Technology

Grade 7
Book 1

CAPS

Learner Book

Developed and funded as an ongoing project by the Sasol Inzalo

Foundation in partnership with the Ukuqonda Institute.

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 Published by The Ukuqonda Institute
9 Neale Street, Rietondale, 0084
Registered as a Title 21 company, registration number 2006/026363/08
Public Benefit Organisation, PBO Nr. 930035134
Website: http://www.ukuqonda.org.za

First published in 2013

© 2013. Copyright in the work is vested in the publisher.
Copyright in the text remains vested in the contributors.

ISBN: 978-1-920705-00-8

This book was developed with the participation of the Department of Basic
Education of South Africa with funding from the Sasol Inzalo Foundation.

Contributors:
Graham Barlow, Louis Botha, John de Klerk, Jacqui Greenop, Chris Human,
Piet Human, Riekie Human, Xenia Kyriacou, Morne Labuschagne, John Laurie,
Ezekiel Makwana, Rallai Maleka, Mafahle Mashegoana, Themba Mavuso,
Peter Middleton, Lebogang Modisakwena, Peter Moodie, Neil Murtough, Sarah Niss,
Humphrey Nkgogo, Phillip Radingoane, Jan Randewijk, Margot Roebert,
Marlene Rousseau, Marcus Taba, Yvonne Thiebaut, Cecile Turley,
Louis van Aswegen, Karen van Niekerk, Elene van Sandwyk
Illustrations and graphics:
Astrid Blumer (Happy Artworks Studio), Ian Greenop, Chris Human, Piet Human,
Peter Middleton, Peter Moodie, Melany Pietersen (Happy Artworks Studio),
Theo Sandrock, Lisa Steyn Illustration, Heine van As (Happy Artworks Studio),
Leonora van Staden, Geoff Walton
Cover illustration: Leonora van Staden
Photographs:
Lenni de Koker, Ian Greenop, Chris Human, Tessa Oliver,
Elsa Retief (GalleryProductions)
Text design: Mike Schramm
Layout and typesetting: Lebone Publishing Services

Thanks for free sharing of ideas, and free access to photographs, to:
Cape Peninsula Fire Protection Association, National Sea Rescue Institute,
Beate Hölscher (South African Environmental Observation Network),
The Transitions Collective (www.ishackliving.co.za).
Thanks to people or institutions who placed photographs in the public
domain on www.commons.wikimedia.org, with no attribution required.
Printed by [printer name and address]

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 COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Your freedom to legally copy this book

This book is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0

Unported License (CC BY-NC).

You are allowed and encouraged to freely copy this book.You can photocopy, print
and distribute it as often as you like. You may download it onto any electronic
device, distribute it via email, and upload it to your website, at no charge. You may
also adapt the text and illustrations, provided you acknowledge the copyright
holders (‘attribute the original work’).

Restrictions: You may not make copies of this book for a profit-seeking purpose.
This holds for printed, electronic and web-based copies of this book, and any part
of this book.

For more information about the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial

3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC 3.0) license, see http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc/3.0/

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 Table of contents
Term 1
Chapter 1:
What is Technology?................................................................ 1

Chapter 2:
How to say things with drawings ........................................... 13

Chapter 3:
Draw what you see ................................................................. 29

Chapter 4:
Push and lift objects ................................................................ 45

Chapter 5:
Other classes of levers ............................................................ 61

Chapter 6:
Tools with two or more levers ............................................... 71

Chapter 7 Mini-PAT:
Design a life-saving tool ......................................................... 83

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 Term 2
Chapter 8:
Shells, frames and solids ........................................................ 111

Chapter 9:
Frame structures ..................................................................... 129

Chapter 10:
Things to consider ................................................................... 145

Chapter 11 Mini-PAT:
A model cellphone tower ....................................................... 157

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 Term 1
Chapter 1
What is Technology?

In this chapter, you will learn what Technology is about. You will learn about natural and man-made
materials, about tools, and about the design process.

1.1 Materials, tools and plans ................................................................................................. 4

1.2 Design a wheelbarrow ........................................................................................................ 9

Figure 1

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 Technology advances!

Figure 2: Transport technology 150 years ago

Figure 3: Modern transport technology

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 CHAPTER 1: what is technology? 3

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 1.1 Materials, tools and plans
Figures 4 to 7 show different
techniques to build houses,
the tools we use to build
them and other kinds of
activities that fall under the
term Technology. Look at the
pictures carefully and try to
understand what happens
in each picture. When you
answer the questions on page
7, you should already have
some idea what technology is
about.

Figure 4

The person shown above is using grass to cover his

roof. Grass is a natural material. It grows in the veld.
Some types of grass are much better for roofs than
other types. It is not easy to make a thatched roof.
Only a few people have the skills to do it properly.

Figure 5: Some of the tools people use to make thatch roofs.

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 Figure 6

The people in the picture above are using corrugated Natural materials are changed
roof sheets to cover their roof. Metal roof sheets don’t in different ways to make
occur in nature like grass. People make roof sheets man-made materials.
from two metals named iron and zinc. The iron and
zinc is obtained by heating crushed rock to separate
the metal from other substances. Roof sheeting is a
man-made material.

Figure 7: An open mine where rock that contains iron is collected, like at Sishen.

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 Figure 8: House A

Figure 9: House B

Figure 10: House C

Figure 11: House D

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 Homework

1. (a) What material is being used to build the house in Figure 8?

(b) Is this a man-made material or a natural material?

(c) What tools are used by the people building the house in Figure 8?

2. (a) What material is being used to build the house in Figure 9?

(b) Is this a man-made material or a natural material?

(c) What tools are being used by the people building the house in Figure 9?

3. (a) What material is being used to build the house in Figure 10?

(b) Is this a man-made material or a natural material?

(c) What tools are being used by the people building the house in Figure 10?

4. (a) What material is being used to build the house in Figure 11?

(b) Is this a man-made material or a natural material?

(c) What tools are being used by the people building the house in Figure 11?

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 Two girls, Sarah and Tebogo, walk in the veld and climb up a small hill.
Suddenly, a rock comes loose and starts rolling down the hill. It lands on Sarah’s
foot, which gets caught underneath the rock. Tebogo tries to lift the rock, but it
is too heavy for her. She looks around and finds an iron pole. She tries to lift the
rock with the iron pole and it works! Sarah now manages to pull her foot out
from underneath the rock.

Tebogo was not strong enough to lift the rock, she used a tool. Tools help us to do
things that we cannot do with our bodies alone. There are other examples of tools,
like the ones below.
• Spoons, knives and forks are used to eat with. Some tools are easy to use,
like knives, forks and spoons.
• We use scissors to cut cloth or paper. This works
Some tools are a bit more
much better than tearing cloth or paper with our
difficult to use, like scissors
hands.
and screwdrivers.
• We use cellphones to talk to people that are far away Some tools are even more
from us. Cellphones are tools for communication. difficult to use, like a
Two hundred years ago, there were no cellphones or powerdrill. A person who wants
landline phones. At that time, people could only talk to use tools like that must be
to each other when they were close enough to hear trained.
each other without using any tools.
• Doctors and nurses use a variety of tools to treat people who are sick.

About 50 years ago, when your grandparents were children, nobody had
cellphones. There were no television sets in South Africa. Also, most roads in
South Africa were gravel roads. Tarred roads were only found in and around big
cities. Most schools didn’t have electricity either.
Two hundred years ago, the world was very different. Electricity had not yet been
invented. People travelled on foot, on animals or in carts and wagons drawn by
animals. Ships were powered by people who rowed, or by sails which harnessed
wind energy.

One thing many people do is develop practical

solutions to problems so that people can have the
things they want and need. To do this, people use
their knowledge and skills. They also use tools and
materials. When developing solutions to problems,
people should try not to damage the environment,
and they should keep the needs and safety of
individuals, families and communities in mind.
All of this together is called Technology.

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 All people use tools, man-made materials and machines of some kind. Nowadays,
people do much less with their bare hands and make much less use of natural
materials than in the past.
People who are trained to work with special tools are called technologists.
Technologists find jobs much more easily than people with no training in
Technology.

Something to think about

In a certain small town, people get their water the moment there is no way to get water to the
from a dam about 3 km away. Then something surface. The town is also in a rural area with no
very unfortunate happened. The dam wall broke electricity.
during a flood, and it will take at least two years What do you think can be done to get the water
to build a new dam wall. Fortunately, there is an out of the well? Are you sure your plan will work?
old well near the town, with enough water for Can you make a drawing so that other people will
all the people. But the well is very deep and at understand your plan?

Sibu communicated the plan to his father.

When people are faced with challenges or
problems, they often:
• investigate,
• design or, in other words, make plans,
• evaluate their designs, and often change them,
• make the things they have designed,
• evaluate the things they have made, and
• communicate their designs to other people.

This is sometimes called the design process. You will often work like this during
the year.

1.2 Design a wheelbarrow

Be part of a story

In this lesson, you will play an important part in a story. The story is about three
people:
• Mrs April, who grows vegetables and then sells it at a street market,
• you, and
• Mr Sethole, a carpenter. He works mainly with wood, but can also work with
metal sheets.

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 Figure 12: A carpenter is a kind of technologist, and makes things out of wood.

Mrs April needs a wheelbarrow to take her vegetables to the street market. She
doesn’t like the wheelbarrows in the shops. She asks you to go to Mr Sethole and
ask him to make a wheelbarrow for her. You take the message to Mr Sethole and
he says to you:
Almost any technology project
“You will have to give me more information so
starts with the gathering of
that I can know how to make the wheelbarrow.
information. Without good
Wheelbarrows are used for different purposes and they information, it is not clear what
can be of different sizes and shapes. Please ask Mrs has to be done. This part of
April some questions and then come back to me with the design process is called
more information.” investigation.

A wheelbarrow that Mrs April can buy in

the shop looks like the one on the right.
She says this wheelbarrow will not work
well for her vegetables.

Figure 13

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 1. Write down some questions that you can ask Mrs April.

2. Try to think what answers Mrs April might The description of what the
give to your questions. Then write a short note wheelbarrow should look like is
below explaining what she wants to do with the part of the specifications for
wheelbarrow, and what the wheelbarrow should the wheelbarrow.
look like. The notes that you are writing
here is sometimes called a
design brief.

3. Mrs April wants to put vegetables next to each You are designing a
other, rather than on top of each other. How should wheelbarrow for Mrs April, not
her wheelbarrow differ from the wheelbarrow you for somebody else. So you
can buy in a shop? should consider what she will
use it for.

Mrs April has an old wheelbarrow

without a top. Mr Sethole says he
can make a new top and fix it to
the old wheelbarrow.

Figure 14

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 4. Make a sketch below to show what you think the new top should look like.

5. Which materials can be used to make the You are still busy designing a
wheelbarrow’s top? Describe the options and say wheelbarrow for Mrs April. At
which one you prefer. Also explain why you prefer this stage, you should think
this material. about possible materials so
that you can select suitable
materials for making the
wheelbarrow.

Next week

During the next two weeks, you will learn to make different types of drawings.
Drawings will help you to think about things you may make, and to share your
ideas with other people.

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 Chapter 2
How to say things with
drawings
Sketching and drawing are very important skills in Technology. They allow us to share our ideas,
designs, and technical solutions with other people. In this chapter, you will learn what the main
purpose of graphics are. You will also learn about the different meanings of thick and dark lines, thin
and feint lines, and dashed lines. And you will learn a little bit about scale and how to show sizes on
drawings. But the most important thing about sketching and drawing is that you need to practise. So
in this chapter you will learn how to do some simple sketches and how to do a flat drawing showing
sizes.

2.1 A new cupboard for the classroom ................................................................................... 16

2.2 Different types of lines in drawings ................................................................................... 18
2.3 Free-hand sketching ......................................................................................................... 22

Figure 1

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 Figure 2: Drawings in a shoe design studio

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 Figure 3: Drawings to design a chair

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 2.1 A new cupboard for the classroom
Your classroom needs a cupboard to store books.
When you answer these
1. How many doors should it have? questions, you are writing
design specifications for
the cupboard. Whenever you
plan to make something, it is
2. How many shelves should it have? useful to first think about what
you want to make, and to write
your ideas down. You can then
give your design specifications
to someone else to read. That
3. What should it be made of? person will maybe make some
useful suggestions that will
improve your design. Without
written design specifications,
4. How high and how wide should it be? it is very difficult to get good
suggestions from other
people.

