Week 10: Bridget Breslin

In the previous week, the team had redesigned the bridge completely for the thirty six inch span. The bridge was then tested during class. We had suspected that the bridge would hold somewhere in between thirty and thirty five pounds. After testing the bridge, it was able to hold 32.2 pounds. The efficiency cost was $11,599. I thought that the bridge would break in the middle due to the weight however it broke at the bottom side. Regardless the bridge held as much as had been predicted.

Looking back at the time spent in this course, I think that I really learned a lot. In every topic that was discussed there were elements that helped me to expand my thinking and understanding of how things work. At first, thinking about building a bridge out of Knex does not seem like a difficult task. However, it is a much bigger challenge. This course enabled me to think about how by adjusting part of the design, it could benefit or hurt another part. It also allowed me to understand real life situations a little bit better. Thinking about everything completed and used throughout the course, everything seemed to be beneficial. The software used helped students to get an understanding of how a bridge works but also to think of other factors that may not be as obvious when constructing a bridge. Even all of the people that were involved in the learning process were extremely helpful and excited about the project. This helped student to understand the task at hand better and become more excited to find out how everyone will do. I think the most beneficial thing for me was experimenting with the bridges. Being able to physically see what was wrong with the bridge gave me a better idea of how it should be adjusted and how the bridge actually works. Overall, this section was very educational and fun which made it easier to learn.