Brunel Would have Been Proud of You

Transcription

1 Brunel Would have Been Proud of You AGE RANGES: TASK: OBJECTIVES: Students make or observe the making of a steampowered boat, properly called a pulsating water engine. To explore Newton s Third Law of Motion; to explore how steam engines work; to consider the impact on Victorian transport, particularly shipbuilding. CURRICULUM FIT: Science Key Stage 3, Cross Curricular History 11a (Victorian Britain). The Experiment: PLEASE BY MINDFUL THROUGHOUT THIS OF APPROPRIATE HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES. PARTICULARLY HANDLING HOT METAL TUBING. figure 1 You will need the following equipment: d nautical enginewill need Foil tray (or something that floats) cm copper tubing (about 3 mm internal diameter) Dowel (or something else round and about 1 2 cm in diameter) Modelling clay Pipette or dropper Small candle (tealight) and match/lighter Tub of water to launch your boat on. Instructions

2 Firstly you need to prepare the boat: Bend the front of the foil tray to form a prow (the front bit), then pierce two small holes in the back of the tray (the stern). The holes should be a few centimetres apart. figure 2a figure 2b Next make your engine: Wrap the copper tubing around the dowel rod about 5 or 6 times to make a closelywrapped coil, leaving about 3 cm of straight pipe at either end. These straight bits at the end will be the engine s inlet and outlet. Remove the coil from the dowel rod. figure 3

3 Now put the two together: Push the straight ends of the coil through the holes at the back of the boat so about 1/2 cm of the tubing sticks out at the bottom. Seal up any space around the tubing with modelling clay so the hull doesn t leak. figure 4 Finally, fill up the engine: Turn the boat upside down and using the pipette squirt some water into one end of the copper-coil engine. Ready to Go! figure 5 Place the boat on water and rest the lit candle under the coil. Once the water you squirted into the engine has heated up, it should start to move! 22 Planet Science

4 Teachers Notes: Students will need to know Newton s Third Law of Motion: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that if you push something, it ll push back at you just as much. Think about swimming you push the water backwards with your arms and you go forwards; if you want to go faster you push faster. It s equal because it s the same amount of force; it s opposite because it s in the other direction. The coil s acting like a boiler, making steam which gets forced out of the bottom of the boat through the copper tube. The water pushes back at this steam and so propels the boat forwards. After the steam is ejected, a partial vacuum is created in the tubing thus forcing more water to be sucked into the boiler, starting the whole process over again a really simple steam engine. This experiment was recommended to us by Illusory Pendulum Play with your mind an d learn about the eye Setting the scene The Little Book of Experiments 31 Up, up, up and away Make a Hot Air Balloon

5 Brunel Would Have Been Proud of You Lesson objectives Students investigate Newton s Third Law of Motion; observe or make a pulsating water engine; explore how steam engines work; consider the impact of the above on Victorian transport, particularly shipbuilding. Time Activity Learning objective Resources 10 min 5 min 20min 5 min Starter Teacher led discussion about the Newton s Third Law of Motion. Explanation of the Health and Safety issues. Main In pairs the students follow the instructions on the worksheet and assemble the boat up to the Ready To Go stage. Throughout, teacher ensures quality control. Teacher selects best model and lights the candle under the coil. The water squirted into the engine heats up. Plenary 10 min Students consider other applications of the steam-engine principle to drive machinery and the impact on the Victorian economy For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction Working safely with hot liquids, steam Using worksheet students follow instructions and construct boat Observe how steam engines work; steam is forced out through the bottom of the boat Cotton, wool and textile trades, coal-mining, iron and steel manufacture, locomotives. Goggles, screen Foil tray Copper tubing Dowel Modelling clay Pipette Tea light Tub of water. Access to Heritage web site Extension Time Activity Learning objective Resources 15 min Students complete a drawing for a modern day application for steam-power. Steam power is a powerful energy supplier Paper, pens and measurements.