UNIT ANALYSIS & DAMS
Show Your Work!!!!!
1. The Rogun Dam is the tallest dam in the world and is 335 meters high. What
is the height of Rogun Dam in feet?
3.28 ft = 1 m
How to Set it Up: 335 m x 3.28 ft =
1m
2. If Three Gorges Dam is the largest dam in the world and is 101 meters high
and 2,335 meters long, a) What is the area in m2? b) What is the area in ft2?
a) Dam Area = length x height
b) 3.28 ft = 1 m
Must convert length and height to feet and then find area.
3. Grand Coulee Dam is the largest concrete structure in North America.
11,975,521 yd3 of concrete was used to construct this dam, a) what is the volume
of concrete used in ft3? b) What is the volume of concrete used in m3?
a) 27 ft3 = 1 yd3 (Factor conversion from ft3 to yd3)
Example: 500 yd3 x 27 ft3 = 13,500 ft3
1 yd3
b) 1 ft3 = 0.02832 m3
4. The Hoover Dam, which holds Lake Mead Reservoir behind it, contains
30,500,000 acre-feet (AF) of water. How many m3 of water is in the reservoir?
1 AF = 43,560 ft3
35.3 ft3 = 1 m3
5. The John Day Dam, on the boarder of Oregon and Washington, has an
electrical generating capacity of 2200 MegaWatts (MW), how many kilowatts
(kW) is that?
1 MW = 1,000,000 Watts
1000 Watts = 1 kW
OR 1 MW = 1000 kW
6. If Ice Harbor Dam’s generating capacity is 603 MW and one average home
needs 1.2 kW, how many average homes can Ice Harbor Dam serve?
1 MW = 1,000,000 Watts
1000 Watts = 1 kW
OR 1 MW = 1000 kW
1.2 kW = 1 average home
7. The Glen Canyon Dam was built in 1963. The canyon below Glen Canyon
Dam is called Marble Canyon. Before the dam, Marble Canyon held 16,000,000
metric tons of sediment (sand and gravel) that created habitats for many animals
and plants. After the dam was built, only 2,600,000 metric tons of sediment is
found in Marble Canyon. This means there is much less habitat for native
animals and plants. How many pounds (lbs) of sediment is presently in Marble
Canyon?
1 metric ton = 1000 kg
1 kg = 2.2 lbs
OR 1 metric ton = 2,200 lbs
WHY BUILD A DAM?
DAM
48,000
FACTS:
large
worldwide
There
dams
according
are
(over
to
approximately
15
the
m
high)
World
Commission on Dams. The highest dam in
the world is the Rogun Dam in Tajikistan at
335 m high. The largest dam in the world is
the Three Gorges Dam (picture on right) in
China at 101 m high and 2,335 m long. 60%
of the world’s large rivers (longer than 1000
km) are dammed.
All dams are built for different
reasons. One of these reasons is
to create hydroelectric power by
making the water flow through
turbines as it falls over the dam.
Hydroelectric dams supply 19%
of the world’s electricity.
Now
let’s think of our local surroundings, 2/3 of the power produced in the Northwest
(Oregon, Washington, & Idaho) is hydroelectric. The Yakima River Basin doesn’t
have hydroelectric dams, but it has dams that serve different uses.
What are some other reasons dams are built?
Hydroelectric power …
Dams are everywhere around the world and even here in Washington. Dams
create power and do great things, but they do have a bad side. The main reason
not to build a dam is the environmental impact. Dams disturb the natural systems
of rivers and can endanger or even extinct species from certain areas. Nearly
35% of native fish in the USA are endangered or threatened.
What are some other reasons to NOT build a dam (human & environmental)?
Fish endangerment …
What are some things we can do to existing dams to help with some of the
problems we encounter (i.e. fish ladders to aid in the salmon’s migration)? Be
creative and write your answers using complete sentences! There are no wrong
answers!
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