Balsa Bridge Contest
Each year members of all physics classes (except AP 2) are tasked to build the most efficient bridge they can using balsa wood and wood glue. The basic stipulations are:
- Limit of 8 sticks of balsa - 1/8" x 1/8" x 36"
- Glue provided in class
- Must span gap of 30 cm
- Bridge may only touch aluminum abutments - not table
- Bridges are tested to catastrophic failure - or until supported by table
- Bridges ranked by efficiency - (mass held)/(mass of bridge)
Navigate to the nested pages to see examples and results from previous years.