5. How deep should it be?

6. Make a rough sketch in the space below to show what you think the cupboard
will look like.

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 7. Make a bigger and better sketch of the cupboard. The lengths of different parts
Write notes next to your drawing to show where of an object are called the
the doors and shelves are. Also write notes to say dimensions. Things like the
how big different parts of the cupboard should be, height, width and depth of
in millimetres (mm). the cupboard, as well as the
distance between the shelves,
are called the dimensions.

8. Should the real cupboard be three times bigger A real object is often several
than your drawing? times bigger than a drawing of
it. If the object is five times as
big as the drawing, we say the
scale of the drawing is
“1 to 5”. This is written as
9. How many times bigger should the real cupboard “1:5”.
be than your drawing?

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 2.2 Different types of lines in drawings
In this drawing, a dashed line is used to show the foot
inside the shoe. dashed line

Dashed lines are used to show things that are hidden,

like the foot that is inside this shoe. Figure 4

1. Use dashed lines to show the bodies of the two people in the car below.

Figure 5

2. Draw dashed lines on the drawing of a cupboard on the next page to show four
shelves inside.
A drawing like this is called a working drawing. A Just like you use a
working drawing is an accurate drawing that shows language such as English to
the real sizes. communicate with others,
Solid lines are used to show the visible edges of sketches and drawings are
objects on drawings. a “language”. And just like
When you want to show something that is behind English, drawings have rules
something else, you should use a dashed line. Dashed to help us understand them
lines are used to show hidden objects. better. These rules are known
as “drawing conventions”.
Sizes, which can also be called dimensions, are
shown with a thin dimension line with arrows at both
ends. They are drawn a little bit away from objects.
Short extension lines, which do not touch objects, show you what is being
measured.
Dimensions are normally given in mm. It is therefore not necessary to write
“mm” after the number indicating a dimension on a drawing.

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 900

1 200

Figure 6

Figure 7

chaPTer 2: how To say Things 19

wiTh Drawings

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 Working drawings are used to design things according to exact sizes. Designers
communicate the exact sizes of each part of an object in working drawings, so
that each part fits to make the final product work properly. For example, a bicycle
pump can’t have a push rod that won’t fit inside its outer tube. See Figure 8 below.
By looking at some drawings and practising to sketch, you have learnt to:
• Use thin feint lines for guidelines, such as the
lines for a guide box.
• Use thick lines to show the outside edges of an object,
such as the edges you can see from the front.
• Use a solid line to show these edges.
You have also learnt that dimensions are shown by
writing the length of an object above a dimension
line.
A dimension line has small arrows at each end.
These arrows touch small extension lines that show
where the length starts and where it ends.
Dashed lines show hidden details of drawings.

Homework: Study drawings of a bicycle pump

outer tube 180 long

nozzle handle

push rod
Figure 8

1. Name the parts of the pump shown in this sketch. Sketching and drawing are
important ways of recording
and communicating ideas.
For designers and
technologists, sketching is
like taking notes. It reminds
them of their ideas and helps
them to share these ideas with
2. How long is the outer tube of this bicycle pump? others. Sketching is usually
done without any instruments.
All you need is a pencil and
some paper.

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 3. How long is the push rod? How do you know that?

Look at the drawing of a different bicycle pump below. This drawing is accurate,
so we call it a scale drawing. It is four times smaller than a real pump. We say it
is drawn to a scale of 1:4. That means that if you measure the length of the outer
tube of this drawing, it will be four times smaller than the outer tube of the real
pump.

320

Figure 9: Bicycle pump. Scale 1:4

4. Why is the outer tube of this pump drawn with solid lines?

5. What other part of this pump is drawn with solid lines?

6. Why is part of the push rod drawn with dashed lines and other parts with solid
lines?

7. What type of line shows how long the outer tube is?

CHAPTER 2: how to say things 21

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 8. How long will the outer tube of the real pump be?

9. Use the scale on the drawing to find out how long the handle will be on the real
pump.

10. Now draw a dimension line on the pump drawing to show how long the handle
will be.

11. Name three different types of lines that you can see on the drawing.

12. What is the scale of the working drawing of the cupboard three pages back? You
will have to take measurements to find out what the scale is.

2.3 Free-hand sketching

Figure 10

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 The artist who drew the foot in Figure 10, first drew
only light thin lines, like the ones shown on the right.
She then used these feint lines as guidelines to draw
the foot.
Sketching lines
Use thin, feint lines for the guidelines, which are
called construction lines.
Use thicker, dark lines for the outlines of sketches.

Figure 11
1. Sketch a rectangle with rounded corners.
• Your drawing should be about two times as big
as the drawing on the right. It is drawn to a scale
of 3:1.
• Sketch a guide box. Do not use a ruler. Use light
guidelines.
• Mark the corners with feint lines.
• Make the corners round. Figure 12
• Now make the outline thicker.

CHAPTER 2: how to say things 23

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 Homework

2. Sketch a triangle with rounded corners.

• Your drawing should be about three
times as big as the drawing on the right.
• Sketch a rectangular guide box without
a ruler. B
• Mark the centre of one side at B, and
sketch lines to the opposite corners.
• Round the corners as you did for the
rectangle.
• Make the outline of the triangle with Figure 13
rounded corners thicker.

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 3. Sketch a circle.
• Your drawing should be about four times as
big as the drawing on the right.
• Sketch a square guide box. Do not use a ruler.
• Sketch lines from one diagonal corner to the
other.
• Mark off the positions C of the centre of each
side.
• Mark points D on the diagonals, halfway
between the centre and each corner.
Figure 14
• Mark points E halfway between the Ds and
the corners.
• Sketch a curved line to join up the C’s and the E’s; C-E-C-E-C-E-C-E.
• You have sketched a circle. Now make the circle’s outline thicker.

CHAPTER 2: how to say things 25

with drawings

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 4. A drawing of a bicycle pump is shown on the next page. Make an accurate
1:4 scale drawing of the pump on the grid paper below.
Note the following:
• The grid shown below has 5 mm spacing between lines.
• Use a ruler and make sure you remember the different line types.

To scale down means to make a drawing smaller than the actual object.
To scale up means to make a drawing bigger than the actual object.

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 70
handle

push rod
0
18

outer tube

nozzle
Figure 15: A bicycle pump

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 5. The drawing at the bottom of the page shows the front view of a house. Make
a bigger drawing of the front view of this house.
Note the following:
• The 6 m length of the real house should be 60 mm on your drawing.
• Show the height of the side wall using a dimension line on your drawing.
• Show the height to the top of the chimney.

Front view of house

6m

Figure 16

Next week

Next week, you will learn how to make drawings that show more than one side of
an object.

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 Chapter 3
Draw what you see

In this chapter, you will learn how to make two types of drawings. Drawings help us to show others
what our ideas look like. Drawings also help us to evaluate our ideas, to become aware of problems
and to develop solutions.

3.1 Two types of drawings ..................................................................................................... 31

3.2 3D oblique drawing .......................................................................................................... 33
3.3 Perspective drawing ........................................................................................................ 39

Figure 1

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 Figure 2 (Drawing A)

Figure 3 (Drawing B)

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 3.1 Two types of drawings
1. Look at drawings A and B again. Do you see drawings of two different tables, or
two different drawings of the same table? Take your time and think carefully
before you answer.

2. Look at drawing A and drawing B on the opposite page. Also look at drawing C
and drawing D on the next page. Is drawing C or D the same as drawing A, only
smaller? Explain why you say so.

3. How do drawings A and B differ?

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 Figure 4: A perspective
drawing (Drawing C)

Figure 5: A 3D oblique
drawing (Drawing D)

Drawings such as Figure 4 (drawing C) are called

perspective drawings, or 3D artistic drawings.
In a perspective drawing, the artist tries to show
what she actually sees. You cannot take accurate
measurements from perspective drawings.
Drawings such as Figure 5 (drawing D) are called
3D oblique drawings. They look different from
what you actually see when you look at the object.
Measurements can be taken from 3D oblique
drawings.

In the next lesson, you will make 3D oblique drawings.

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 3.2 3D oblique drawing
Make a 3D oblique sketch

You can make a good 3D oblique sketch of a

stove if you follow the instructions given below.
It is easier if you first draw a box that shows
the shape of the stove. Do that on the next
page. Do not use a ruler.
To draw a box, first draw a rectangle to show
the front of the box, as shown in step 1 below.
Draw the rectangle in the left lower part of the
page.
Draw another rectangle of the same size as
shown in step 2 below. Then draw sloping lines
as in step 3 to show the edges of the box that
go from the front to the back.

Figure 6

step 1 step 2 step 3

Figure 7

The word sketch is often used to indicate a drawing

that is made without a ruler or other drawing
instruments.
Instead of saying sketch, you can also say free-hand
drawing.

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 Make your 3D oblique sketch on this page. Make it big.

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 Change your box into a stove

Figure 8

Now see if you can change your box into a stove. Here are some tips:
• The plates on top of a stove are circles. On a drawing like this, they will be
squashed circles (ellipses).
• The circles for the knobs are real circles. This is because everything on the front
of the drawing is the same as it is in real life.
• Look at how the handle is drawn. It comes out of the front face. To do this, use
sloping lines coming forward.
• Make all lines that you can see on the objects thick.

Something to do at home

3D oblique drawings are easier to make on grid better drawing of the stove on the grid paper.
paper, like the one on the next page. Make a One of the sloping lines is already drawn.

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 Accurate 3D oblique drawing

The drawing below is an accurate oblique drawing of the stove.

1. Write down the length, height and breadth of this stove.

2. Now measure the length, height and breadth on the drawing with a ruler.

3. What do you notice about the breadth line? Is it drawn to the same scale as the
length and height lines?

600
5
56
850

Oblique view
Stove
Scale 1:10

Figure 9

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 A few important things about oblique drawings
For the front view of an oblique
drawing, we use true scale
measurements. So if the length
of the object is 600 mm and the
scale is 1:10, you will draw the
length as 60 cm (600 mm).
But in the sloping breadth
direction, you must halve the
true scale measurement. So if
the breadth is 565 mm and the
scale is 1:10, you must draw the
breadth line as 282,5 mm or
28,25 cm. Figure 10

4. Use the grid on the previous page to make an accurate 3D oblique drawing of
the stove, with scale 1:5.
In 3D oblique drawings, all lines in the breadth are parallel, as shown above.

3.3 Perspective drawing

When we see something far away, it looks small. When you are close to an object,
it looks big.

Figure 11

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 When you make a 3D drawing that shows things getting smaller
in the distance, it is called a perspective drawing.
Look at this sketch of a fence.
It has been drawn going back
into the distance.

Figure 12

Use the steps below to draw the fence on the next page

1. From the bottom left-hand corner of your page, draw a fence post. This will be
the tallest post because it is the closest to you.
2. In the top right-hand corner of the page, draw a point. This point is called
the vanishing point (VP). It represents a distance so far away that you can no
longer see how tall something is.
3. From the top of the front post, draw a thin guideline to the vanishing point (VP).
You can use a ruler for this.
4. From the bottom of the front post, draw another thin guideline to the vanishing
point.
5. Draw a second post behind the first. The bottom of this post must start at the
bottom guideline and it must stop at the top guideline.
6. Carry on drawing more posts going backwards into the distance.
7. Keep in mind that the posts will look as if they are getting closer and closer
together.
8. Now add some crossing lines to represent fence wire.

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 Draw the fence on this page.

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 Draw a matchbox in perspective

In the bottom left-hand

corner of this page,
draw a rectangle to
represent the front of
the matchbox. Part of
the rectangle is already
drawn for you.
From each corner of
the rectangle, draw a
thin guideline to the
vanishing point. You
can use a ruler.
Figure 13

Moving back along the guideline from the vanishing point, mark off a point (B1),
which makes the breadth of the matchbox look right.
From this point (B1), draw a vertical line down to the bottom guideline. This is
the side edge at the back of the matchbox.
From the same point (B1), draw a horizontal line towards the left hand guideline.
This will represent the top edge at the back.

