difference b/w bridge and switch

what is the difference between bridges and switches

I would say the main difference is that a switch has a much higher port density then bridges. Bridges came about in order to divide networks into smaller collision domains by doing MAC filtering on the segments that the bridges are plugged into. If you go back to proper Ethernet BUS Topologies when they used 10Base2 BNC connection, you got a true BUS style using 50 ohm Coax Cable, the Bridges then plugged into this topology to seperate these cable lenghts in order to make the collision domain smaller.

Hope it makes sense

Just as an aside, one thing I personally find annoying when studying this topic was the way all texts use the terms "Bridge" and "Switch" interchangably even in the same sentance which, although we know they are treated as the same thing, can get confusing and throw you off track.

Definately one thing in my ccna study that has definately ticked me off.

Agreed, they are not the same. However for the purposes of understanding the basic operation think of a 'switch' as a 'multi-port bridge' and you won't go far wrong