Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello, I am finalizing my project (about to type my report and put my board together) and I need some suggestions. My project was to design and build a bridge made of paper that would support at least 100 pennies. I researched all the types of bridges, supports, and uses, and spoke with a civil engineer. I know about tension, compression and torque, but I'd like to apply what I've learned to other things, I'm just not sure what those things would be. Any suggestions to continue my learning?

I was also hoping to have a catchy title, but I'm stumped. Any suggestions would be really helpful.

Thank you for your time.

Hi suzannebuza,

Tension, compression, and torque are come up in a lot of other places than bridges. Engineers think about these concepts whenever they design and build something, such as buildings and roadways. Torque plays a role in things as simple as screwing a screw with a screwdriver. These concepts also come up in biomechanics, which is a really cool area of science. This Wikipedia article has a nice discussion of biomechanics:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomechanics

For a title, how about something like "Which Bridge Holds Up Best Under Stress?"