Brick Activity

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Brick Activity

• Mrs. Weidman
• Algebra I

2
Objectives

• Students will
• Use problem solving strategies to design a scale
  model of a wall without fault lines
• Discuss the importance of structural integrity in
  regions prone to earthquakes
• Gain an understanding of the importance of
  engineering a structure that can withstand
  natural disasters

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Standards

• 4.2 GEOMETRY AND MEASUREMENT
• Geometric Properties (A 3,4,5)
• 4.5 Mathematical Processes
• Problem Solving (A 1,2,3,4,5)
• Communication (B 1,2,3,4)
• Reasoning (C 3,4,5,6)
• Representations (E 1,2,3)

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Materials

• 1 set of Dominoes per pair/group
• ¼ or ½ inch graph paper
• Pencils and erasers

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Procedures

• Prior Knowledge/Probing
• Has anyone ever been in the middle of a natural
  weather disaster?
• What type of natural disaster are people most
  concerned with in places like California?
• How can earthquakes affect buildings and other
  infrastructures when they occur?
• How can we prevent structures from crumbling and
  being destroyed?
• Discuss fault lines
• (San Andreas Fault)

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Procedures Contd.

• Present the Problem
• You are a brick wall builder in Southern
  California. You have discovered how to build the
  strongest wall possible using 2-by-1 bricks. You
  have come to the conclusion that a wall made of
  these bricks has the most strength if there are
  no fault lines. Here is an example of a brick
  wall with a fault line. You can see that there
  are lines that go through the wall uninterrupted.
  
• You must find a masonry pattern without any fault
  lines. This means that every grid line (that is,
  the lines, both horizontal and vertical, spaced
  at the width of one domino and extending
  perpendicularly between parallel edges) of the
  rectangle intersects at least one domino.

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Procedures Contd.

• Have Students Consider the Following
• In case 1) the fault line is vertical. In
  all three cases the fault lines are vertical.
• In case 2) the fault line is horizontal.
• Group Work
• Use the dominoes to help find a fault-free
  pattern, then draw it.
• Describe how you found your pattern.
• Are there other fault-free patterns using this
  number of bricks or is the one you found unique?

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Assessment

• Teacher observation
• Collaboration and cooperation with group members
• Final structure created without fault lines
• Individual summary including
• Group methods to construct brick wall
• The importance of engineering a structure that
  can withstand natural disasters
• Awards
• First group to construct brick wall with no fault
  lines
• Unique designs

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Connections

• Analyze and ponder the construction of real
  buildings, bridges, etc.
• Get students to think about construction on the
  micro and nano-scale
• Mechanical/Civil Engineering Presentation from
  Drexel
• Field trip to Drexel University