Mike Tuke’s

Dams and Reservoirs Embankment dam D F Make a pile of sand in a glass tank and then fill the area behind with water. Watch how the dam eventually fails. Now put an impermeable layer down the centre of the dam.  Try a putting a gravel layer at the base on the downstream side of the dam. Dr W Taylor and N Hunt Geology Teaching v8 no3 Gravity versus arch dam D Use blocks of wood to show how an arch dam is much better at resisting the pressure of the water and why you need a gravity dam to be so massive. Put two blocks of wood representing a gravity dam together on a piece of sponge to show why  even a small amount of subsidence will crack it.    Locating a reservoir Pa P 10 min Students are given geological maps of possible reservoir locations and have the say what are the disadvantages of the sites. Problems of siting a dam Pa I F 15 min Students are given a geological cross section of the geology of the area of a proposed dam and must explain why each of the named aspects presents a problem.

Earth Science Activities and Demonstrations