Formative

Assessment
MYP - 4
Unit: Trigonometry
Criterion C: Communicating
Criterion D- Applying mathematics in real-life context
Name: Mustafa Date : 14/03/2022

Statement of Inquiry: Modelling allows us to solve new spatial relationship problems arising from
technical innovations.

Communication: Make inferences and draw conclusions;

Understand and use mathematical notation;
Structure information in report.

Transfer Skills: Apply skills and knowledge in unfamiliar situations

Command Terms:

 Communicate- Give a written explanation using correct mathematical language.

 Find : Obtain answer showing relevant stages of working .

 Identify- Find out what the problem is asking for

 Apply-Apply the chosen strategy to solve problems set in familiar and unfamiliar
situations.

 Show – Give the steps in calculate.

 Estimate : Obtain an approximate value of unknown quantity.

 Justify- Give valid reasons or evidence to support an answer or conclusion.

Criterion C _______ Criterion D ______

Teacher’s Comment:

PSG/MYP-4/FA-CD/2021-22/HK/SS/GB
 G : The goal of assessment is to understand the engineering behind different types of bridges and make
the appropriate decision depending upon various factors.

R: You are a MYP 4 student and are supposed to write an article on “Modernization and industrialization-
in the context of bridges” for your school newsletter.

A: To present the report on “engineering of modern bridges” to the newsletter for your school.

S: Bridges are a critical component of a nation’s infrastructure and structure of bridges have been
evolved immensely over the years due to modernization and industrialization. You are supposed to
analyze structure of road-rail bridge between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan over river Amu Darya.

P: A report consisting of complete analysis on the comparison of two different models of bridges.

Resources:

Watch the following video to understand Truss and Suspension bridge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtGCdmQHWX4&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V4HwUCrdvw

Abstract

Bridges are a critical component of a nation’s infrastructure and structure of bridges have been evolved
immensely over the years due to modernization and industrialization.

Read the following article to know about modern bridges :

https://www.britannica.com/technology/bridge-engineering

The Friendship Bridge is a rail-road bridge across the river Amu Darya, connecting the town of
Hairatan in the northern Balkh province of Afghanistan with Termez in the Surxondaryo
Region of Uzbekistan.[1] The bridge was built by the Soviet Union and opened in 1982 to supply its forces
who were based in Afghanistan at the time. [2] It is used today for trade and travel purposes between the
two countries.

Read the article on following link to know about significance of Friendship Bridge:

http://www.andrewgrantham.co.uk/afghanistan/railways/hairatan-and-the-friendship-bridge/

PSG/MYP-4/FA-CD/2021-22/HK/SS/GB
Picture 1:-The Friendship Bridge crosses the Amu Darya which forms the border between Uzbekistan
and Afghanistan

(Photo: Staff Sgt. Bradley Lail/US Air Force)

Task 1: Bridges are planned and constructed based on many factors. The Friendship Bridge across Amu
Darya was built to connect Uzbekistan and Afghanistan as shown above in Picture-1

Structure of Friendship Bridge: The bridge is of length 816 meters, width of 15 meters and is composed
of 8 trusses of equal dimensions as shown below. Further, each truss consists of four equilateral
triangles as shown in figure below. Assuming there is no gap between trusses.

PSG/MYP-4/FA-CD/2021-22/HK/SS/GB
 1. Using the appropriate strategy, find the height of each triangle in the truss.

We assume that the trusses are equally distant (no gap between them) from each other, meaning that
the length of one truss would equal the total length of the bridge divided by the number of trusses and
then the number of trusses in that truss. ((816/8)/4). Since the triangle is a equilateral triangle all three
sides are equal.
(816/8)/4 = 25.5

60o (816/8)/4 = 25.5

60o 60o
(816/8)/4 = 25.5
(Image of one of the trusses)

Sin 60 = x/25.5

x= Sin 60 x 25.5

x=22

2. Select and apply correct logical reasoning, to find the total amount of iron metal (in meters)
used to build all the trusses on the both sides of bridge. (Refer to Picture 1, excluding iron metal
used on top and on front)

First we would find the perimeter of one of the four trusses then we would multiply that
perimeter with 4 which is the number of trusses. Then with 2 for both sides of the bridge,
afterwards we add the iron required for the top line which is the total length of the bridge by
the number of trusses which is 8 (816/8=102m) , into 2 for both sides.

x= ((((25.5x3) +22)x4)x2)+(102x2)

PSG/MYP-4/FA-CD/2021-22/HK/SS/GB
 x= 992m of iron for both sides of one trusses, so for the whole bridge it would be 7,936m of iron
(992x8)

3. If the iron bar/metal costs $40 per meters, then estimate the budget required to construct the
bridge.(Iron metal is also used on vertical of each four triangles as shown above in Picture 2.

If the iron metal costs $40 per meter then estimated budget to construct the bridge’s two iron sides
would be, $317,440

Task 2:

In the recent years due to modernization and industrialization, the structure of bridges have evolved
and architects have been emphasizing on construction of safe bridge that is elegant and provides all the
functionality. Aesthetics is not an additional consideration in the design of bridge, but is rather an
integral part of its design.

