Homer Alaska - Schools

How much did the students in Jennifer Booz's eighth-grade science class learn during a recent unit on physics?

The teacher had only to look at the application of the students' knowledge of forces, mass, tension and stress as evidenced in toothpick bridges they designed and built.

"The students must adhere to strict guidelines while building their bridge to try for a bridge that will hold the most weight and have a high efficiency rating (load compared with the bridge's weight)," said Booz.

Judged in two categories — load and efficiency — bridge-builders of note were:

Load:

• First: Mariah Vantrease, 111.8 lbs.;

• Second: Hunter Needham,106.1 lbs.;

• Third: Danny Wiest, 103.8 lbs;

• Fourth: Megan Kirsis, 85.5 lbs.

Efficiency:

• First: Mariah Vantrease, 4.505;

• Second: Hunter Needham, 3.400;

• Third: Danny Wiest, 3.257;

• Fourth: August Kilcher, 2.730;

• Fifth: Gabe Brown, 2.713.