Figure 14

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 Perspective drawing with texture and shading

Look at the open matchbox shown.

Thick and thin lines have been
used to make the edges stand out.
Try to do this on the matchbox you
have already drawn, or on a new
drawing.

Figure 15

Draw an open matchbox using single vanishing point perspective in the space below.

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 Add more shading, and even colour

When a surface is flat, the whole

surface looks as if it is the same
colour. But some surfaces look
darker than others, depending on
where the light is coming from.
To shade a box so that it looks 3D,
draw a new box in the space below
and do the following:
Figure 16
• Colour the front, top and side
surfaces lightly in one colour. You can use a pencil or a coloured pencil.
• Choose the face that will be the second darkest. Colour this surface a second
time.
• Choose the face that will be the darkest. If the light is behind the drawing, this
will be the front face. Then lightly shade this surface two more times, so the
darkest face will have been coloured three times.

Next week

Next week, you will learn about mechanical systems. You will explore how levers
work to make it easier to move things.

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 Chapter 4
Push and lift objects

In this chapter, you will learn about ways in which people manage to do things that they cannot do
with their bodies alone.

4.1 Lift things with a lever ...................................................................................................... 47

4.2 Move things without touching them ................................................................................... 52
4.3 Do different things with levers .......................................................................................... 59

Figure 1

Special projects

If you have time to spare in class or at home, give one or more of these activities a
try:
1. Build a working model of the water lever on the next page. If you can make it in
the next two days, you can use it in lesson 4.3.
2. Look carefully at the coloured diagrams on the next page. Try to see what
properties of levers can be seen in the diagrams. Write captions for the
drawings that explain what they show.

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 Figure 2

Figure 3: The buckets are used to take water from the well.

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 4.1 Lift things with a lever
In the pictures below, Tom tries to lift one side of a block of concrete with a lever.
The pictures show three different ways in which he can try to do so.
1. Which way do you think will work best, and why do you think so?

The lever rests on a small stone and will turn on the stone. When Tom pushes the
one end of the lever down, the other end pushes the concrete block up.

method 1 method 2

method 3

Figure 4

2. Describe what is different about the lever in each of the three cases.

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 Join two classmates and work with a lever

You need three things for this activity:

• a stick of about 30 cm long, that can be used as a lever,
• a brick or a stone about the size of a brick, and
• something on which the lever can be supported.
Now do the following:
Use the stick as a lever to lift one side of the brick.

Figure 5

The point where the stick is supported by the brick

or stone is called the fulcrum or pivot point.

Take turns to use the stick as a lever to lift the one end of the brick. Do it with
different positions of the fulcrum, so that you can answer the question below.
3. When does the lever help you most? Is it when the fulcrum is close to the brick
or when it is far from the brick?

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 If you did not do the above, do this:

Put your pencil against the edge of a book and try to lift the one side of another
book up, as shown in the picture below.

Figure 6

Do this with the edge of the book on the left in different positions below the
pencil.

Figure 7
4. In which position of the fulcrum does the pencil In this case, the word
give you the greatest “advantage” for lifting the advantage means that the
book? lever makes it easier for you to
lift the object.

Some words that may be

new to you, or are used in
a new way, are printed in
When something is too heavy to lift by hand, you quotation marks, for example
can use a lever to help you lift it. If you want to lift “advantage”. This is to tell you
a heavy object, you should use a long lever and the that you may not immediately
fulcrum should be close to the object that you want understand the word, but you
to lift. If you give a soft or weak downwards push will learn what it means as you
on the one side of the lever, there will be a strong continue.
upwards push on the object on the other side of the
lever.

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 Scientists and technologists use the words “mechanical advantage” when referring
to this. In the pictures below, the lever gives you a greater mechanical advantage
when the fulcrum is closer to the brick.

Figure 8: Mechanical advantage

Figure 9: Mechanical disadvantage

5. Have another look at Figure 4 of this chapter. Which method gives Tom the biggest
mechanical advantage when he uses the lever?

The downward push that Tom makes on the lever is

called the input force or effort.
The weight of the concrete block that tries to keep
the other end of the lever down is called the load.
The upward push on the load is called the output
force or effect.

A lever like this where the

fulcrum is between the input
force and the output force, is
input force called a first-class lever.
output
force load

Figure 10
When you use a lever to lift an object, the push on the object may be stronger
than, equal to or weaker than your input force.

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 6. Where is the input force, the load and the fulcrum on each of these pictures?
Write your answers next to the pictures.
The output force may be
smaller than the input force.
In this case, technologists say
the mechanical advantage is
smaller than 1. This is actually
a mechanical disadvantage.
The output force may be
bigger than the input force.
In that case, technologists say
the mechanical advantage is
greater than 1.
If the output force is equal to
the input force, technologists
say the mechanical advantage
is 1.

Figure 11

Important: something you need to do at home

Bring a box or two pieces of cardboard that are at least as big as an A4 sheet of
paper to your next Technology class. You will need this to make a cardboard lever
and to do a few experiments.
It helps the environment if you pick up boxes or pieces of cardboard and other
trash that lie around in the street, so pick these up and help to keep our streets
clean!

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 4.2 Move things without touching them
A lever can turn around the fulcrum.
We also say the lever “pivots” around
the fulcrum.

Figure 12

In the diagrams below, the fulcrum is in different positions.

In each case, state whether the mechanical advantage is bigger than 1, equal to 1
or smaller than 1.

situation A

situation B

situation C
Figure 13

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 Make a lever with a base

In this activity, you will make a lever that you can use to do a few experiments.
Doing the experiments will help you to understand levers better.

Figure 14
Instead of fulcrum we can
1. Mark the fulcrum of the lever in the photograph. say pivot point. It means the
same.

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 If you make your lever from cardboard, you will need the tools and materials
below.

Tools: Materials:
• a pair of scissors, • a strip of corrugated cardboard about 30 cm long,
• a sharp pencil or • a piece of corrugated cardboard about as big as an A4
a nail. sheet of paper,
• a sheet of used paper,
• a piece of sticky tape, and
• a small box or bag with sand or stones inside.

2. Before you start, look carefully at the photo on the previous page. Make sure
you understand how your lever will work.
Use a strip of corrugated cardboard about 30 cm You may have construction
long and 3 cm wide for the lever. Mark a position kits or perforated Masonite
for a hole about 4 cm from the one end, in the available. Use it instead of
middle of the width of the cardboard. cardboard for this work. Be
careful though and do not limit
your opportunities to acquire
basic skills by using “easy”
materials.

Figure 15

3. Use a sharp pencil to make a hole at the mark.

Safety precaution:
Make sure you do not push
the pencil into your finger.

Figure 16

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 4. Make a hole in the sheet of corrugated cardboard, about 8 cm from one end, as
shown in the diagram.

Figure 17

This will be the base to which you will attach your lever.

5. You can use a “paper dowel” to attach the lever to the base. It can act as a pivot
around which the lever can swing. To make a paper dowel, tightly roll paper
around your pencil as shown below.

Figure 18
Once you think it is strong enough, cut off the remaining paper.

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 The holes that you punched into the cardboard strip and sheet will be rough
on the one side and smooth on the other.
smooth side of a punched hole rough side of a punched hole

Figure 19

6. Put the strip on top of the sheet so that the smooth sides of the holes are
between the strip and the sheet. Put your paper dowel through the holes so that
it connects the strip with the sheet.
fulcrum

fulcrum

Figure 20

7. Fold the paper dowel over on both sides. Tape it down at the bottom of the
support sheet.
fulcrum

Figure 21

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 Try to use your lever to move the small bag of sand around on your desk.

Figure 22

8. It may not work very well. Think a bit, and then describe how you can improve
your lever so that it will work better when you want to move the bag around.

Here are two improvements that you can make to your lever:
• You can make cuts and fold the card up to form flanges on both sides at each
end of the lever. The sketch below shows a piece of paper that is yellow on top
and red at the bottom. One cut was made and part of the paper was then folded
up to make a flange.

a flange

Figure 23

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 • You can add a paper strip that prevents the lever from lifting up.

Figure 24

Evaluation and improvement

Technologists evaluate their work all the time. you should also evaluate your design all the time.
When they see that something will not work well, Look for opportunities to improve your design
they change it to make it work better. When you and your working model.
do your mini-PAT later this term, you will design a You can improve your lever on a base by adding
device that works with two levers. You will make a “spacers” to keep the lever some distance from
working model of your design. When you do that, the base.

spacers
spacers fulcrum base plate
lever

Figure 25

You can cut the spacers from the same your spacers, so that the peg or dowel can pass
cardboard that you used for the lever. through the holes.
You can glue them to each other and to the Round spacers with holes in the middle are
lever. It may even be better if you add spacers called washers. Washers are often used when
at the fulcrum too. You will have to cut holes in things are tied together with bolts and nuts.

Figure 26

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 4.3 Do different things with levers
Change direction of movement

Levers can be used for reasons other than to

gain a mechanical advantage. When you sweep
the floor with a broom that has a long handle
you use the broom as a lever. The long handle
makes it possible to sweep over a large area while
moving your hands only for a short distance.
In this case the lever (the broomstick) gives
you a distance advantage, although there is no
mechanical disadvantage.
Levers also change the direction of movement.
If you push the one end of the blue lever below
down, the other end moves up.

Figure 27

Figure 28

In the above case, the output movement is in the opposite direction than the input
movement. Linkages and guides can be used, as shown in the diagram below, to
control the change of direction of movement caused by a lever.
The blue bar on this diagram indicates a lever that pivots around point O. The
yellow bar is a rod that can be used to push end A of the lever. The red bar can only
move between the two black strips. The black dots at A and B indicate linkages (for
example dowels that fit loosely in holes), around which the yellow, blue and red
rods can pivot.
If the yellow rod is pushed B
in the direction of the blue
arrow, in what direction will
the red rod move? Make an
O
arrow on the diagram to show
the direction.
If you wish, you may build
a system like this from A
cardboard.

Figure 29

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 Evaluate a design

Simon wants to build a device that will help

him to lift heavy objects. His idea is to drive
one lever with another lever, so that he can
have a big mechanical advantage. He made
this drawing of his design.
Do you think Simon’s design will work?
Write down why you think it will work, or
why you think it will not work. Figure 30
Also suggest how he can improve his design.

Redesign a water lever

Have another look at Figure 3 on page 46. It shows a
big lever that lifts buckets of water out of a well.
Strong, young people can easily push the lever
down at the short end to lift a bucket of water out
of a well. But older and sick people, who are not so
strong, find it very difficult to do this.

How can this lever be redesigned so that it becomes easier to lift a bucket of
water?

Next week

In the next chapter, you will learn more about effort and load, and how the
fulcrum can be changed around to make other types of levers. You will also learn
more about other types of levers.

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 Chapter 5
Other classes of levers

In this chapter, you will learn about two more types of levers, which are also called classes of levers.
In first-class levers, the fulcrum is somewhere between the effort and the load. In the other two
classes, the fulcrum is at one of the ends.

5.1 The three classes of levers .............................................................................................. 63

5.2 Practical examples of different classes of levers ................................................................ 66
5.3 More practical examples of different classes of levers ........................................................ 69

Figure 1

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 Figure 2: These pictures show two corrugated cardboard sheets of about 20 cm long and
10 cm wide. The one piece has the corrugations over the width, and the other piece has the
corrugations over the length.

Figure 3: Both pieces are folded in the middle to form springs. The edges are folded to form
flanges.

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 5.1 The three classes of levers
Lift your finger in three different ways

Put your pencil on the desk in front of you.

Figure 4

Press the pencil down in the middle with right index finger, now try to lift your
index finger by lifting the pencil at the sharp end with your left hand, as shown
below. When you do this, the pencil acts as a lever.

Figure 5
1. The fulcrum of the lever is at the right end of the pencil, where it rests on the
desk. Mark the input force with an arrow on the sketch above. Where is the load?

2. In Figure 5 the input force is at one end of the lever, and the fulcrum at the
other end. How is a first-class lever different from this?

