Engineering Design Challenge
Controlling Erosion
Problem: You’re building a house on a hillside and have cleared land to begin work. A stream is
just below the building site that runs into the Waits River 200 yards away. The cleared house
site for the house and the construction equipment and parking is now all exposed soil. When it
rains, the bare soil is eroded and carried into the stream, and then down into the Waits River.
Design a solution to prevent the soil on the bare ground from being eroded and running into
the stream and Waits River.
What is the problem?
Why does it matter?
What do we know about erosion?
What are possible solutions?
 Solutions from nature (what prevents this from happening typically)?

Engineered solutions?

Hybrid solutions – engineering based on natural systems?
How will you know your solution works?
 What will you test?
 What will you keep the same?
 What will you need to measure?
 How will you know you succeeded?
Student project parameters:
 You will use 250ml of water to simulate rain with a watering can, over your bare soil.
 You can use any materials.
 You must draw your design and label the important parts. Your design must include a
“plane view” (top down, map view) and a cross-section.
 Share your design with another group, and make changes based on their ideas.
 Bring your completed design to your teacher for approval.
 Build, using your materials, on the trays provided.
 The slope of the hill will be ________ high.
 You will “measure” your result based on the amount of sand in the stream section of
your model.
 With your partner, create at least one change and improve your design.
 Build and test again.
Criteria for model:
 Top: 8” of bare soil, 1” deep.
 Bottom: 4” of empty space, to simulate river, and gather water and any material
eroded.