Summary & Explanation on Civil engineering and building science

The Civil Engineering we used:

1. We learned about the Modulus of Elasticity (E) which is used to help find stress and strain. This quantifies the material's resistance to plastic deformation.

2. We had to design and make a truss which is a rigid frame of short, straight pieces joined to form a series of triangles or other stable shapes.

3. We applied the ideas of force along with compression and tension. Compression being a force that compresses or shortens the thing it is acting on while tension pulls the thing it is acting on.

4. We also utilized moment of inertia to calculate the new strength of materials that were solid or hollow in order to create a cost effective and strong bridge.

The Building Science we used:

1. We had to incorporate the basics of a bridge such as the beam, pier, cantilever, and load. The beam and pier are horizontal and vertical supporting structures while the cantilever is a projecting structure like a diving board. The load is important too as it is the weight distribution through the structure and we have to manage this to create the ideal bridge.

2. Different types of bridges such as the beam bridge, arch bridge, and suspension bridge. The type of bridge is dependent on the various obstacles and the biggest difference between the three is the distance they can each cross in a single span.

Other relations to civil engineering and building science subjects that we learned in class:

• We had to use the Pythagorean theorem in order to find angles to calculate the stress and strain of our different members in our truss.

• We had to use geometry and trigonometry in order to find the amount of stress and strain on our members.

• We used free-body diagrams to help visualize the different forces that were occurring from different directions.