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 Press the pencil down at the sharp end with your right index finger, and try to
lift your finger by lifting the pencil in the middle with your left hand, as shown
below.

Figure 6
3. The fulcrum of the lever is at the left end of the pencil, where it rests on the
desk. Mark the effort with an arrow on the sketch above. Where is the load?

4. In the above case, the load is at one end of the lever, and the fulcrum at the
other end. How is the situation on the previous page different from this one?

You used the pencil as a third-class lever in the above case. On the previous page,
you used the pencil as a second-class lever.
To use the pencil as a first-class lever, you need to add support somewhere
between the two ends to act as a fulcrum.

input force

load
Figure 7

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 5. Do the experiments on the previous two pages again. When do you get the
biggest mechanical advantage: when you use the pencil as a second-class lever
or when you use it as a third-class lever?

• Levers like this one, where the pivot point is

between the input force and the load, are called
first-class levers.

input force

load

Figure 8

• When the load is between the input force and

the pivot point, it is called a second-class lever.

input force Fulcrum is another word for

pivot point.
load

Figure 9

• When the input force is between the load and

the pivot point, it is called a third-class lever.

load

input force

Figure 10

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 5.2 Practical examples of different classes of levers
This boy will swing the hammer to hit the nail into the wall.

effect

effort

fulcrum

Figure 11

In this situation, his forearm and the hammer together form a lever. The lever
swings around the elbow, so the elbow forms the fulcrum.
1. Is his forearm and the hammer a first-class lever, a second-class lever or a
third-class lever?

2. Can you think of a sport where a person swings an object to hit something?

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 3. Rest your right elbow on your desk, then pick up something with your right
hand while keeping your elbow on the desk.
Do it again, but this time hold your left hand lightly on your right arm, just
above the elbow.
Do you feel the muscle movement inside your arm?

Figure 12

The diagram below explains how your arm works.

input
force

load

fulcrum
Figure 13

When you pick something up in your hand, your

arm works like a third-class lever and the input
force is between your elbow and your hand. Your
elbow acts as the fulcrum and the load is in your
hand.

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 4. In each of the pictures below, draw a small triangle to indicate where the
fulcrum is, and an arrow to indicate where the input force is. Make a letter L to
show where the load is. Also state in each case what class of lever it is.

(a) kitchen tongs

(b) man pressing down mechanical tyre lever on stand

(c) another kind of kitchen tongs

Figure 14

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 5.3 More practical examples of different classes of levers

load input
force

fulcrum

Figure 15
When you use a wheelbarrow, the axle of the wheel is An easy way to remember how
the fulcrum and your arms provide the input force. The a second-class lever works, is
load is between the fulcrum and the input force. This is to think of a wheelbarrow or a
nutcracker.
how a second-class lever works. The nutcracker below
is also a second-class lever.

Figure 16: A nutcracker

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 Make a lever on a base plate

Use corrugated cardboard to make a lever on a base plate, as shown on this scale
drawing. The scale of the drawing is 1:3.

Figure 17

For the lever, the corrugations must have the same

direction as the length of the lever. Use a strip of
cardboard 6 cm wide, and fold up the edges along
the length to form flanges as shown on the right.
Figure 18

You can use this lever to move a small box filled with sand. You can do this in two
ways: by using the lever as a second-class lever or by using the lever as a third-
class lever.
1. Make free-hand sketches to illustrate the two ways in which your lever can be
used.
2. Use your lever and sandbox to investigate when you get the biggest mechanical
advantage, with a second-class lever or with a third-class lever. Write a brief
report below.

Next week

In the next chapter, you will investigate and learn how levers can be linked, and
how they can be used for a variety of purposes.

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 Chapter 6
Tools with two or more
levers
In this chapter, you will learn how levers are combined to make different tools.

6.1 Pairs of first-class levers .................................................................................................. 73

6.2 More tools with levers ...................................................................................................... 77
6.3 Many levers in one device ................................................................................................ 80

Figure 1: A set of pliers consists of two levers attached at the same pivot point.

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 Figure 2

Figure 3

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 6.1 Pairs of first-class levers
Work with scissors in different ways

First answer the questions below and then do the experiment. Find out which
way or method of using scissors works the best. Look at the two methods of using
scissors in the pictures below.

Figure 4 Figure 5

1. What is the difference between these two methods of using scissors?

2. With which method will it be the easiest to cut? Explain your answer.

3. Are there any levers in a pair of scissors? If so, how many, and what kind of
levers are they?

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 4. In diagrams A, B and C below, the input
force on the blue blade is indicated with
a red arrow in each instance. In diagram
A the load on the blue blade is indicated
by a black arrow.
(a) Draw an arrow to show where the
load is in diagrams B and C.
Figure 6: A pair of scissors is actually two
blades that are linked together so that they
work like two levers.

Figure 7

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 5. In which case is the mechanical advantage of the blue lever the greatest, and in
which case is it the smallest?

6. In which case, or cases, is the mechanical advantage of the blue lever bigger
than 1?

Can scissors cut thick objects?

1. Why will an ordinary pair of scissors not work well to cut the branches of a tree?

Figure 8

2. Make a free-hand sketch of the type of scissors that can cut the branches of
trees. Why will it work?

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 Figure 9

3. Why will an ordinary pair of scissors not work well to cut a crashed car open to
free trapped passengers?

4. Suppose you have to design a cutting tool that can be used to cut through
metal. In which ways will this tool be different from an ordinary pair of
scissors?

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 6.2 More tools with levers
What is the best way to crack a nut?

You can use pairs of levers to compress, crush or crack things.

design A design B design C

Figure 10

1. Which class of lever is used in each of these nutcrackers?

2. Quickly draw a hand in each case below to show how you can press the hardest
on the nut.

A B C

Figure 11
3. Mark and label the input force, load and fulcrum A label is a word or sentence
clearly on each of the above drawings. that you write next to a
4. Which of the three nutcrackers do you think will drawing to describe or to
work best? Explain why you think so. name a part of the drawing.
When you write one, you are
labelling a drawing.

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 Three different kinds of kitchen tongs and two pairs of pliers are shown on the
next page.

5. Describe the differences between type A and type B kitchen tongs.

6. How does type C kitchen tongs differ from types A and B?

7. Which of the three types of kitchen tongs work in the same way as a pair of
pliers? Explain your answer.

8. Describe a situation in which a pair of pliers would be useful.

9. Make a free-hand drawing of a pair of levers that can be used to pull out thorns
from your foot. This tool is called a pair of tweezers.

10. Which class of lever did you choose for your design in question 9?

11. Make a free-hand drawing of tweezers with a different class of lever than the
tweezers in your first design.

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 kitchen tongs type A kitchen tongs type B

kitchen tongs type C

Figure 12

type A pliers

type B pliers

type C pliers
Figure 13

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 6.3 Many levers in one device
Examine and redesign a nail clipper

Figure 14

A bigger drawing of the nail clipper on its own is shown below, and a schematic
diagram of a nail clipper is shown on the next page.

A schematic diagram does

not show an object as it really
looks. It is drawn to show
some parts of the object more
clearly than if you were looking
at the real object.

Figure 15

1. Look at the red part on the diagram on the next page. It is a lever. What class of
lever is it when the nail clipper is used?

2. Show the effort and load on the red lever with arrows and labels. Also show the
pivot point with a small triangle and a label.

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 Figure 16

3. The blue part of the nail clipper is a pair of levers. Are they used as first-class,
second-class or third-class levers?

4. Show the effort and load on one of the blue levers with arrows and labels. Also
show the pivot point with a small triangle and a label.

5. Is the effort on the lower blue lever the same as the load on the red lever or
not? Explain your answer.

6. Can the above design be changed so that the nail clipper could cut harder
objects than finger nails, for example pieces of metal? Make a schematic
drawing to show how that could be done and explain why it will have a greater
mechanical advantage than the design above.

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 Investigate another combination of levers

The red and blue mechanism consists of two pairs of

Something that is designed
first-class levers. The pair on the left is used to “drive”
to be useful when some of
the pair on the right. its parts move is called a
The four yellow dots show linkages, like the linkages mechanism.
you made with paper dowels when you made levers in
the previous two chapters.

Figure 17

1. What do you think is the purpose of this device?

2. Which of the yellow linkages in the drawing are

The word system is used
pivots for levers, and which only connect one lever
to describe something that
to another? Show this by writing labels on the consists of several parts that
drawings above. are connected to each other in
some way.
The above device can also be described as a system of
two pairs of first-class levers.

Next week

In the next chapter, you will design a tool to cut open car wrecks, in order to save
people trapped in crashed cars.

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 Chapter 7 Mini-pat
Design a life-saving tool

This chapter is a formal assessment task. It will count for 70% of your term mark.
It is a good idea to make a few trial designs before you make the final model. There is a lot to find
out, to think about, to plan and to prepare before you can even start with a project. For the next two
and a half weeks, you will design and make a mechanical tool. You will design it in such a way that it
solves a particular problem.
Work alone, and only at school. Your teacher will assess your work.

Week 1
Another way to move objects from a distance ................................................................... 86
Week 2
Scenario ......................................................................................................................... 96
Week 3
Make a working drawing ................................................................................................ 105
Week 4
Complete your model .................................................................................................... 108

Assessment
Design:
Design brief, specifications and constraints...................................................................... [12]
Rough sketch of Jaws of Life tools, with labels................................................................... [7]
Oblique drawing of a syringe............................................................................................. [6]
Make:
Planning to make............................................................................................................ [15]
Completed model........................................................................................................... [20]
2D working drawing........................................................................................................ [10]
. [Total marks: 70]

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 Last weekend, there was an
accident just outside town. A
car lost control, went off the
road and toppled over. Two
people were trapped inside the
crashed car. They were badly
injured, but still alive. Because
the metal body of the car was
bent, the doors could not open.

Figure 1

Figure 2

An ambulance with paramedics arrived to help the trapped Paramedics are people
people. But the paramedics could not get them out of the who are trained in first aid.
crumpled car in time to give them medical treatment or to take They can do many things that
them to the hospital. So the two people inside the car died from doctors can do.
their injuries.
Incidents like this are very sad. Many peoples’ lives could be saved
if it was possible to remove them from car wrecks in time to get
medical help.

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 If the paramedics had the Jaws
of Life tools with them, they
could have cut or bent the car
doors open with these tools
to remove the injured people.
Then they could have given
medical help to the injured
people, and the story would
have had a happier ending.

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

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 Week 1
Another way to move objects from a distance (30 minutes)
You will now learn how you can use syringes to make things move. This wil help
you to design tools that can be used by rescue workers at accident scenes.

When you worked with levers, you learnt the following:

A push can be made stronger or weaker by using
a lever. In other words, a lever can give you a
mechanical advantage.
A movement can be made smaller or bigger by
using a lever.
The direction of movement can be changed by
using a lever.

You can also change and control movement by using syringes.

Figure 6: This is how you should grip a syringe so that you can push the plunger in with your thumb.

Now you do it.

Figure 7: Close the outlet tube tightly with a finger, then try to push the plunger in.
1. What do you feel when you push the plunger now?

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 2. What do you think prevents the plunger from going all the way in when you
push it hard?

3. Do you think there is something in the syringe that you cannot see?

To compress means to make something smaller. When you pressed the plunger
in while keeping the outlet closed, you compressed the air inside the syringe. That
means you forced the air molecules to move closer together.

Figure 8

4. Do you think you can use a syringe to push something without touching it? Try
to do it.
Connect two syringes with a plastic tube, as shown below.

Figure 9

Find out whether your can move small objects by pushing one plunger in.

press here… …to move something here

Figure 10

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 A pushing device made with syringes and pipe The word “pneumatic” is used
that is filled with air, is called a pneumatic to indicate that gas is used to
mechanism. There are also other types of hydraulic push something.
mechanisms.

5. What do you feel when you press the plunger

in and try to move the pile of books with your
pneumatic mechanism?

When you use a pneumatic pushing device to try to move an object, you cannot
press very hard, because only a small force is needed to compress the air. You can
only press with a big force once the air is already very much compressed, when
the plunger is pressed almost fully in. Do you think the same thing will happen if
there is water in the cylinders instead of gas?
Fill a syringe with water to investigate this.

