Introduction
What is a tsunami? Well, it is a really large wave — much larger than the waves you see
when you splash in a pool or surf at the beach. The difference between a regular wave and
a tsunami is that a regular wave is just a surface disturbance of the water, and a tsunami is
a disturbance that reaches all the way to the ocean floor!
What do you think causes a tsunami? Well, tsunamis can be caused by anything that moves
the ocean or sea floor, like earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides. Think about an
underwater earthquake that is caused by the moving of tectonic plates. Do you think that
this could move the sea floor and create a tsunami? Yes, it could! Do you think engineers
can prevent tsunamis? Engineers cannot prevent natural events like earthquakes or
volcanoes, or the tsunamis that can result from them. So, what can engineers do about
tsunamis? One thing engineers can do is build structures that can survive a tsunami.
In December 2004 a huge tsunami hit the beach in Indonesia. Do you know from what
material most of the destroyed houses were made? Most were made of wood, and some
were actually made of paper. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of
wooden or paper houses? How might houses made of these materials be a disadvantage
when it comes to a tsunami? Well, a house made out of weak material, such as wood or
paper, probably will not survive the great forces of a tsunami. So, what can engineers do so
that a building or structure is able to survive a tsunami? (Possible ideas: Build it out of
stronger material; build it on stilts.) What might be some disadvantages of these types of
the new houses? (Possible ideas: More costly and difficult to construct, look different than
usual buildings.)
Today, we are going to explore some of the choices that engineers have when designing
buildings with tsunamis in mind and make some conclusions as to what shapes and
materials make the most tsunami-resistant buildings. Today you are going to make a model
building and see if it will survive a tsunami. Your criteria is to build a house that will
withstand a simulated tsunami given constraints (using only materials provided- tissue
paper, cardstock, notebook paper, toothpicks) of this activity. Are you ready?
Procedure
Figure 1. How
to construct the model houses.
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Make 4 brass houses. Using the Model House Template, use tin snips to cut out four
walls and four roofs. Fold the walls and roofs as shown in Figure 1. Tape the roofs to the
walls.
Set up the tsunami generator.
1. Fill one end of the tub with sand, creating a continental shelf and beach (see Figures 2
and 3).
2. At the opposite end of the tub, attach the metal sheet to the bottom of the tub using a
piece of duct tape along one edge, so it works like a hinge (see Figures 2 and 3).
Figure 2. Tsunami
generator, view from above.
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3. Fill the tub with water so that most of the sand is covered, but leave some sand above the
waterline to represent a sandy beach (see Figure 3).
Figure 3. Tsunami generator, a side
view.
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4. Test the tsunami generator by first leaning the metal plate against the back wall of the tub
and then pushing the plate all the way down into the water. A tsunami should form that
covers most or the entire beach. To adjust the wave height, adjust the speed with which
you push down the plate (see Figure 4).
Figure 4. Tsunami generator in action. Pushing
the metal plate down into the water creates a wave that moves across the tub of water and onto
the sandy beach.
Figure 5. Model house on toothpick stilts.
1. Split up into four groups. Each group will make a different type of house, using either
tissue paper, cardstock, aluminum, or notebook paper and toothpicks.
2. Start constructing your type of building with only the material that your group
selected(tissue, cardstock or notebook paper) using scissors and tape.
3. If you construct your buildings using notebook paper, tape toothpicks to the four corners
of the buildings so that the toothpicks work as stilts (see Figure 5).
6. Decorate your houses using markers. You can label and decorate your model structures to
represent a variety of community buildings, such as houses, schools, bank, grocery store,
restaurant, police station, library, city hall, power plant, playground, factory, boat marina,
etc.
7. Keep in mind that the metal plate in the tsunami generator model demonstrates the sea
floor movement causing huge ocean waves.
8. Place your buildings scattered across on the beach to create a model village (see Figure
6). Before the tsunami, predict what will happen to the village and be sure to write down
your prediction.
9. A tsunami hits! Using the metal plate, create a wave that swamps most of the land. Create
several more waves and remember there is usually more than one wave associated with a
tsunami.
Figure 6. A tsunami wave
moves towards the paper model village.
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Figure 7. A tsunami wave
moves through the stilts of this paper model village.
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13. Finally perform steps 8-10 again, this time placing on the beach the brass buildings the
teacher made in advance of the activity (see Figure 8). Have several tsunamis wash over
them.
Figure 8. Brass model
house village.
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14. Conclude with a class discussion comparing results of the four trials. Talk with the
students about their observations. Which materials held up the best? Worst? Rank the
types of model buildings in order from worst to best at surviving the tsunamis. How
might engineers design a building or structure so it is able to survive a tsunami? What
might be some disadvantages of these types of houses? How might you re-design your
model buildings to improve their chances of surviving big waves? Conduct the summary
assessment activities as described in the Assessment section.
Assessment
Pre-Activity Assessment
Voting: Have the class vote yes or no on the following question:
Can engineers prevent tsunamis? (Answer: No. Tsunamis are natural events caused
by earthquakes, landslides and volcanoes, over which people have no control. Since
we cannot control or prevent tsunamis, engineers help us predict and survive them.)
Discussion: Review natural processes and their impacts and compare/contrast with types of
damage inflicted by tsunamis. You can also show videos of natural processes llustrating the
before/after changes in earth systems to provide supplemental information for students.
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Activity Embedded Assessment
Post-Activity Assessment
Concluding Discussion: Ask the students and discuss as a class:
Describe the results of the four tsunami trials? How did they compare? What did you
observe?
 Rank the types of model buildings in order from worst to best at surviving the
tsunamis.
 How might engineers design a building or structure so it is able to survive a
tsunami? (Possible answers: Build it out of concrete, stone or bricks [heavier,
stronger materials]; build it on stilts so it is above the water flow; make sure it has a
deep footing into the soil; or shape it so that water flows around it.)
 What might be some disadvantages of these types of houses? (Possible answers:
Buildings like this might cost more to construct, be more difficult to build, or be
considered less attractive.)
 How might you re-design your models to improve their chances of surviving big
waves?
Re-Engineering: Ask the students how they might improve the buildings in their village.
Have them sketch or test their concepts for tsunami-resistant buildings. What material
would they use? How would they be shaped? What features would they have? Where would
they be located?
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