Bridge Up!: Mastering Materials: Two Kinds of Strength

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STRENGTH RATING:
TENSION: 60,000 PSI
COMPRESSION: 60,000 PSI

STRENGTH RATING:
TENSION: 400 PSI
COMPRESSION: 8,000 PSI

STRENGTH RATING:
TENSION: 1,500 PSI
COMPRESSION: 1,500 PSI

STRENGTH RATING:
TENSION: 200 PSI
COMPRESSION: 4,000 PSI

Bridges must be built of strong materials — but there are different kinds of strength.

Compression strength: Strong when squeezed
Tension strength: Strong when stretched

Drag the images of the different materials to the appropriate part of the diagram.

CONCRETE

WOOD

STEEL

Good Work!

Wood can be strong under both compression and tension—but its tensile strength is less than steel's, and its compressive strength is less than concrete's.

Engineers get the best qualities from steel and concrete by making reinforced concrete.

Concrete is poured around steel bars (rebar) to form structures that are strong in both tension and compression.

Drag the reinforced concrete to the Tension-Compression diagram!