Bridging The Gap Exercise

Safety v cost? A practical example that mathematicians, engineers and businesses face when trying to find a solution to a problem.

So that students can see just how important maths is in the world of work, we have put together a practical problem solving exercise called Bridging The Gap. It is designed to simulate the workings of a small team of engineers who are trying to find a solution to a problem by building a bridge between two points.

The students are divided into small teams and challenged to build the Bridge from newspaper and then work out how much it costs to build. It must be suspended 60cm above the ground and money is awarded for each completed piece. Beware though there are costs and time penalties apply.

Teams must forecast how much ‘profit’ they think they can make and then work out how much they actually make. Will your students design it so cheaply that it collapses or will they spend more money to make it strong and sturdy?

The exercise is suitable for both KS3 and KS4 students and runs over one lesson. Each team is given the student brief and finance sheet, a set of resources and a deadline. The winning team is the one who can build the longest bridge and accurately forecast their profit.

A great learning experience and good fun for everyone.

What’s more – we have made it really easy for the teacher to deliver too!

This resource contains: clear teachers’ briefing notes that explain how to run the exercise, resources needed and the assessment criteria. The students exercise brief and costing sheet, resources checklist and the assessment criteria.

How much does this all cost? Only £25.00 and can be re-used over and over again!

There are more details at… http://c-l-e.co.uk/buy-teaching-resources-online/bridging-the-gap-exercise/

You can pay and download the exercise immediately direct from our website using PayPal or you may wish to pay with either a cheque or a purchase order number. Simply e-mail your purchase order number to us and we will send the exercise to you along with the invoice for payment within 24 hours.

Julie O’Brien
Creative Learning Events
0113 3909814
07977 489779
http://c-l-e.co.uk/