Chapter 11

Questions and Answers

Question 1
According to Kirk, what are the main
problems that the Central Artery
Project is trying to solve?

The main problems that the project was trying

to solve was to reduce the traffic congestion
that was getting worse, to improve the business
district by putting the tunnel in, and connecting
the suburbs to the city.

Question 2
Three engineers are designing a civic center for a small
city: an architect, a structural engineer, and a field
engineer. Describe how each team member would
contribute to the construction project. Name at least three
other individuals who might also work on the project.

The architect would design the plans based on what

the civil engineer determined the .building would be
used for and how people would interact with it. The
structural engineer would make sure the building
was safe and that it could support all of the dead
and live loads that would amount to the total load it
had to support.

Question 3

What were the design requirements of

the Zakim Bridge?

The design requirements were to make the

towers narrow enough to fulfill the aesthetic
appeal to it as well as be able to be strong
enough to last the loads. The bridge had to
handle large amounts of traffic and still be
visually appealing.

Question 4
Describe at least three structural components
that contribute to the dead load of your school
building. Describe at least three components
that contribute to the live load.

Three components that

contribute to the dead load
would be the floors, beams, and
roof, three live loads would be
the kids, desks, and tables.

Question 5
What is the minimum dead load (in
tons) of a steel bridge that must carry
100 tons of traffic? What will be the
total load of that bridge?

The dead load in tons of a steel

bridge would be 100 tons and
the total load would be 200
tons.

Question 6
A scaffold has a dead load that is 60
percent of its total load. If the scaffold
weighs 1,200 pounds, how much live
load is it supporting?

The live load it can support

would be 250 pounds.

Question 7
Define compression and tension.
Would the rope in a tug-of-war contest
experience compression or tension?

Compression is when the ends of an object are

pushed towards the object's center tension is
when the ends are pulled away from the center.
The rope in a tug of war experiences tension.

Question 8
Describe how bending occurs in a
diving board with someone standing
on the end. You may want to draw a
sketch to help you.

A diving board experiences bending

when someone stands at the end
because the end they are standing on
is be pulled away from the center and
the opposite end is being pulled
towards the center.

Question 9
In The Art of Engineering, Robert Hartmann
discussed how an objects look and feel is as
important as its function. Would Kirk Elwell
agree? Copy two or more sentences from this
chapter to support your answer.

Yes he would agree with this statement and it is

proven in this statement. "But beyond moving
traffic, the bridge designers planned for it to
become emblem of the city, not unlike San
Francisco's Golden Gate bridge or St. Louis'
arch.

Question 10
Kirk talks about the importance of keeping relationships
with other organizations running smoothly, even if it
means spending more money on the project. What might
the consequences be if the engineers and managers
working on the Central Artery Project ignored the interests
of civic organizations? How does this relate to your own
life? What relationships are important for you to keep
running smoothly every day?

If they ignored the interests of other groups it

would not fully meet the people's needs who
would be interacting with it. It is important to
do things that my parents want me to do so
that I can do the things that I want to do.