Mystery Science G5 L5: Natural Disasters & Engineering

The people of Beachtown recently completed a few big construction projects to save their town from flood damage. But the people of Beachtown are also worried about a special area nearby. This area is called Wildwood Nature Preserve. Most people just call it Wildwood. Many different plants and animals live in Wildwood, and the people of Beachtown love visiting those plants and animals. Look at the map below to see where Wildwood Nature Preserve is. Be sure to look at the key as well.

Flooding is dangerous for the plants and animals in Wildwood just like it is dangerous for Beachtown. The people of Beachtown want to do something to protect the plants and animals that live there.

 In the space below, describe the problem that the people of Beachtown want to solve and why they want to solve it. 

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-2

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

The people of Beachtown have decided to do something to protect the plants and animals at Wildwood. There is a budget of $1,000,000 for this project. It must protect the plants and animals from flooding. The finished design must also protect the natural beauty of Wildwood. The people of Beachtown don’t want Wildwood to end up looking like a town—they want Wildwood to stay as close to natural as possible.

The people of Beachtown have limits on what can be done to protect Wildwood. These limits are called constraints. They will only choose a plan that meets all of their constraints. What are the constraints that they have? Choose all that are correct.

• The finished design must cost less than $1,000,000.

• The finished design must look like it came from the same time period as the historic buildings of Beachtown.

• The finished design must look natural, so that it fits in with how Wildwood looks.

• The finished design must protect animals and plants.

• The finished design must be made of wood, because wood is natural.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

True or False: Both plans meet all of the constraints for this project.

• True

• False

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

True or False: The fact that the concrete will look like the great sidewalks in Beachtown is actually a bad thing.

• True

• False

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

True or False: The plan from Cosmic Concrete is the best option because it is cheaper

• True

• False

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

True or False: Even though the plan from Wetland Wonders is more expensive, it is the only plan that meets all of the constraints of the project.

• True

• False

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1