The Study of Bridges
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Introduction

Bridges are all around us, in our world and in our language. Quotes are familiar to us such as: "Bridges to tomorrow" or "Bridges to discovery" and "Don't burn any bridges behind you." This page will prepare you to understand bridge
building. You will explore bridges throughout the world, types of bridges, the mathematics of bridge building, and how to construct a bridge yourself.

In this Webquest you will explore information about bridges. Each of you will create your own bridge. The Internet will provide all the resources that the students will need to explore this topic.

The Quest

Several concepts will be presented during this WebQuest:

We'll tour the bridges around the world.
We'll learn about the physics that makes them work!
We'll look at some sites for bridge construction.

When finished learning about these concepts, you will use your knowledge and build your own bridge.

The Process and Resources

You'll begin with everyone in your class getting some background information bridges. For the next two days, you will work on Phase 1.

Phase 1 - Background: Something for Everyone

Take a look at these webpages on bridges to gain background knowledge to help you with your WebQuest. Use other resources that you have access to so that you can explore and build on your own. Answer the following questions. You will turn in the answers about these questions when you have completed this webquest. Type your answers in a word document. Use complete sentences and check your spelling and grammer.

Here are the questions:

Why would you choose one bridge design over another?
How do bridges stay up?
What different kinds of bridges are built?
What is a truss?
Describe two famous bridges.
Describe a famous bridge disaster.