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DamburstActivity 1 Disaster

A teaching sequence from the Catastrophe unit

cracking science!

Activity from the Catastrophe unit © upd8 wikid, built by cracking science 2009 This page may have been changed from the original

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To use different sources of information to decide on possible causes of a dam burst.

3Engage

Scary stuff, isn’t it?

That kind of thing happens for real. It’s my job to work out why, so we can stop it happening again.

Are you ready to join my team?

4Engage

Get your bags packed. We’re off to Asia.

Engage

Two days later, at the Indostan Royal Hotel

Quick! Go and unpack. Be back at 9 pm sharp to discuss what we know about the dam burst.

Read the articles first.5

Engagediscuss

SS16

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9 pm – at the Indostan Royal Hotel

OK. Here’s what

we know about the dam so far…

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The Sefin Dam was built across the Sefin River to create a reservoir.

Reservoir

Dam

The reservoir stores rain that falls during wetter times of the year so that there is a supply of water for drier periods.

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Spillway This passes water safely over the dam when the reservoir is full.

Reservoir

Dam

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It was an embankment dam.

The walls were built from pieces of rock quarried locally.

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Hidden inside was a core made out of concrete.

The dam sat on a natural foundation of rock.

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OK. Any ideas why this dam burst?

discuss

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Thanks for your ideas yesterday. Overnight,I've scoured records, reports and websites.

It seems there are eight main possible causes for the dam burst.

Which causes shall we investigate further?

Can we discount any?

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Possible cause 1: There was a build up of sediment in the reservoir.

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Possible cause 2: There was a landslide into the reservoir.

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Possible cause 3: There was an earthquake.

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Possible cause 4: The dam was built on unsuitable foundations.

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Possible cause 5: The dam was built from unsuitable materials.

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Possible cause 6: The waterproof core cracked.

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Possible cause 7: The spillway got blocked.

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Possible cause 8: Terrorists attacked the dam.

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We need to decide which causes to investigate further.

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Are there any we can discount?

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1 There was a build up of sediment in the reservoir.

2 There was a landslide into the reservoir.3 There was an earthquake.4 The dam was built on unsuitable

foundations.5 The dam was built from unsuitable

material.6 The waterproof core cracked.7 The spillway got blocked.8 Terrorists attacked the dam.

Possible causes of the Sefin Dam burst

24discuss

SS