Power: Hurricane Forces and Their Effect on Structures



Complete all of the steps below carefully and completely.
You will be given a check list to be sure that you have completed all of the tasks.  Assign someone from your team to keep the check list and mark off each time your group accomplishes a task.
Step One:  Choose roles
Each person chooses a role that they will be the leader of.  This does not mean that they alone complete the task but that they are in charge of making sure it is done and making the decisions for it.  This also means that they are in control of the lap top during this task.
Once your roles are chosen, it is time to begin!
 Step Two:  Research You must learn about structures before you can design them.  Complete each activity below in order.  Remember that you will hand in all notes, answers to questions etc. so keep them organized.  Research leader, now is the time to choose others to help you record answers, read information etc.
  1. Types of Structures:  You will need a Science and Technology Textbook on Structures from me.  Take turns reading pages 8-18 and answer the questions on page 18.  Do both Communicate and Check Your Progress.
  2. Types of Loads: Read pages 28-32 to learn about types of loads.  Answer the Communicate (1,2 and 3) Questions on page 30.
  3. Loads Lab: Visit the following site http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/loads.html to try the Loads lab.  Make notes about what qualities you think your levee will need to have to allow it to withstand the forces of wind and water.  Use these notes later to help with your levee designs.
  4. Internal Forces: Read pages 37-39.  Complete Communicate #1 and 2.  #1 might be a good job for your Drafts person!
  5. Forces Lab: Visit the following site http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/forces.html to try the forces lab.  Make notes about what kind of forces your levee will have to withstand or possess in order to be structurally sound.
  6. Shapes Lab: Visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/shapes.html to learn about the strength of different shapes.  Make notes about what shapes would be best to use for your levee design.
  7. Structural Shapes:  Read page 50 and complete the Problem Solver on page 51.  Toothpicks are available from me. Take notes on your results.
  8. Materials Lab: Visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/materials.html to learn about the different materials that you can use for your levee.  Make notes about the pros and cons of ALL materials to help you choose your levee material.
  9. Stress, Fatigue and Failure:  Read page 44.  Turn to page 47 and do Communicate #3.  After completing create the same kind of chain of events for what happened to the New Orleans levees.
  10. Dam Lab:  Levees are basically small dams.  Visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/dam/basics.html to learn about different types of Dams.  Answer the following question in your book:  What type of Dam(s) are the New Orleans levees?  Think about the problems with this kind of dam and make notes in your book.  Use these notes to decide what kind of Dam you think your levee design should be.

Step Three:  Design Your Levee
Time for your Design Engineer to take over.  Follow the following steps to design your levee.
  1. Look back at all the notes and information that you gathered during the research portion of the assignment.  From these notes, create three different levee designs.
  2. Draw diagrams of each of the three designs.  Use Science and Technology Structures pages 110 and 111 to show you how to properly create a diagram. Draw your diagrams using the Simple Sketch method and include a front view, side view and top view of your designs.  All three can be on one paper. Use provided graph paper.  BE SURE to use a ruler and pencil.  Colour in your completed diagrams.
  3. Label all diagrams in pencil
  4. Look at your designs and create a chart comparing the positives and negatives of each.
  5. Choose one design or combine qualities of all three and create your final levee design.
  6. Write a paragraph explaining why you think your design would be successful at protecting New Orleans from flood waters.  What does your new design have that New Orleans does not currently have?
  7. Time to make a 3D computer generated model of your levee system.  Use Google SketchUp to create model of your levee.
Step Four:  Build Your Levee
Your group must now take the diagram of the levee that you have chosen and build a 3D model of your levee design.  Follow these steps to build.
  1.  Choose which material you would like to use for your model.  Will it be wood?  Cardboard?  Clay?  A combination?
  2. Choose the scale of your model.  For example:  1 cm on the diagram = 5 cm on the model.
  3. Build a base for your model
  4. Begin to build the model of your levee.  You will want to include a representation of the water it is holding back (or real water!), the ground and maybe some house models to show how close to the people the levees are.
Step Five:  Present to Town Counsil
Now your Presentation Coordinator can take over leadership. You must now prove to the mayor and town council that your group's levee design is worth the prize.  Your presentation must include:
  1. An outline of everything that you learned from your research and how you applied it to your design.
  2. All three drafts of your levee design.
  3. Your 3D design on SketchUp 
  4. Your 3D live model of your levee system.
 You can choose how you would like to present your information but you will need to use a computer for your SketchUp model.

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