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Section 1 Presentation
1. Look at these:
Here are some examples of basic forms:
a cube
a pyramid
a hemisphere
a rectangular prism
a triangular prism
a cone
a cylinder
a minaret
a hotel
an Egyptian house
a mosque
column
slab
an Arabic arch
a brick
a church
a Roman arch
a steel beam
a steel channel
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a square shape
a semi-circular shape
a circular shape
a rectangular shape
a triangular shape
is
square
circular
semi-circular
rectangular
triangular
in shape
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internal surface
a tube is hollow
a curved surface
a rod is solid
a flat surface
The power station building is hollow. It has five flat external surfaces.
Now describe these buildings and components in a similar way:
a. The church
b. The slab
c. The column
d. The mosque
e. The steel beam
5. Now describe the shapes of the buildings in exercise 1, page 1 and
compare them with the buildings around you.
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Section 2 Development
6. Look at these examples:
A man can easily lift a large roll of
glass wool but not a concrete beam.
concrete beam
rubber
concrete
concrete
wood
bitumen roof
stone wall
wood
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wooden handle
copper pan
rubber block
compressive force
deform block
scratch
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Look at these diagrams. Match the letters A H in the diagrams with the
sentences below:
C
D
F
G
H
E
Now complete these sentences with properties:
a. The polythene membrane can prevent moisture from rising into the
concrete floor. This means that polythene is ..
b. The T-shaped aluminium section can resist chemical action, i.e. aluminium
is
c. The stone block cannot be lifted without using a crane. This means that
stone is .
d. The corrugated iron roof cannot prevent the sun from heating up the house,
i.e. iron is ..
e. Glass wool can help to keep a house warm in the winter and cool in the
summer, i.e. glass wool is .
f. The ceramic tiles on the floor cannot be scratched easily by people
walking on them. This means that ceramics tiles are
g. Asbestos sheeting can be used to fireproof doors. In other words asbestos
is
h. Black cloth blinds can be used to keep the light out of a room, i.e. cloth is
..
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7. Make sentences about four other properties of materials from this table:
Steel
Stone
Glass wool
Brick
This means
b.
c.
d.
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e.
f.
Section 3 Reading
9. Look at these diagrams and then read the passage:
frame construction
planar construction
mass construction
Building materials are used in two basic ways. In the first way they are used to
support the loads on a building and in the second way they are used to divide the
space in a building. Building components are made from building materials and
the form of a component is related to the way in which it is used. We can see how
this works by considering three different types of construction:
1. In one kind of construction, blocks of materials such as brick, stone or
concrete, are put together to form solid walls. These materials are heavy,
however, they can support the structural loads because they have the
property of high compressive strength. Walls made up of blocks both
support the building and divide the space in the building.
2. In another type of construction, sheet materials are used to form walls,
which act as both space-dividers and structural support. Timber, concrete
and some plastics can be made into large rigid sheets and fixed together to
Unit 1: Properties and shapes
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form a building. These building are lighter and faster to construct than
buildings made up of blocks.
3. Rod materials, on the other hand, can be used for structural support but not
for dividing spaces. Timber, steel and concrete can be formed into rods
and used as columns. Rod materials with high tensile and compressive
strength can be fixed together to form framed structures. The spaces
between the rods can be filled with light sheet materials, which act as
space dividers but do not support structural loads.
Now say which paragraph discusses:
a). Planar construction
b). Frame construction
c). Mass construction
10. Copy and complete this table by putting ticks in the boxes to show the
functions of the components:
Form of
material
Function of components
Structural support Space dividing
only
only
Both structural
support and space
dividing
Blocks
Sheets
Rods
11. Now say whether these statements are true or false. Correct the false
statements.
a. Rod materials can be used for both dividing space and supporting the
building.
b. Concrete can be used as a block material, a sheet material and a rod
material.
c. Steel is used for frame construction because it has high tensile strength and
low compressive strength.
d. The sheet materials, which act as space dividers in a frame construction
building can be very light because they do not support structural loads.
e. Mass construction buildings are light whereas planar construction
buildings are heavy.
12. Look at the buildings in exercise 1, page 1 and discuss the basic form of
the materials used to build them.
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