Step 1 Step 2
Some air bubbles may get caught Hold it upside down and
inside. press the air bubbles out.

Figure 11

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 Figure 12

6. Do you think you can compress the water just like you compressed the air?
Try it. Describe the difference you notice between using air in the syringe, and
water in the syringe.

A liquid cannot be compressed.

It is slightly difficult to get the air bubbles out when you fill two connected
syringes with water. The pictures on page 88 show us how this can be done.

Figure 13

When there is air or other gases in a device like

this, it is called a pneumatic mechanism.
When there is water or some other liquid like oil
in the cylinders and connecting pipe, it is called a
hydraulic mechanism.

7. What would give the strongest push with the same two syringes, air or water?
How can you investigate this?

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 An important investigation

1. How many books can you put on top of each other and still be able to push it
with your pneumatic pushing device?

Figure 14

2. How many books can you put on top of each other and still be able to push it
with your hydraulic pushing device?

3. Why do you think a hydraulic pushing device provides a stronger push than a
pneumatic pushing device?

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 To experience the difference between pneumatic and hydraulic pushing devices,
hold the two plungers of a pushing device in your hands and push the plungers
from both sides.

Figure 15
Do this while the syringes are filled with air. Also do it while the syringes are
filled with water.
4. What difference do you feel between the pneumatic pushing device and the
hydraulic pushing device?

5. Explain why pneumatic and hydraulic pushing devices act differently.

More investigations

Figure 16

Suppose the two syringes and the tube are filled with water. If the plunger on the left is pushed in 1 cm,
will the plunger on the right move out by 1 cm or not? Explain your answer.

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 If a heavy object, like a stone or a box filled with sand, is placed next to the plunger on the right, will the
object also move by the same distance than you pushed the plunger in on the left? Explain your answer.

Figure 17

Suppose the two syringes and the tube are filled with air, and a heavy object is placed next to the
plunger on the right. If the plunger on the left is pushed in 1 cm, will the plunger on the right move out
by 1 cm or not? Explain your answer.
Suppose you use a strong stick or metal rod as a lever to move a brick or other heavy object. If the
fulcrum is exactly in the middle of the stick, and you push the one end 5 cm, how far will the other end
move?

5 cm

Figure 18

Will the same happen if you use a flexible lever, like your ruler? Explain your answer.

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 Swop distance for strength
Think, predict and investigate

The syringe on the left is thicker than the syringe on the right.

Figure 19

1. Suppose the two syringes and the tube are filled with water. If the plunger on
the left is pushed in 1 cm, will the object on the right move out by 1 cm or not?
Explain your answer.

2. What will be different if the syringes and tube are filled with air instead of
water? Explain your answer.

The syringe on the right is thicker than the syringe on the left.

Figure 20

3. Suppose the two syringes and the tube in Figure 20 are filled with water. If the
plunger on the left is pushed in 1 cm, will the plunger on the right move out by
1 cm or not? Explain your answer.

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 4. (a) In which case below will you need to use the smallest force on the left to
move the object on the right?

case A

case B

Figure 21
(b) Do a few experiments to check your answer to the previous question. Write
a short report in the space below.

5. Lebogang says that when you use a thick syringe to “drive” a thin syringe, you
lose strength but gain distance. Jaamiah disagrees. She says that you gain both
distance and strength.
What do you think, and why do you think so?

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 Figure 22

In the above diagram, a thin syringe is used to

drive a thick syringe. The yellow object will move
by a smaller distance than the red plunger, but the
force on the yellow object is bigger than the force
on the red plunger. The mechanical advantage is
“bigger than one”. This means that there is indeed a
mechanical advantage, but a distance disadvantage.

Figure 23

This diagram shows how a thick syringe is used to

drive a thin syringe. The yellow object will move by
a bigger distance than the red plunger, but the force
on the yellow object is smaller than the force on the
red plunger. The mechanical advantage is “smaller
than one”. This means that there is a mechanical
disadvantage, but a distance advantage.

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 Week 2
Scenario  (30 minutes)

Jaws of Life rescue tools can easily

cut through the metal of a car
body. They can also be used to
bend or open the metal body of a
car. Rescue workers have to work
very carefully to ensure they don’t
hurt the passengers inside. So the
rescue tools should make small
movements, compared to the large
movements made by the rescue
workers operating them.

There are four types of Jaws of

Life rescue tools:
• a spreader to pull pieces of metal
apart and tear out chunks of
metal,
• a cutter to cut metal,
• a combination tool that can cut
and spread, and
• a ram, that makes large
openings to free people who are
trapped.

Figure 24
The situation
A model is a small version of a
The rescue services in your area need a rescue tool.
real product. It shows how the
Design and make a model of a Jaws of Life rescue tool
real product works, but cannot
for them.
do the work of the real one.
A model does not have to be
made from the same materials
as the real product.

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 Your model should:
• operate to cut or prise open crumpled metal,
• work with linked levers,
• be attached to a flat piece of card that will act as a base, and
• be powered by a hydraulic system.
You will use syringes and tubing for the hydraulic system. The syringes should
have different thicknesses.

Assessment

Use the information on the previous pages to answer the questions below.

1. What problem did the paramedics encounter at the accident scene?

2. Who will use the rescue tools?

3. Where will the rescue tools be used?

4. In what way will the tools help?

5. Now write the design brief. Use your answers to A design brief tells us what
questions 1 to 4 to help you. Start your paragraph the problem is, and who
with: will benefit from or use the
solution. It does not give us the
solution to the problem.
   I should design and make a … [4]

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 6. Identify the specifications of the solution. Questions (a) to (c) will help
(a) What will the tools be used for?             (2) you to understand what the
word specifications means.

(b) What will make the tools work? (2)

(c) To what should your model be attached? (1)

7. Identify the constraints on the materials. Constraints are limits to

I should use the following materials to build my what can possibly work.
For example, the fact that a
model: [3]
shopping bag can break when
it is loaded too heavily is a
contraint. Also, if you have
a limited amount of time to
build something, it is called a
constraint.

[Total: 12]

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 Sketch your idea for a solution  (30 minutes)
Before you make your own design, look at these photos of kitchen and fire tongs
to get a few ideas. Also look at the sketches on the following page of the designs of
other learners. Pay attention to how the sketches use labels and notes to explain
the designs.

Figure 25

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 corrugated cardboard

device for attaching

pieces of cardboard
(pivot point)

hole with wire to hold two

pieces of cardboard together

corrugated cardboard
(The corrugations/
tubes should run
along the length of
the lever.)

paper fastener
fastens strip to thick cardboard
A4 cardboard

thin syringe A4 piece of

cardboard

thick syringe

Figure 26: Drawings made by other learners

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 thick syringe

plastic tubing

thin syringe

pivot

pivot

pivot
wire claws

Figure 27: More drawings made by other learners

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 Now make a rough sketch of your own design

1. Sketch a possible design of the rescue tool. You can make a simple or a difficult
model, as long as you do it well. It is fine if your model only demonstrates how
the tool will work, even if the model itself does not work.
Think of the different types of Jaws of Life rescue tools. You have to choose and
make only one type of rescue tool.
Label your drawing to show the different parts, and what the parts are made of.
Also show where the syringes that form the hydraulic system will go.
 [Total: 7]

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 Planning how you will make your model

1. Make a list of all the materials you plan to use to build your model. You have
listed them under “specifications” in the previous lesson. Add any other
materials that you will be using.
What will you use for pivots? What will you use to attach the model to the
backing sheet? And what will you use to attach the syringe to the backing sheet
and the lever? [6]

Figure 28: Here are different pivots and ways to attach pieces of cardboard that were used by other
learners. Some were bought and some are hand-made.

2. Make a list of the tools you will use to build your model. A nail to make holes
can also be called a tool. [4]

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 3. Some tools can be dangerous if they are used
Safety warning
incorrectly. Write down a safety rule for one of the
Always carry scissors with
tools that you will use. An example of a safety rule
the blades facing towards
is shown on the right.  (2) the floor. Hand scissors to
someone by keeping the
blades closed in your hand.

4. Order of work. This is the list of the steps you will follow when you make the
model. Below are a few steps to start with. Add more of your own. You can also
add steps to this plan while you make your model.  (3)

Step 1: Draw the shape of the levers on the card.

Step 2: Cut out the card levers.
Step 3: Make a hole for the pivot point/fulcrum.
Step 4: Assemble the hydraulic system using two syringes with different
sizes and tubing.
Step 5:

Step 6:

Step 7:

Step 8:

[Total: 15]

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 Week 3
Make a working drawing  (30 minutes × 2 = 60 minutes)
Engineers and technologists usually make two or more models before they choose
a model for their final solution to a problem. Each time they make a model again,
the new model is better than the previous one. Remaking models is an important
part of the design process.
Make an accurate 2D working drawing of your model. This type of drawing
shows you what an object looks like when you look at it straight from the front,
back, side, top or the bottom. Drawings like these are useful because they show the
dimensions (measurements) of the object accurately.
Read through points 1 to 5 before you start to draw.
1. Have another look at Chapter 2 to refresh your memory about how to make a
2D working drawing.
2. Make a 2D working drawing showing one view of Sometimes, working drawings
your rescue tool. Draw the view that shows the are on a smaller scale than the
most detail of your model. actual objects. For example, if
3. On your drawing, each part of the tool should be 1 mm on the drawing means
5 mm on the actual object,
the correct size compared to the other parts.
then you say that the scale is
4. You don’t have to draw your model to scale and 1:5.
you don’t have to add dimensions to your drawing.

Figure 29: An “outline block” drawing of a lever system

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 Make a 2D working drawing of your model

Start by drawing an outline block to work in, on the next page. Look at Figure 29
on the previous page as an example.
To draw the outline block, first take all the measurements of your model in the
horizontal and the vertical directions.
Making a block like this will help you to draw each part of your model the
correct size compared with the other parts. This means that the proportions will
be right.
Use only light, feint lines for the block, because these lines are all guidelines.
Once you have drawn your block, complete the 2D drawing of your model.
Use the list below as a list to ensure that you have done everything properly and
included everything. Your teacher will use these to assess your drawing.

Your teacher will look at the following Tick

things:
Does the drawing have a heading?
Does the heading include the view that
the drawing is drawn in, for example the
front view?
Is the block drawn by using the horizontal
and the vertical measurements of your
model?
Is the block correctly drawn using feint
lines?
Are the outlines of the device drawn
using dark lines?
Are the different parts of the device in
proportion as it would be in the model?
Is the drawing neat?
[Total: 10]

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 Make your drawing on this page.

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 Week 4
Complete your model  (30 minutes × 2 = 60 Minutes)
Remember to work safely and neatly. Pack away you model and its parts at the end
of each lesson. Keep the parts together in a plastic or paper bag. Write your name
on every part and on the plastic bag so that your parts will not get mixed up with
someone else’s.
Sometimes, a design does not work out. You can make changes and add things
to your model later so that it will work.
• Assemble your materials and tools.
• Draw and cut out your lever.
• Put the lever together.
• You can choose materials other than those that you planned for the pivot.
When your model is finished, your teacher will use this rubric to assess it:
Is it made according to your plan? 10
Does it work smoothly? 5
Is the model neat and well-made? 5
20

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 Make an oblique drawing  (30 minutes)
Make a three-dimensional drawing of a syringe

Draw one of the syringes you used in your model in 3D oblique.

Have another look at Chapter 2 to refresh your memory on how to make a 3D
oblique drawing.
Look at the drawings in the margin of this page.
Draw on the grid paper on the next page.
1. Start by drawing the front view of the syringe
using thick, dark lines. This outlines the shape of
the syringe.
2. Measure and draw your 45° diagonal lines from the
corners. They must be light, feint lines, because
they are construction lines.
3. Measure and mark the depth of the syringe
construction lines on the projection. Remember to
use half of the real measurement.
4. Draw in the lines at the back. This is called the
“rear lines”.
5. Go over all your outlines. They have to be dark
lines.
 [6]
Figure 30
Use the list below as a check list to make sure that
you have done everything properly and included
everything.

