
Files and resources to view and download	Download the document here File:Bridges.doc, or view it on the wiki Bridges/Lesson Document
Acknowledgement
License