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Paper Bridge
ZOOMsci Index | your results | list of activities |
Sent in by:
Kimberly of BC
Can you make a paper bridge that can support 100 pennies?
- piece of 8 1/2" x 11" paper
- 6 books
- 100 pennies
- ruler
- Do you think that by using just one piece of paper, you can make a bridge that holds a lot of pennies?
- Make two stacks of books of equal height. Put them 6 inches apart.
- Make a bridge by putting a sheet of paper across the books.
- Put some pennies on the bridge. How many pennies can the bridge support before it collapses? What happens if the pennies are in the center of the bridge or spread across the bridge?
- How can you make the bridge stronger? Try bending, folding, or tearing the paper.
- Test your bridge again by adding pennies one at a time. How many pennies can your bridge support?
- Can you change the design of your bridge to support more pennies?
How can you make a weak material like paper strong enough to support a load of pennies? One way is to change its shape, like rolling it in a tube, crumpling it, or folding it. The ZOOM cast made a strong bridge by folding the paper like a fan. How did you make a strong bridge? Try it out and be sure to send us your results.
You can also send us your pictures or video of this ZOOMsci:
ZOOMsci
ZOOM
Box 350
Boston, MA 02134
Desiree, age 10 of Syracuse, IN wrote:
I got 125 penies on my bridge. What I did was faned the paper and once I got 99 penies on my bridge it looked like it would fall. I put another faned piece of paper on top of the other piece of paper and fit 21 penies on it.
Jackson, age 4 of Lexington, VA wrote:
I made the paper bridge using 6 books and I folded my piece of paper like a fan. With the help of my little sister (she's almost 2) we were able to put 135 pennies, 3 quarters, 5 dimes, and 3 nickles before it collapsed.
Rebecca, age 12 of PA wrote:
I ran out of pennies while doing mine (I had put over 300 on it). I was able to fit 3 pounds 7 ounces of books on it, though.
Jd, age 8 wrote:
It fell down at 184 pennies.
Ashley, age 10 of FL wrote:
When I did the paper bridge I used paper clips and I used all 94 paper clips. But first I used wide ruled paper, and folded it long ways. But I still had the books '8' inches apart.
Tiffany, age 10 of ON wrote:
When I did the paper Brige I was able to fit 130 pennies onto it.
Patrick, age 13 of OH wrote:
My bridge held 209 pennies! Then when I put the 210th penny on there it just collapsed.
Sam & Jaci, age 13 of NY wrote:
We got 50 pennies, 30 dimes, and 9 nikls in a paper bridge with one piece of paper. We took the paper and folded two corners like you did, only just with 2 corners folded three times. The coners have to be across from each other. And it worked!
Lindsey, age 11 of IL wrote:
It calapsed.
William, age 10 of DE wrote:
It held 4.
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