Things to look at Tick

Does your drawing have a heading?

Did you start with the construction lines?

Are these feint lines?

Did you project your corners at 45°?

Did you use ½ the depth measurement to

find the rear lines?
Did you draw your outlines as dark lines?

Is your drawing neat?

[Total: 6]

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 Term 2
Chapter 8
Shells, frames and solids

Right now, you are sitting at a desk on a chair. Soon, you will write things in a book with a pen or a
pencil. The book rests on your desk. All these objects are called structures. If you look around the
classroom, you will see many other structures. For example, the classroom and the school buildings
are structures.
In this chapter, you will learn about natural and man-made structures. You will also learn about shell
structures, solid structures and frame structures.

8.1 Things called structures ................................................................................................. 114

8.2 Man-made and natural structures .................................................................................... 119
8.3 Types of structures ........................................................................................................ 123

Figure 1: Is a piece of dough or wet clay a structure?

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 Figure 2: What does it mean to construct something?

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 Figure 3: What does it mean to construct something?

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 8.1 Things called structures
Look around you in the classroom. Choose any object, for example a cupboard, a
table, a chair, a basket, a bottle, a shoe, a pencil case or a brick. Then answer the
following questions about this object.

1. What is this object called?

2. What is it used for?

3. Can it be used to keep certain things in one place, so that they do not lie around
all over the classroom?

4. Can it be used to protect something, for example to protect it from sunlight or

wind?

5. Is it used to support something?

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 Figure 4: The chair supports the person sitting on it.

This man is sitting comfortably on the chair. You can say that the chair supports
the man and keeps him from falling off.
6. Describe two other objects that are different from chairs, but are also used to
support something or someone.

Figure 5: The bridge spans the stream.

A bridge that crosses a stream or a river from one end to the other helps people to
cross it without getting wet. You can say that the bridge spans the stream.

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 A small business situation

Suppose you want to set

up a stall at a market to
sell food such as sugar,
flour, maize, rice, eggs,
beans and cooking oil.
So you buy one large
bag each of sugar, flour,
maize and rice, and a 20-
litre drum of cooking oil.

Figure 6

1. Make a list of the things you can see in this picture.

2. What else do you need to set up your stall before you can sell the goods?

3. What type of container will the eggs you sell come in?

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 Figure 7
4. Why are eggs packed in special containers such as the one you see in this picture?

5. If you wanted to make a table from the two empty crates, what else would you
need?

6. Suppose a woman wants to buy 2 kg of flour from you. Will you ask her to hold
out her hands so that you can put the flour in her hands, or will you make
another plan?

A container is something
7. What will you use as containers when you sell that you use to keep things
maize, rice, sugar and flour to people? together in one place, like a
paper bag for rice.

8. What will you use as a container to sell oil? The table you will make, the
crates that you use to make
the table, the containers in
which you get the eggs and
the plastic bottles in which
9. What did you decide to use to span the two crates you sell the oil are all called
to form a table, when you answered question 5 structures.
above? There are many other things
that are also called structures.

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 10. How will you protect yourself and the goods you sell when it rains? Draw the
structure that you will use for protection.

People design and make structures for different reasons. Many structures can help
you to do one or more of the things below.

To contain or hold something, so that it is not all

over the place, and to keep it apart from other
things.
To protect something, so that it is not damaged.
To support something and hold it up.
To span the space between two objects so that they
are connected.

11. Can you think of a structure that can do more than one of these things?

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 8.2 Man-made and natural structures

Figure 8: A termite mound

Have you ever looked closely at a termite mound? It really is wonderful how it
contains and protects termites and their food against the weather and against
their enemies. There is a whole city in there!
The material (soil) is reworked by them to make it harder so that it can
withstand shocks, while its shape allows rain to flow off it easily. It is an example
of a natural structure and it is not man-made.
Man-made shelters have the same functions – to protect people and their
belongings. Before man-made shelters such as houses and tents existed, people
used caves or trees for protection.
There are lots of different structures around us. Some are built by us and some
are already there in nature. The termite mound is a structure, but it is not built by
people. We call structures like that natural structures.
A cup that you use to drink tea or coffee is also a structure. It is a man-made
structure because it was made by people.
Look at the structures on the next two pages, then classify them as man-made
structures or natural structures.

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 (a)
(b)

(c)

d)

(e) (f)
Figure 9

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 (a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)

Figure 10

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 Classify structures

1. Classify the 12 structures on the previous two pages as man-made or as natural

structures.

Man-made structures Natural structures

2. What other natural structures can you think of?

3. Name any three man-made structures that provide protection.

4. Name any three man-made structures that provide support.

5. Name any three man-made structures that contain things.

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 8.3 Types of structures
There are three basic types of structures: shell structures, frame structures and
solid structures. But some structures are a combination.

Shell structures
Most containers used to hold liquids or small solids are shell structures. Examples
are coffee mugs, bowls for peanuts and bags for rice or sugar.
The strength of a shell structure is on its outside – in the shell.
Chicken eggs and empty ostrich eggs are examples of natural shell structures.
Soccer balls or balloons are man-made shell structures.

Figure 11: Ostrich eggs were used as water Figure 12: Bees store their honey in honeycombs.
containers by the San people.

Figure 13: A rubber tyre is a shell structure. Figure 14: A coffee mug is a shell structure.

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 Frame structures
A frame structure consists of different parts. These parts are combined in such
a way to make the structure strong. A ladder and a bicycle are good examples of
man-made frame structures. Spiderwebs are natural frame structures.

Figure 15: This roof frame is a frame structure made

from wooden planks, a natural material. The planks
support the roof.

Figure 16: A bicycle frame consists of different metal pipes.

Figure 17: A plant leaf. Look at its veins.

They form the frame of the leaf.

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 Solid structures
Structures like rocks, bricks
and cement poles are solid.
They do not consist of
different parts with open
spaces between them. A
stone is a natural solid
structure and is one piece
of material. A brick is a
man-made solid structure.
Figure 18: Stones

Figure 19: Table Mountain

Figure 20: A cement brick Figure 21: A teaspoon

Combined structures
A house is a good example of a structure that is a combination of shell, frame and
solid structures.
• The bricks, roof tiles or roof sheets are all solid structures.
• The different rooms of the house is a shell structure.
• The framework on which the roof tiles or sheets rest are called roof trusses, and
are frame structures.

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 Identify types of structures

1. Classify the following structures in the table below as shell, frame or solid
structures:
a house; electricity pylon; tortoise shell; cellphone tower; human skull; brick;
garden chair; spiderweb and dog kennel; wooden logs; chicken eggs and rocks.
You can look at pictures of these structures on the previous pages.

2. Write more examples of each of the different kinds of structures in the table.

Shell structures Frame structures Solid structures

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 Support for water tanks

Figure 22: A water tank on a solid brick stand Figure 23: A water tank on a metal-frame stand

1. Name all the structures that you can see in the pictures above. In each case, say
what kind of structure it is, and what its purpose is.

2 Compare the support structures for the two water tanks.

(a) Which stand is a solid structure and which stand is a frame structure?

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 (b) Which stand do you think is stronger of the two? Explain why you think so.

3. Make a free-hand sketch of the metal frame stand and the tank here:

Next week

In the next chapter, you will learn about different ways to make frame structures
stronger.

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 Chapter 9
Frame structures

In this chapter, you will look at frame structures such as cellphone towers, windmills, pylons and mine
headgear. You will learn how these structures are designed and built so that they are strong enough,
and you will find out how the materials used in building these structures can be made stronger. You
will also investigate the advantages and disadvantages of landline phones and mobile phones, or
cellphones.

9.1 Strong frame structures ................................................................................................. 132

9.2 Communication systems................................................................................................. 137
9.3 Action research: strengthening structures ....................................................................... 139

Figure 1

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 Figure 2

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 Figure 3

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 9.1 Strong frame structures

Figure 4: Cellphone tower Figure 5: A windmill

When the wind blows so that the wheel of a

windmill turns, water is pumped from a borehole
in the ground. In this way, wind is used as a source
of energy. In the same way, wind can also be used
to generate electricity. Many years ago, before
electricity was discovered, windmills were used to
grind grain to make flour.
A cellphone tower is a tall frame structure with
devices called wave receivers and transmitters at
the top. When two people talk to each other with
cellphones, the receivers and transmitters in a
cellphone tower lets the waves from one cellphone
reach the other cellphone.

Figure 6

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 1. Draw lines on the diagram on the left so that it looks more like the tower of a
windmill or a cellphone. Do not use a ruler. Just make a quick free-hand sketch.

Figure 7
2. Why do you think windmill and cellphone towers are designed as in your
drawing?

Examine more towers

Figure 8: Electricity pylons Figure 9: Mine headgear

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 Mavis struggles with
homework. She decides
to call Thomas on his
cellphone, because she has
free airtime.

Hello, Thomas!

Philip also struggles with

homework. He doesn’t have a
cellphone, so he calls Lebogang
using the landline phone.

Figure 10

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 Thomas picks up his
cellphone…

KGG…BEEEEP!!!…GGG…
ZKKRRT…he…tho…FFFGG

Hello! Hello! Mavis is that you?

I can’t hear you!

Lebogang picks up the landline.

Hello Lebo! It’s Philip. I’m really

struggling with the homework and
I hoped that you would be able to
help me.

Of course, Philip!

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 Figure 11
1. Look at the pictures and photographs that have been shown in this chapter
so far. They all show frame towers. Do these towers look more like design A or
more like design B below?

design A design B
Figure 12
2. Draw dark lines on the sides of a triangle in design A. Are there any triangles in
design B? How many triangles are there in design A?

3. Why do you think there are triangles in the towers?

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 9.2 Communication systems
Landlines or cellphones: which is better?

Some people say it is better to use mobile phones than A mobile phone is another
landlines. Others prefer landlines to cellphones. name for a cellphone.

Figure 13

1. Why can Mavis not hear what Thomas is saying?

2. Phillip and Lebogang enjoy their conversation. Why are they not experiencing
the same communication problem as Mavis and Thomas?

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 3. Describe four advantages and four disadvantages of using landline phones, and
of using cellphones, in the table below.

Device Advantages Disadvantages

Landline phones

Cellphones

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 9.3 Action research: Strengthening structures
Some materials are not suitable as building materials.
Stiffen: To make something
But their properties can be changed and improved rigid and strong.
to make it suitable. You will now stiffen a flat sheet
of paper to make it suitable as building material for
models.

Activity 1: Stiffen paper by tubing

Work in pairs.
You need:
• two sheets of A4 paper (preferably waste paper intended for recycling),
• masking tape or cellotape,
• glue, and
• a pair of scissors.
Look at the pictures below before you start.

Figure 14

Partner 1: Roll a sheet of paper to form a tube with a centre hole that is not bigger
than the centre hole of a toilet paper roll. Fasten the tube with tape to keep its
shape.
Partner 2: Roll a sheet of paper into a tight tube with a centre hole, so that a pencil
can almost not fit in. Fasten the tube with tape to keep its shape.
Hold the tubes at their ends. Try to bend each one. Which one bends the easiest?

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 Tubing is also used to make strong paper
Home-made glue
straws. Look at the illustration below to see
Ingredients
how to roll paper straws.
1 cup flour
Glue down the last piece of the sheet of
½3 cup sugar
paper to prevent the straw from unrolling.
1 ½ cups water
Cut off the thin ends of the rolled straw.
1 big spoon vinegar
Now you have a strong paper straw.
Method
Mix the flour with sugar in a pot.
Add ½ of the water. Stir.
Add the rest of the water and stir.
Add the vinegar.
Heat until the mixture gets thick and shiny.
Leave to cool.

step 1 step 2

step 3 step 4

Figure 15

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 Activity 2: Stiffen cardboard by folding

Work in pairs. You need some cardboard, sticky tape and a pair of scissors.
You also need two books. Cut two strips of cardboard, each about 30 cm long and
8 cm wide. Fold one strip along its length, in the middle, so that it looks like this:

Figure 16

1. Which of the two pieces of cardboard will bend easier?

Investigate to check your answer.

One person holds the flat strip of cardboard across two books as shown below.
The other person presses down in the middle of the sheet of paper.

