Testing and Results
 
   The major portion of the testing for this bridge was done with the distruction of the first bridge. That bridge was created with the same general design as this one but this one has some major modifications based on the breaking points of the first one. The first bridge (Fig 1) accomplished my goal of having the edge beams take all the weight but on that bridge, those beams were the part that broke first (other parts broke as the weight fell through the main support beams).
 
   Secondary testing was performed during construction to see what parts of the bridge needed the most support. Two chairs were set up 16.625 inches apart (Fig 2) and the bridge was then placed over this span. I then pushed on the top of it with either my hard or a 25 pound weight and looked at the specific toothpicks that bent so as to reinforce those.
 
 
Fig 1
 
 
Fig 2

 
 
   The final test of the bridge came on the day of the SciTrek competition (Fig3). As soon as the bridge broke (Fig 4), it was obvious what part was weakest. The bottom corner (Fig 5), right where all the pressure was supposed to go, was the part that broke. That place, because it was supposed to take so much pressure, was heavily reenforced but it remains a difficult task to create a corner from straight toothpicks so there were still some weak spots.
 
Fig 3
 
 
Fig 4

 
 
Fig 5