Over the past few weeks, we have been working on a "bridges" unit. We've studied the arch bridge, beam bridge, and suspension bridge. The forces that allow these bridges to function successfully are tension and compression. When something is in compression, it is being "pushed" so to speak, and when something is in tension it is being "pulled." These forces often act together on a bridge. There are over half a million bridges in the US and we rely on them every day to cross rivers, lakes, streams, railroad tracks and more. We have had a lot of fun constructing these bridges ourselves in order to understand how they work. We've acted out arches, pushing and pulling to demonstrate tension and compression, we've built trusses (triangular framed) bridges, and plan to try our hand at building suspension bridges next week. Can you think of any examples of bridges that you see regularly or have seen in the past? Are they arches, beams, or suspension bridges? They are all amazing structures and interesting to learn about! Want to learn more? Stay tuned, we'll be putting together slideshows of our pictures and discoveries on our blog for all to see next week.
-Mrs. Zawis