Figure 17
Do the same with the folded strip.

Figure 18

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 2. Which strip is the easiest to bend: the flat strip or the folded strip?

Activity 3: How to make shapes stable and strong

Work in groups of four.

Materials:
• a few sheets of A4 scrap paper,
• glue,
• thin wire or string, and
• a nail or awl to make holes with.

1. Each group should roll at least five paper straws.

2. Join four paper straws to make a four-sided shape. Look what happens when
you push the sides of the square or pull the sides of the square. Does the shape
change?

Figure 19
3. Insert another paper straw from the top left corner to the bottom right corner.
Repeat the pushing and pulling actions. Does the shape change easily again?

Figure 20

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 By turning the square into two triangles, you made the structure stable.

Making triangles in a structure is called

triangulation.

4 Look at the shapes below. Decide as a group how you could make them stable.
(a) Build the two shapes and test your ideas. One pair makes shape A and the
other pair makes shape B.
(b) Push and pull the sides of the shapes before you add extra paper tubes.
(c) Test your shapes once you have added the extra paper tubes. Are they both
stable?

A B

Figure 21
5. Copy the two shapes. Now fill in where you would add extra paper straws to
create triangle shapes.

6. How many paper struts did you use to turn shape A into triangles?

7. How many paper struts did you use to turn shape B into triangles?

8. Share your drawings with three other learners. Take a good look at where they
placed the diagonal members to make their shapes stable.

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 Use triangulation to make paper strong

1. The drawing below is of one side of a bridge. It is not finished yet. Complete the drawing to show
how triangulation will be used.

Figure 22
2. Below are drawings of two different frames.
(a) Make each of them using paper or thin card. Make sure that you use the same materials for
both frames.
(b) When they are finished, press lightly on each of them with one hand. You will feel that they can
withstand a little pressure from above.
The square frame is strong when you press straight down on it. It is weak when you
press down on it from the side.
The triangular frame can take pressure from the side as well.
(c) Use the same material you used for the frames. Glue a piece on the bottom and the top of each
frame. This will make the frame firmer.
(d) Now test the strength of each of the frames. Place the same book first on the one and then on
the other frame. Start with a fairly light book. If the frame does not break, add another book.
(e) How many books could each of the frames take before it collapsed?
(f) Which frame collapsed first?
(g) Explain why the other frame was firmer.

Figure 23

Next week

In the next chapter, you will learn about different things to keep in mind when
you plan to build something.

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 Chapter 10
Things to consider

In this chapter, you will learn about design issues. Design issues are things to think of when
something like a cellphone tower, bridge, building or power station is designed. They include the
purposes of the object or structure, the cost, and how people and the environment will be affected.

10.1 Why do cellphone towers look like they do? ..................................................................... 147
10.2 Things tower designers think about ................................................................................. 150
10.3 Give clear instructions ................................................................................................... 151

Figure 1

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 tower A tower B tower C

tower D tower E tower F

Figure 2

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 10.1 Why do cellphone towers look like they do?
Examine a few cellphone towers

On the previous page you can see pictures of different cellphone towers.

1. Why do you think tower A was designed to look like a tree?

2. Why does tower C have cables, but tower D has no cables?

3. Why will tower A not topple over and fall, even when the wind is strong?

4. Why does tower D have a large concrete block at the bottom, but tower E has
no foundation?

When an ugly object stands in a beautiful

environment, people say the object causes visual
pollution.
When an object falls over easily, people say it is
unstable.
The lower part of an object like a tower, on which it
stands, is called the base.

5. Which of the towers on the previous page has the widest base? Why was it
designed to have such a wide base?

6. Which of the towers do you think is most unstable? Why do you think so?

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 Centre of gravity

Fasten your pencil with sticky tape to a sheet of paper, as shown below. The back
end of your pencil must be at the edge of the paper as shown.

Figure 3
Now roll the paper around the pencil to form a long tube with
the pencil inside. Tape the tube on the outside, where the back
of the pencil is, so that it can’t open up.

1. Try to make the tube stand upright on one end. Try

this at both ends. What do you notice?

When most of the weight of an object is in its lower

part, engineers say it has a low centre of gravity.
When most of the weight of an object is in its upper
part, engineers say it has a high centre of gravity.

2. What is more stable: an object with a low centre of

gravity or an object with a high centre of gravity?

3. Which tower on page 146 has the highest centre of gravity?

Figure 4

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 The following are different ways to prevent towers from falling over easily:
• Make the centre of gravity low. One way of doing
this is to connect the tower to a heavy object at
its bottom.
• Fasten the tower to the ground with cables.
• Plant the tower deep in the ground.
• Give the tower a wide base.

4. Look at the sketches of the six towers again. For each tower, say which method
or combination of methods was used to make it stable.

5. Strong foundations help to keep towers from falling over. Which towers have
foundations under ground level to keep them stable?

6. How do the underground foundations differ from each other?

7. Some of the towers are built from solid concrete or fibre glass. Other towers are
metal structures. Why do you think the metal towers have triangles in them?

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 10.2 Things tower designers think about
What questions will you ask?

Suppose a new cellphone tower will be built in an area with no cellphone

coverage. The mayor of the local municipality in that area invites you to visit him,
and says:
“I want someone to write a document about the new cellphone tower. The
document will be given to the engineers who will design and build the cellphone
tower. When they read it, it must be clear what we want. Can you write that
document?”
He then says:
“You will need more information before you can write the document. To find that
information, you have to ask questions. Which questions will you ask me and
other people in the community?”
Write down questions that you think will help you to find the information you
need.

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 10.3 Give clear instructions
Write a design brief and specifications for school desks

Suppose you are given the responsibility of ordering 100 new classroom desks
for the school. The desks will be made at a furniture factory. This is the first
time that school desks will be made at this factory. The people at the factory
have no experience of making school desks, so you have to give them very clear
instructions.
You will soon write a document for the factory manager, so that he can know
what the school desks should look like, how big and strong they should be, and
what materials they should be made of. Before you do that, examine your own
desk in class to help you make decisions about the new school desks. The new
desks do not have to be exactly the same as your desk. You can suggest desks that
are different from yours.

1. Now examine your desk and think about how you want the new desks to be
made. Write notes in the space below, and make a few free-hand sketches too.

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 A document such as the one you will now write is called a design brief and the
answers to your questions are called specifications.
2. Write the document that will be sent to the factory manager on a loose sheet
of paper. Your document should include one or more drawings. State the
dimensions of the school desk.
3. Make a 3D oblique drawing in the space below of the desk you want to be made.

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 Evaluate and improve your document

Read your design brief and specifications for school desks again, and then answer
the following questions:
Instead of evaluating your own
1. Does your document say if the legs of the desk document, you can evaluate
should be made of wood, metal or plastic? someone else’s document.
Your teacher could arrange
this.

2. Does your document say how wide the desk top should be?

3. Does your document say how high above the ground the desk top should be?

4. Does your document say how smooth or rough the surface of the desk top
should be?

Try to think of other specifications that the factory manager might need, that is
not given in your document.

5. Rewrite your design brief with specifications in the space below and on the
following page. Include a single vanishing point perspective drawing.

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 Write one more design brief and specification

In the space below, write a design brief and a specification for an FM radio or a
cellphone. Use the drawings on the next page to help you.

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 Figure 5

Next week

In the weeks to come, you will design and build a model cellphone tower.

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 Chapter 11 mini-pat
A model cellphone tower

This chapter is a formal assessment task. It will count for 70% of your term work.
Over the next six weeks you will design and build a model of a cellphone tower. You will work through
the different stages of the design process to do this. Some of the work will be done in a group,
and you will do some work on your own. Only the work done on your own will be assessed by your
teacher.

Week 1
Make a few decisions .................................................................................................... 160
Week 2
Compare and evaluate designs ....................................................................................... 169
Week 3
List resources and make a working drawing .................................................................... 173
Week 4
Build the model ............................................................................................................. 179
Week 5
Finish building................................................................................................................ 180
Week 6
Plan your presentation ................................................................................................... 186

Assessment
Investigate:
Design brief, specifications and constraints...................................................................... [15]
Design:
Improve your design......................................................................................................... [7]
Plan to make.................................................................................................................. [10]
Make:
Building your model........................................................................................................ [22]
2D working drawing........................................................................................................ [16]
. [Total marks: 70]

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 Working as a team is not easy … Their houses are
way too fancy. They draw much
A triangular roof is better, because better than me!
then there is space to store things …

Jessica

Lerato Solly

I thought the house should have Wait, let me first finish

a triangular roof, because then explaining my idea.
NO! that’s too
there will be space to sto… complicated.
I have a better
idea.

Lerato discusses her idea while

the others listen. When she’s
done, it’s Jessica’s turn.

My house has a “stoep” in front of it. So that in summer there will be

shade on the sunny side of the
house, and we can sit outside in the
Why? shade to eat or do other things.

Oh, that is a very good idea!

Figure 1

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 Solly, you haven’t said anything yet. At my family’s house, the wind often
Why did you design an “L” shaped blows into the house when you open
house? the front door.
So I designed a house where the front
door will be sheltered from the wind
by the “L” shape.

Where I live, the wind never blows much, but now I

I like that understand Solly’s reason for designing his house in an “L”
idea a lot! shape. Let’s do it like that!

Soon, they’re designing a lovely house together. Wow! working in a team can
be fun and very rewarding!

Figure 2

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 Week 1
Make a few decisions  (30 minutes)
Your village is about to get cellphone coverage. A cellphone company is planning
to build a tower on a hill next to your school. Once the tower is built, the people
in your village will be able to use cellphones. For example, they will be able to
phone the doctor, clinic or chemist when they get sick. Everyone is very excited
and they can’t wait to phone their family members who live far away!
Some people are worried that the tower will look ugly. They think that it will
not look nice next to the school, that it won’t fit in with the surroundings. They
would prefer a tower that does not look like a tower.

the hill on the other side of town

town hall with flat roof

road

sports field

Figure 3

1. Read the story above the picture at the top of the page again, then look at the
pictures of six different cellphone towers in Chapter 10. Which of those towers
will make the people in your village happy?

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 2. The cellphone company sends one of their employees to the village. He talks
to the people in the village to find out what the designer should keep in mind
when she makes plans for the tower. So he asks you:
“What are the three most important things I have to keep in mind when I design
the cellphone tower for your village?”
You can start to answer by saying: “The tower must be . . .”
You can also start parts of your answer by saying: “The tower must not . . .”
Write down your answer below. You can mention more than three things if you
want.
By writing your answers to the
question, you have started
to write a design brief and
specifications for a cellphone
tower.

3. Look at the picture of the village on the previous page. Where do you think the
cellphone tower should be placed? Also decide what type of tower it should be,
and make a rough drawing of the tower on the right place in the picture.

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 The cellphone company is looking for ideas for towers they can build. They have
asked for your help. Your task is to design and build a model of a cellphone tower.
• Your model should be more than 30 cm tall.
• It should have a flat platform near the top of the tower. In a real tower,
technicians will stand on this platform when they install or fix the transmitters
and receivers at the top of the tower. The platform on your model should not be
larger than a 10 cm by 10 cm square.
• The model should fit in with the surroundings. It must be camouflaged in some
way.
• The model should be made from strong materials so that it will be stable.
• It should also be rigid and hold its shape.
• Your model should be reinforced using triangulation.
• You can use any suitable building materials for your structure, such as materials
that can be found around your home. Examples are stiff reeds; thin, straight
sticks; or hand-rolled paper dowels.

Think about your task, and make a rough sketch below of what you think the
tower should look like. Also make notes so that you will be able to remember later
what you were thinking today.

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 Design brief, specifications and constraints  (30 minutes)
Read through the situation and the information on the previous three pages before
completing the three sets of questions below.
Have another look at Chapter 7 to refresh your memory about what the terms
design brief, specifications and constraints mean.