Suspension bridges as shown below started appearing in the early 19 th century and have advantage of
covering long spans and take less time to build.1

Fig. 1: Full view of Suspension Model

Structure of Suspension Bridge:

PSG/MYP-4/FA-CD/2021-22/HK/SS/GB
 Fig.2: Design of Suspension Bridge

 The total length and height of bridge remains constant as 816 meters and 22 meters
respectively and two support towers are planted 408 meters apart.
 The whole bridge can be divided into 4 equally structured half parabolic shape of length 204 m
(two on either side of point A and one on each side beyond tower B) as shown in above Fig. 1
and 2. Assuming point A touching the road surface, total 18 cables equally apart touch the
road surface on the either side of point A midway between towers.
 Further, the height (h) of vertical cables used in between the support towers is related the
horizontal distance (x) of cable from the lowest point A of suspension by

x2= 1891.64 h

As an MYP-4 student, write an article under section Modernization-Industrialization in context of

bridges on the “Comparison of Truss v/s Suspension structure for Friendship Bridge.”

Your article must be based on following points:

1. Identify at least four factors which affect the structure and purpose of bridge.
 Cost of materials – if the cost of materials are very highly it would be logical to serve a
commercial purpose to be able to make that money back and visa versa.
 The aesthetics of the bridge – If the bridge is not very aesthetically pleasing it would
make using it for government purposes more sensible. Since a bridge that is built
quicker would be better than a one built to be aesthetic as it would be likely used to
carry military operations in that case time would be of at most importance and so is
structure since some military vehicles cannot pass through bridges that have parts build
just for a aesthetic need.
 Amount of safety provided by the bridge – The safety provided by the bridge would be
key in understanding the purpose and structure since a safer bridge would likely contain

PSG/MYP-4/FA-CD/2021-22/HK/SS/GB
 more material and would be used for commercial purposes as safety is very important
for commercial activity.
 Amount of weight the bridge can carry on top of its original weight – this is a factor since
the more weight a bridge can carry would equal a higher amount of vehicle with a high
amount of weight.

2. Estimate the height of all the cable between point A and tower as shown in Fig 2 in the
following table.

Since the height (h) of vertical cables used in between the support towers is related the
horizontal distance (x) of cable from the lowest point A of suspension by x 2= 1891.64 h we can
use this information to find the height. x=length of all cables till the first/number of cables
including the first tower since we have the total height, x=204/18. The height of C 1 would be,
((204/10)x2)2=1891.64h  h=((204/10)x2)2/1891.64  h= 0.87m

Distance from A Height of cable (rounded off to 2 d.p.)

(refer to fig 2)Cable 1 C1 0.21m
Cable 2, C2 0.87m
Cable 3, C3 1.97m
Cable 4 C4 3.51m
Cable 5, C5 5.49m
Cable 6, C6 7.91
Cable 7, C7 10.77
Cable 8, C8 14.07
Cable 9, C9 17.81

3. If for Suspension Bridge, the iron metal is only used in making vertical cables and Towers of 4
equally type of half parabolic structure as shown in Figure 1 and 2 , then Using appropriate
strategy, compare the estimated quantity of iron metal and the cost required to build
Suspension structure with that of Truss structure assuming the same cost per meter of iron
metal as in Task 1.

If iron metal is only used in making vertical cables and towers then the quantity of iron metal to
build the suspension structure would be,

PSG/MYP-4/FA-CD/2021-22/HK/SS/GB
 (0.21 + 0.87 + 1.97 + 3.51 + 5.49 +7.91 + 10.77 + 14.07 + 17.81)=62.61m  (62.61x4)+(21.99x2)
 588.84of iron would be required for the suspension structure on both sides.

Which would approximately cost 588.84x cost per meter  588.84x $40  $23,553.6

4. A certain percentage of nation’s budget is dedicated towards the construction and maintenance
of the public bridges. Justify your choice of structure of Friendship Bridge if government decides
to reconstruct it under budget of $60,000-$150,000
If the nation’s budget for the construction of the bridge is $60,000-$150,00 then choosing the
friendship bridge would not be a reliable choice since the structure would cost upwards of
$317,440 which is crossing the budget by a milestone. The more reliable option would be to
build a suspension bridge since the cost of a suspension bridge would be upwards of $23,553.6.
So the choice of reconstructing the bridge would not be logical since it would go over the budget
but reconstruction using the suspension method would be ideal as it would on budget.

5. Justify degree of accuracy of report.

The degree of accuracy of the report is up to mark as the report rounds down and takes 2
decimal places for height since the height cannot increase and usually does not round and takes
true and accurate values given after calculations.

6. Justify if the solution makes sense in real-life in the context of modernization and innovation of
old bridges.

The solution makes negligible sense in real-life context of modernization and innovation of old
bridges as the innovated design of the bridges solve almost all problems with the previous
design. But one part the new modernized design takes minimal consideration of the cost of
labor cost, the cost of other parts of the bridge like roads and lighting, cost of increase of raw
materials, geological events, and the cost of equipment to make the labor useful. As the
suspension structure is cheaper but is the road and the equipment required. This leads me to
conclude that the solution makes sense looking at the design but in terms of modernization it
does not include the main features of the bridge.

PSG/MYP-4/FA-CD/2021-22/HK/SS/GB