Sydney Harbour Bridge

The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic image of both Sydney and Australia. The bridge is nicknamed "The Coathanger" because of its arch-based design.

The southern bridge end is located at Millers Point in The Rocks area, and the northern end at Milsons Point in the lower North Shore area. It carries six lanes of road traffic on its main roadway.

The bridge was formally opened on Saturday, 19 March 1932. Amongst those who attended and gave speeches were the state Governor, Sir Philip Game, the Minister for Public Works, and Ennis. The Labor Premier of New South Wales, Jack Lang, was to open the bridge by cutting a ribbon at its southern end.

Interesting Facts

Geometric Relationships

Parallel lines- lines in the same plane that do not intersect. In this structure, the vertical rungs between the top arc of the bridge and the bottom edge resemble parallel lines.

Perpendicular lines- two lines that intersect to form right angles. Perpendicular lines are shown in this piece of architecture when the vertical rungs intersect with the bottom edge of the bridge.

Transversal- a line that intersects two or more lines in a plane at different points. The Sydney Harbour Bridge contains a transversal at the center of the top arc. Although a triangle is created by two segments only one of them is considered a transversal.

Right angle- an angle whose degree measure is 90. A right angle is present on this bridge at the bottom left corner of one of the support beams.

Triangle- a figure formed by the segments determined by three noncollinear points. The three segments are called sides. The endpoints are called the vertices of the triangle. A triangle separates a plane into three parts, the triangle, its interior, and its exterior.

Skew lines- lines that do not intersect and are not in the same plane. In this structure skew lines are displayed, for example one of the top rungs on the bridge is skew to the bottom edge of the bridge.

Vertical angles- Two nonadjacent angles formed by two intersecting lines. If looked at from an aerial view, vertical angles in this bridge can be found where the top rungs cross.

Linear Pair- A pair of adjacent angles whose noncommon sides are opposite rays. A linear pair can be found at the top of the bridge where the rungs cross.

Collinear- points that lie on the same line. The point at the bottom of the vertical rung is collinear with the edge of the bridge.

Vertex- the common endpoint of the two rays that form an angle. Vertices are found where the tops rungs cross to form angles.

History

Sydney Harbour Bridge

By: Reshini Premaratne and

Joy Ma

How does math relate to the Sydney Harbour Bridge geometrically?

Architecture Project

Ms. Sievert

Period 7

Transversal

Parallel Lines

Collinear

Skew Lines

Perpendicular Lines

Right

Angle

If we were to rebuild this structure and still maintain it's integrity, we would enhance the support towers to make them look more sophisticated, modern, and attractive while still keeping them relative to the Australian culture. This would be an advantageous enhancement because it could possibly increase tourism and it would portray the unique Australian culture. We would have to ensure that the new support towers would not degrade the integrity of the bridge whatsoever. As this culture strives to leave a legacy, the architecture it leaves behind contributes to their legacy. So creating architecture that is relevant and exclusive to that pertaining culture is beneficial.

Workplace

Reflection

Workplace

There had been plans to build a bridge as early as 1815, when convict and noted architect Francis Greenway reputedly proposed to Governor Lachlan Macquarie that a bridge be built from the northern to the southern shore of the harbour.

More Illustrations of Relationships

Linear

Pair

On the bridge's eastern side there are two lanes of road traffic (formerly two tram tracks) and a footpath, and on its western side are two railway tracks and a bicycle path, making the western side 30.5 cm (12 in) broader than the eastern side.

However, just as Lang was about to cut the ribbon, a man in military uniform rode in on a horse, slashing the ribbon with his sword and opening the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the name of the people of New South Wales before the official ceremony began. He was promptly arrested.The ribbon was hurriedly retied and Lang performed the official opening ceremony.

Angles

Vertical

Triangle

(cc) photo by Jakob Montrasio

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