1. Write the design brief.

(a) What is the problem? [1]

(b) Who will be happy about the new tower? [1]

(c) How will it help them? [1]

(d) Now write the design brief. Use the answers of the questions you have just
answered. Start your paragraph with:
I must design and make …[2]

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 2. Identify the specifications.
(a) How should the tower be designed so that it will not look ugly? [1]

(b) What should be at the top of the tower? [1]

(c) Write down another specification, in your own words. [1]

(d) Write down another specification, in your own words. [1]

(e) Write down one more specification, in your own words. [1]

3. Identify the constraints.

(a) At least how tall should your model be? [1]

(b) How much weight should your model be able to carry? [1]

(c) You can only use materials that you can find around where you live.
What are these materials? [3]

 [Total:15]

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 Plan for camouflage and strength  (60 minutes)
There are towers almost everywhere. Some support electricity or telephone cables,
and keep water tanks off the ground; while others, like church towers, show us
what the building is used for.
Camouflage means to cover
Many people think towers are ugly. So some towers
or colour something to make it
are covered with plants or things that look like plants.
look similar to, and fit in with,
This is called camouflage.
the things around it.

Figure 4: Some insects camouflage themselves very well

Figure 5: An animal that camouflages itself well

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 Start to think about the model tower that you will build. Answer the questions
below and also make a rough sketch with notes on the next page, so that people
can understand your answers.
1. How will you camouflage your tower?

Towers are designed so that they are stable, strong and rigid.
• Something is stable if it does not fall over or
collapse easily. The opposite of stable is unstable.
• Something is strong if it does not break easily.
The opposite of strong is weak.
• Something is rigid if it does not bend easily. The
opposite of rigid is flexible.

2. How will you make sure that your model cellphone tower is stable?

3. How will you make sure that your model cellphone tower is strong?

4. How will you make sure that your model cellphone tower is rigid?

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 Make your sketch here:

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 Some of the people in the village may not like your design. It would be a good idea
to give them a choice. Think about possibilities for a different design and make
a drawing with notes below to show your new design. It should be completely
different from your first design.

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 Week 2
Compare and evaluate designs  (30 minutes)
Join two or three other learners (not more than two or three). Show both of your
designs to each other.
Look at the designs of other learners and ask questions about any part of their
drawing that you do not understand.
Make suggestions to other learners about how they could improve their designs.
Make notes of what other learners say about your designs so that you can
remember it when you try to improve your design later.
Write the notes in the space below.

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 Improve your design  (30 minutes)
Decide which of your two designs is the best.
Look at your notes to remember what your classmates said about it. Now think
about ways to improve your design.
Ask yourself the following questions to help you see how you can improve your
design:
Will the materials bend too easily?
Will the tower fall over easily?
Will the tower be strong enough to support the
platform at the top?
Will you have all the materials you need to build
your model?

Can you think of other questions that would help you to improve your design?
Also think back to what you have learnt in Chapters 8, 9 and 10 about:
• how frame structures are reinforced to make them stronger and stop them from
bending,
• how frame structures are prevented from toppling,
• the important features you identified when you investigated towers.
• the need to avoid visual pollution.

Make a list of your planned improvements below. You can also make a sketch

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 Learn to make strong joints  (60 minutes)
When a structure breaks, it is called structural failure. There are three main
reasons why structures fail:
• When the design is poor. If you make a bucket with a hole in the bottom, it will
not hold water. The water will run out through the hole. The structure cannot
work as it should, and it cannot do the work it was designed for.
• When the wrong materials were used. The materials used for a structure must
be strong enough for the load the structure has to carry. A child’s chair will
break when an adult sits on it, because the materials were not made to carry
such a heavy load.
• When the workmanship is poor. When the handle for the pan you fry your
food in is not firmly fixed, it will break off. Poor quality workmanship can lead
to your hand getting burnt.

You will now practise making strong joints to help you build the model cellphone
tower.

Work in a group of three. Home-made glue

1 cup flour
You will need:
3 cup of sugar
• handmade paper straws,
1 ½ cups of water
• glue (you can make your own – use the recipe
1 big spoon vinegar
on the right),
Mix the flour with sugar in a
• wire,
pot.
• a thin card, Add half of the water. Stir.
• sticky tape or masking tape, and Add the rest of the water and
• a nail or an awl. stir.
Add the vinegar.
Heat the mixture until it gets
thick and shiny.
Leave the mixture to cool.

Look at the sketches on the next page.

• Partner 1 makes joints A, B and E.
• Partner 2 joins straws, as shown in C and D.
• Partner 3 joins three straws with a paper “gusset”, as shown in F.
Leave the joints overnight or longer, until they are completely dry.
You will come back to these joints later.

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 Work carefully with hot things,
a stove or open flames.
Use a thick cloth or pot holder
to prevent burning yourself or
others.
If you get burnt, hold the
burnt area in cold water for
20 minutes.
A. Joining two straws by pushing one straw into the other one Do not rub anything on the
burn.

B. Joining two straws by pasting C. Using wire to make a joint Use tools safely
with glue Use tools for the purpose
they are made for. Scissors
are made for cutting – not for
anything else.
It is also important to use tools
correctly. If you have not used
a tool before, ask someone
who knows how to work with
it for advice. Keep tools in
good working order and pack
them away after you have used
D. Using a card gusset to strengthen a joint
them.

E. Making and using triangular F. Making, cutting and pasting

card gussets to strengthen a joint three-dimensional card joints
Figure 6

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 Week 3
List resources and make a working drawing  (30 minutes)
Work on your own.
1. You have already made a design for a cellphone The tools and materials that
tower. Look at it again. Make a list of everything are needed to build something
you will need to build the model. are called resources.

2. Make a working drawing of your model on the next page. Your drawing should
show what the model will look like from one side. Use a ruler and show
dimensions. The drawing should be half as big as the model will be. Label your
drawing to show the different parts. Show what the parts and the joints are
made of.

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 Make your working drawing here, a 2D single view.

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 Form a team and choose a design  (30 minutes)
Work in a team of three. Decide what role each team member should play.
Discuss each of your designs. Decide which design you think is best.
• You should choose a design that the team can make. Choose the best design or
make up a new design that uses ideas from every team member.
• It is important to draw the design well.
• Everyone should understand exactly what the team will make before you can
move on to the next step.
• Remember that your design must include a platform on which workers can
stand when they work at the top of the tower.
• Someone in the team has to sketch the new idea on a clean sheet of paper. It
can be a rough sketch. It should show the materials that will be used and how
the joints will be strengthened.
• Make your own drawings of some joints in the space below. Also make a copy of
the drawing of the whole tower on the next page.

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 Make the drawing here:

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 Plan to make  (30 minutes)
Before any practical task is started, a lot of thinking, planning and preparation
happens. We call this process of thinking and gathering tools and materials before
the start “planning to make”.
By now you have decided what your model tower will look like. It is time to start
planning how you will build it.
Work on your own now. This work will be assessed by your teacher.

1. Make a list of all the materials you plan to use to build your model.  (2)

2 Make a list of the tools you will use to build the model. Even a nail to make
holes with can be called a tool.  (2)

3 Think of your safety when using tools. Some tools can be dangerous if they
are used incorrectly. Write down one safety rule for one of the tools you will be
using.  (2)

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 4 Think about the order of work. This is a list of all the steps you follow when you
make the model. Below is the first step. Add a few more steps.  (4)
Step 1. Roll straws from scrap paper.
Step 2.

Step 3.

 Total [10]

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 Week 4
Build the model
It is important that you finish building the model in the given task. Make sure you
understand exactly how much time you have for each step.
If you don’t finish in time, you will have to stop when the time is up and start with
the next tasks, even if your model is not finished yet.
Remember to work safely and neatly.
Also remember to give each person a task or a part of the model to make. You can
help each other, or two people can work together. Each person must work equally
hard at building the model.
Pack away your model and its parts at the end of each lesson.
Keep the pieces together in a plastic bag or paper bag. Write your names on the
bag. This will prevent your pieces from getting mixed up with someone else’s.
Sometimes, a design does not work out. You can make changes and add things to
your model while you are building it.
Do not waste time. It often takes longer to make a project than you might expect.

First build the tower without the platform.

You have this period and the next two periods to do that.
Have another look at the joints you made earlier. Ask yourself:
• Which joints will I make?
• Which joints worked the best?
• Which one is best for our model?
• Which materials will we use for the joints?

Decide how your tower will be anchored.

• Are you going to make a frame structure for a base?
• Are you going to use a foundation? What will you use, a piece of cardboard or
polystyrene?
• Ask yourself if the tower will topple over, and if it will be able to carry the
weight of two A5 textbooks.

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 Week 5
Finish building  (30 minutes)
You have this period and the next one to finish your tower.
• Make sure that the tower stands upright and does not fall over.
• Build the platform and anchor it to the top of the model tower.
• Test if your tower can carry the weight of two A5 text books.
• Camouflage your model. Don’t forget that your tower must fit in with the
surroundings.

When you have finished, take a good look at your model.

Your teacher will evaluate your model.  [Total: 40]
Are you unhappy with some parts of the tower? Make a list of the things that
could make it better. Use the space below.

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 Make a 2D working drawing  (60 minutes)
Work on your own. Each learner has to make their own drawing.
Make a 2D working drawing of the front view of your model tower.
Your teacher will assess your drawing.
If you have forgotten how to do working drawings, go back to the work you did in
Chapter 2 to remind yourself. You can also look at the working drawing of a water
tank stand on the next page.
Your teacher will assess the following aspects of your drawing, so look at the list
below to make sure that you have included everything.

Criteria for working drawings Tick

The drawing has a heading.
The heading includes the view that the drawing is drawn in, which is
the front view.
The outline of the drawing is darker than the dimension lines.
The dimensions have only been written down once.
The dimensions (measurements) are written in millimetres. You
don’t have to write mm, because designers always use millimetres on
working drawings.
All measurements are placed in the centre of the dimension line.
Arrowheads are neatly drawn on either end of your dimension lines.
The drawing is neat.

Total [20]

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 Figure 7

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 Make your own working drawing of the model cellphone tower on this page.

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 Prepare to evaluate  (30 minutes)
Next week, you have to evaluate the designs of the other teams, and the towers
they have built.
To do that, you will develop an evaluation sheet. You will use the evaluation
sheet to judge your own tower and the towers made by two other teams.
In week 1 of the mini-PAT, you were given the Criteria are ideas you use to
information that you used for your specifications. Now judge something.
use this information as your evaluation criteria.
1. Change each of the criteria into a question you will ask, and write the question
in the evaluation sheet below. Work as a team.
• Your model should be no less that 300 mm (30 cm) tall.
• It should have a flat platform on the top. In a real tower, such a platform is
used by engineers when they need to work on the top part of the tower. You
will use two A5 textbooks to test if your tower is strong enough to hold the
radio transmitters and receivers.
• The model should fit in with the surroundings. It should be camouflaged in
some way.
• The model should be made from strong materials to keep it stable.
• It should also be rigid and hold its shape.
• Your model should show reinforcement through triangulation.

Criteria  Good Medium Poor

3 2 1

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 2. Work on your own. Use the evaluation sheet on the previous page to evaluate
the tower you and your teammates have built.
3. Join your teammates and compare your evaluations. Discuss it and try to agree
on a final evaluation.
4. Write your questions into the following two evaluation sheets. You will use
these sheets to evaluate towers built by other teams.

Criteria Model of team A Good Medium Poor

3 2 1

Criteria Model of team B Good Medium Poor

3 2 1

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 Week 6
Plan your presentation  (60 minutes)
Each team should prepare a presentation of their plans and model to the rest of
the class. The presentation should be at least three minutes long, but not longer
than five minutes.
1. Plan your presentation.
• All the team members have to talk about Hints for presenting
the work they did when they built the tower. Stand up straight and look at
• One learner has to show and explain the the class when you speak.
design sketch. Tell the group how you planned Do not read your presentation.
to make the tower fit in with the surroundings. Speak clearly, so that everyone
• One learner should talk about the problems can hear you.
the group experienced. Know when it is your turn to
• One learner should talk about how the speak.
group tested the tower. Keep to the time limit.
• Decide who will start and who will talk next.
2. Use the space below to write notes about what you
will do.

3. Practise your presentation. Then give your presentation during the last period
of the week.

Enjoy your winter holiday! After the holiday, you will make things that work with
electricity and magnets.

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